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Clutch cable adjustment?

6K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Ny Mike 
#1 ·
Hey all went on a 150 mile ride yesterday and everything went fine. However my last couple miles I found my clutch wasn’t fully engaging when handle was pulled. By the time I made it to my house it was pulling the clutch at all. Is there an adjustment or do I have to buy a new cable?


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#4 ·
A heads up while the adjustment will help initially, after awhile the cable will stretch too much and need to replaced. The Indian cable isn't very good I had to replace mine after about 3k miles. I bought a barnett replacement cable and its a much better cable. Replacing the cable is pretty simple and can be done at home in minutes.
Indian Scout (All except Bobber) (2014-2019) - Barnett Tool & Engineering
 
#8 ·
I think you’ll need a 10 and a 12 mm wrench. I did not watch the video but just know the gap at the lever to perch is about the thickness of a credit card when the engine is cold. And typical of Polaris clutch cables- poor. My Victory one was made of mozzerella cheese too. Had to replace w/ Barnet which is the best you can get IMO and you don’t have to worry about it breaking or stretching .
 
#9 ·
Late to the party, but I didn’t notice any discussion on the proper adjustment.

I don’t know specifically what Indian says about it, but generally speaking it’s just as bad to have a tight cable as it is to have a loose cable. I always adjust mine to where a nickel fits snug between the lever and the stop when I pull the lever and first encounter resistance. I hope that made sense.
 
#11 ·
Late to the thread but worth mentioning anyway, if your clutch cable adjustment is getting progressively worse over the span of a single ride it's either a few strands away from snapping or your lock nut is completely loose at the lower end of the cable. A few months ago I was riding around up in the mountains and the clutch adjustment on my dirt bike was getting looser and looser over the course of the day, adjusted it about 3 times before peeling back the lever cover for a closer look, found it was hanging on for dear life by about 2 strands.
 
#13 ·
Late to the party, but I didn’t notice any discussion on the proper adjustment.

I don’t know specifically what Indian says about it, but generally speaking it’s just as bad to have a tight cable as it is to have a loose cable. I always adjust mine to where a nickel fits snug between the lever and the stop when I pull the lever and first encounter resistance. I hope that made sense.
My old Yamaha was okay with that nickel gap (approx. 2mm), not so for the Scout. It likes a dime gap, or about a millimeter.
And clutch lever seems best with short pulls for shifting. If I tried same way as the Yamaha I would be pulling too far with the Scout, doesn't like long full pulls.
My OEM cable is still good after 20000 miles, only keep it lightly oiled at both ends (at levers). Not into cable sheath.
 
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#17 ·
Sorry burst someones bubble but my Scout had about 1/4" play when I had issues. The bike was pulling at a stop when the clutch cable was fully engaged and I couldn't get it into neutral with the engine running. I tightened the slack to about the width of a penny. All problems went away. Until the cable stretched again 6 months later. I then replaced the cable with a Barnett which was noticeably thicker and seemed to pull easier too. That fixed the issue for the last 2 years so far with no issues. Again 1/4" was where the problems started. I don't care what worked on other bikes, 1/4" is too much for the Scout. The Scout manual has the spec. That video is what I watched and followed when I set mine.
 
#18 · (Edited)
@KBeaumont lol exactly and I don’t ride a scout either ! Like I always say YOU do what works FOR YOU. Like tires and seats and oil what works for you means nothing to me I’ve always gone by my personal experience nothing will show you better. And you see it works well you’ve learned by your experience ! But again I forgot this is the scout section so what I do is irrelevant
 
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