Adjust clutch to "feather" better?

[XJkid]

I flunked my M1 test because I could not keep my front tire inside the ring when taking my skills test. My clutch has very little "feather" room before it grabs completely. I was either falling over from no engagement or flying out of the ring from full engagement. I searched the threads to no avail.

Humiliated in Ca.

[lakecountrydave]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Here is the procedure for adjusting your clutch.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140

There was another tip on the board that made it easier for me. For step 4 take the screw out and put some anti seize on it. It will then be easier to tell when the screw seats. Also step 5 is important as you need to relieve all of the tension to accurately adjust the clutch.

Practice, practice, practice...

[CatatonicBug]

Practice, practice, practice...

+1 to that! Go find a parking lot and use the lines between parking spaces. You should be able to, at MINIMUM, do a u-turn inside 2 spaces. Start trimming it down, so eventually you can do it inside ONE space. Those slow maneuvers are the hardest, but they are also very important to master. Take the MSF course and they'll show you the details one-on-one.

[fredintoon]

I flunked my M1 test because I could not keep my front tire inside the ring when taking my skills test. My clutch has very little "feather" room before it grabs completely. I was either falling over from no engagement or flying out of the ring from full engagement. I searched the threads to no avail.
Humiliated in Ca.

Hi Guy,
don't feel humiliated, passing the test and being able to ride are two different skill sets.
Go borrow (or even buy) a small engine-capacity dual purpose bike with an easy clutch to take the next test on.
About your XJ's grabby clutch; besides the other adjustments, check out the clutch cable.
Get a cable lube gadget and spray-clean the cable; first with spray solvent to take the crud out and then with spray lube to re-lube it.
The fancy stuff the bike store will want you to buy does work the best but white lithium grease will also do an OK job.
Next, check the clutch cable run. The factory cable route takes all manner of sharp bends just to keep the cable hidden.
Re-running the cable with easier bends lets it work nicer.
My clutch cable runs in a single swoop from the handlebar to the clutch.
OK, it looks ugly but it does cut the clutch pull in half.

[skids]

The driving test course for Colorado is ridiculous. I don't think you could clear the cones if you walked the bike in neutral and the engine off! I agree, get a smaller bike and do the test.