Not sure why but manual says to lube it along with other areas. It might be cause you wash it to much.
Don't screw around look into it before it brakes and leaves you on the side of the road.

 

Took the clutch cable apart at the ends for inspection. Found nothing out of the ordinary. Lubed the cable ends, lever pivot, and put it back together.

Zero improvement. Took it apart again and lubed the cable with some silicone spray. The feel improved somewhat but it still isn't near to what it's supposed to be.

What else could be causing this problem????

 

Took the clutch cable apart at the ends for inspection. Found nothing out of the ordinary. Lubed the cable ends, lever pivot, and put it back together.

Zero improvement. Took it apart again and lubed the cable with some silicone spray. The feel improved somewhat but it still isn't near to what it's supposed to be.

What else could be causing this problem?

Maybe it's not in the cable, but in the clutch. The lever on the Primary case is attached to a shaft with a pinion gear. If the gear teeth are worn for whatever reason, that could prevent clutch from snapping back into engagement. Then again if spraying with silicon helped at all, it may be the cable fraying internally.

You could always disconnect the cable at the Primary cover and disengage the lever manually with plumber's pliers or some such tool and see if it springs back properly. If it does, that would seem to rule it out and you could then concentrate on the cable or maybe the bushing in the handlebar lever.

 

Check to make sure the cable isn't kinked or pinched.

 

The routing of the clutch cable has not been changed, actually there hasn’t been any work done to the bike that could affect this. I have had the bike about 6 weeks now (bought new) and it has about 4,100 miles on it. The route the cable runs makes most of it hard to inspect without removing parts but I did look at what I could and all looked fine. The position of the handlebars has no effect on the feel of the clutch. In addition, the cable moves freely when disconnected and free at both ends. That just about rules out a pinched or kinked cable.

I also took the lever apart and there was factory fresh grease in it. I added some more anyways since I had it apart.

I tried to test the movement of the lever that goes into the case by placing a crescent wrench with a paper towel in the jaws over the lever and moving it carefully back and forth. It seemed to move very smoothly. I do not know if this is a good test or not but that’s all I could come up with to test the internals of the clutch.

After lubing the cable thoroughly with silicone spray and putting everything back together the feel of the clutch lever did improve but the action was still not smooth… kinda feels like it has less sand in it after the lube. Then I walked over to my VN900 (2006 with about 35,000 miles on the original clutch cable) and pulled it’s buttery smooth clutch lever in and out a few times… the XC clutch definitely has something wrong.

At this point I am suspecting that the internal coating has worn through somewhere the cable makes a turn and now there is metal to metal contact with pieces of the coating floating around… a bad clutch cable. I am having a hard time with the fact that it is so new, but I can’t think of anything else it could be.

Anybody else have something for me to look at?

 

Anybody else have something for me to look at?

The dealership's magazine selection while they replace your cable under warranty.

 

Unfortunately I think you are on to something. I went by my local dealer today to feel some clutches.

I guess I will be calling the dealer where I bought the bike tomorrow.

 

My new 2010 XC had the same problem after 3 days, ended up being the clutch arm bearing. Took it back, warranty repaired and supposedly got a new clutch pack as well.

 

The clutch on the XCT is the worst I've had on any previous bike I've had with a mechanical or hydraulic clutch.
Not sure what to do about it except bitch to the dealer.
Maybe that'll help......won't hold my breath.
Someone on the forum indicated there is a hydraulic clutch kit available.
Seems like Victory should have installed one to start with. I'd rather have that than a radio set that sucks.
Not sure I want to buy one and have Victory say that the warranty won't cover any problem that might arise.
I guess my problem is first gear takeoffs. You never know when the clutch will engage. It's just not normal.

 

Just a quick update:

Took it to the dealer Saturday and they agreed it didn't feel right. They took it apart and lubed it up with something especially for these kinds of cables. Whatever he did it improved the feel substantially. It’s still not 100% but much better, no more stalling or lurching out into traffic. Dealer said that it should improve over time.

 

I have the same problem with mine with 16.5k on it. done all the usual stuff, no better. What is the magic stuff the dealer used on your cable?? Keep us posted to see if it is just a short term fix or what...

 

Cable Life

 

Thanks, I will try some Cable Life..

 

It is a strange thing, the service manual says not to lube the clutch cable. Only lube the ends on the clutch side and on the lever side. That is all I have ever done to my 2010 XC. I lube the lever and clutch ends where the plastic bushing is with polaris grease, clean them before lube is applied. I do it at every oil change since it only take a few minutes. My bike has 20k miles and the clutch is as smooth as when the bike was new. It has always required more pull pressure than other bikes I have had, but I don't find it any problem at all.

 

The pull effort is not the problem, it is the smoothness of the release. I need to update my profile, but my wife also has the XC. There is a world of difference between the two bikes. There is a marked difference between the pull pressure and the release. It is like night and day. Her bike feels more like a hydrolic clutch. Her bike is a 2012.

 

after all this i say - let's see how that vaunted vic warranty stuff work s out....
4K in 6 weeks? sounds like road trip to me...and that sounds good - other than overnighters - i missed mine this year.

 

Dealer replaced the clutch cable Saturday AM, as well as both front brake rotors. Only took them 2 hours to get both done. Here is a big thank you to the guys at Gainsville Polaris, bike is back to 100%.

 

What was wrong with the brakes?

 

It felt like the rotors were warped. They were straight as they could be but still gave that warped feeling when coming to a stop. Dealers explanation was a stuck button preventing the rotor from floating properly.

 

Could you explain that a bit__what button was stuck?? Mine have the same feel, like a warped rotor.

Thanks

 

Good explanation. One (or more) of the buttons were too tight and prevented the blade from floating.

 

Thanks, now I understand.