clutch cable adjusment

ok i just recieved my new clutch cable and im gonna swing by a bike shop and pick up the lever barrel adjuster so i can put it back together. Is there a how to on adjusting the clutch cable? Or can someone simply explain it to me because when i got my x-18 the clutch lever wouldnt return on its own, it had no tension. thanks guys

A good starting point is to ajust the center ajustment on the cable until there is no slack when you pull the handle....You can then ride the bike and determine if the cable needs to be tighter to release the clutch...

i dont understand how you adjust the center one so it has no slack, the two ends of the cable that go into the center adjustment have slack constantly and turning the adjuster doesnt do anything? Im doing this with the cable off the bike. Please explain to me how to adjust it from the center adjustment so it has no slack

ok i got the new cable on, now all i need is the adjustment barrel on the lever. Good news is the bike when in neutral moves freely! And when in gear doesnt like it should. How to people use different levers from bmx bikes or what not when on the X18 it has those two wires connected to the clutch lever? IM assuming thats just so it knows the clutch is being engaged, how do you mount that on new handles?

You'll have to have the cable on the bike and hooked up before you can ajust it to get the slack out..

Not all bikes have the switch on the clutch handle, the only bike I have seen that on is the x18....You can switch the wires to the front brake handle....As dar as using different handles for the clutch it's just a matter of bolting them on but of course you have to switch the wires from the stock clutch handle to the brake or rewire that part of the electrical system so you wont need it at all...

does it matter that the cable i just got from sdscooters is shorter than the one that came with the x-18? I fit it onto the bike last night and it seemed ok, maybe thats why i had so much slack in my clutch lever to begin with.

as long as the cable that sticks outt he end of the housing is the right length the total length of the cable doesnt matter unless its really short...If you can get the ends of the cable in the clutch handle and in the clutch lever on the engine without a lot of slop you will be okay...

yeah it seems like it should be good, i still couldnt find that **** adjustment barrel anywhere, although today i went to target and this mountain bike had one that looked big enough, i was about to "borrow" it but felt guilty. HAHA so i ordered the whole clutch lever assembly from sdscooters.

i read your post about the clutch lever not returning after being pulled in....i had this same issue on one of my x-18s....well the problem lies in the engine not in the cable...if you look on the right side of the engine where the clutch cable hooks up,you will noticed it is hooked to a lever which is welded to a shaft that goes into the engine.....o.k thats where the issue is....if you pull the right side chrome engine cover off you will see the end of the shaft.....now the problem is that this shaft doesnt have bearings or bushings to ride in,,,,they just machine the engine case to fit the shaft snuggly.....if you lubricate this shaft where it rides in the engine case the lever will return full and be much easier to pull in....from the factory there is no lubrication on this clutch actuator shaft....i recommend pulling the shaft out completely and use grease to lubricate the shaft,,,,it will just last longer and lubricate better than like a wd-40 or other light lubricant........i noticed an immediate change in the operation of the clutch with this simple fix.....also make sure the return spring on the shaft is hooked up properly and has tension on it...hope this helps and i tried to put it in lamest terms but if you dont understand let me know....

thanks i might try that
i have a 15 motor in a 6 thats doing that
made me wreck trying to drag

Hey camaro thanks for the info.I also have this same problem.My stock clutch cable snapped about 2 years ago or so and then i ordered a new one.i tried to put it on myself because it didn't look too hard.Now the darn thing never goes back down.I was thinking maybe i had the wrong size but it makes sense as to what your saying.Do you by anychance know how i can remove that cover and which part i have to grease up?Also know where i can get pictures as to how to do this?

here it is look for my previous posts on how to fix.peace