My clutch release arm broke..!!

[Cobia]

Has anyone ever heard of this happening? At first I thought it was the clutch cable that broke. It happened last night as I was returning home from picking up a pizza. I was down shifting from 3rd into 2nd as I approached the last traffic light on the way home. When I squeezed the clutch lever to shift into 1st I felt it snap and it became inoperable. There was a car in front of me preventing me from making my right turn through the light. All I could do to prevent me from rear ending him was throw the kill switch.
Long story short, bike wouldn't start and go while in 1st gear so I put it in neutral, started it, put it first and got going. Shifted into second and that got me home, I was right around the corner from home. Not fun being stranded, however momentarily, at a dark corner, at night, in a busy intersection....!!

Anyway, does anybody have a spare one of these sitting in a parts bin in your garage? I could really use it right about now.
Thanks.

[BA80]

Although I've never broken one I understand it's a pretty common occurance.

There should be someone closer to you that has a spare but if you can't find one there holler at me.

[Cobia]

Thanks for offering, Greg.
I didn't know it was that common of an occurence...
Yeah, all my buds from around here are at the Iron Horse rally.
From what I found out, that lever is the same on all XSs and the XJ, not used on any other bikes.
Sending you a PM.

[Cobia]

I originally thought the cable had broken. But when I went out this morning to size up the situation, I discovered that lever broken when I took the clutch adjustment cover off.

[cywelchjr]

Unfortunately the only spare I have is the one on my spare engine, which needs to be kept complete unless I need it on my primary as it's my only spare otherwise I'd offer it to you. That said, I don't think there's a shortage of them quite yet, just sometimes it takes a little while to find them is all.

Fortunately from having tried it, I know mine will at least on level ground start in gear without the clutch in first gear, well at least it did with the stock FD, I guess I should try with the 750FD, it may make a difference.

Maybe I should get an extra and put it and spare clutch cable in my toolkit.

[BigRed]

Did you find one?

I've got a couple really beat up and stripped down spare engines. After work, I can check if they still have the clutch arm on them or not. Let me know if you don't get one closer to you.

[Cobia]

Thanks Cy and Big Red. BA80 is already putting one in the mail for me today to get me going.
Thanks a million Greg!!
I still want to have a spare one, so I'll be looking for one.

[CaptonZap]

Howdy Cobia,
What part of the lever broke? It looks as though almost every part of the lever could be reproduced, thus returning yours to servicable condition. Let me know by PM if that would interest you. CZ

[DAVINCI]

Happened to me two seasons ago. Fabricated a temporary one from sheet steel. Drilling a couple of holes and a well-placed file (or dremel) will do the trick.

They get weakened if you're not careful when you pry them up to remove/replace the clutch cable. A couple of oopses...bent it and bent it back weakened mine and it snapped one day.

[BA80]

Hey Randy, FYI if you just use the adjusting nut to turn it when you change the cable it doesn't put any weird stress on the lever.

[Cobia]

Hey Capton,
The part that broke is the actual arm/lever, the one that is holding the part that attaches to the end of the clutch cable. It's held on with a nut and washer that lock the clutch adjustment bolt. It's a flat piece of steel that should be easy to reproduce if you have access to the right equipment.

[DAVINCI]

Hey Randy, FYI if you just use the adjusting nut to turn it when you change the cable it doesn't put any weird stress on the lever.

Hey, Greg, FYI,

Give that a try and see how the nut comes OFF!

[BA80]

Hey Randy, It won't if you have it tightened down.

[CaptonZap]

Hey Capton,
The part that broke is the actual arm/lever, the one that is holding the part that attaches to the end of the clutch cable. It's held on with a nut and washer that lock the clutch adjustment bolt. It's a flat piece of steel that should be easy to reproduce if you have access to the right equipment.

Normally, on stuff like that, a gas welder and some rod, and some file work will put things back together.
Where, exactly, did it break? I don't see how the stresses on it would cause it to break. Did the part around the hole split? Did the register (odd shaped hole) in the big end wallow out? Did the pivot pin on the stirrup break?
Do you have a way to post a picture?
And then, if it looks doable, you can send it to me and I can tack a whack at it. CZ

[Cobia]

CZ,
It broke at the right side of the big hole. I'll posts some pics later on today so you can see what it looks like.
Thanks