Manual Clutch Conversion?

[m in sc]

I could have bought the cover for 79 bucks and skipped the mill (as 99% would), and a hand power drill and a 6mm bolt & helicoil and tap could have been used to reroute the oil. I've split the cases on these honda motors before, its not hard but def more time consuming and costly to swap a crank. And mines reversible w out splitting the cases. so, no. sorry. Experience forces me to disagree here.

 

[m in sc]

reouted cable to under the body work, bent the hell out of the bracket pretty much back to stock grom position, lol, and took for testride, and its good, really good. only thing weird is you can hear the primary gear whine a bit but its barely noticable. even clutch up a little wheelie in 1st coming out of the gas station.

 

[xander450]

Thanks again for pioneering this! Sounds like the motogaga kit, sans clutch stopper, is the way forward for me. I don't so much care that I can idle in gear, but I can't stand not being able to shift gracefully between gears while rolling.

 

[m in sc]

Honestly, that's probably the best way to go about it. ^

 

[m in sc]

so as the final step, I got a cover for a supercub. interestingly, the bolt circle to hold this cover is different between all 3 models involved, grom, trail, and super cub. none of the 3 interchange which is odd but also very 'honda'. so I made an adapter and rotated the mounting and came up w this. and.. done. still like having the manual clutch, def better for MY preferences.

 

[vintagegarage]

I have been following the Vetch Channel on YouTube for a couple of years now as one of my favorites. He spends a lot of time editing each video to make an interesting story, and does a much better job than I do. His rides follow a pattern that I try to copy on my riding videos, but don't come close to him on quality. A ride usually starts with a map, then comes a long highway ride that ends in a scenic spot, where he makes coffee, or a meal or snack while he views the scenery. I consider him the grand master of the genre. His video this week is completely different, where he reviews the Takegawa Hydro Clutch Kit. The kit for the JA55 (2021-2022 and the JA65 (2023) are slightly different. The only difference I can see seems to be in the main gasket: Here are the links, apologies if someone else has already posted these links:
JA55: https://japan.webike.net/products/25844532.html
JA65: https://japan.webike.net/products/25844531.html

I ordered the one for the JA65, and arrival at the Webike warehouse is estimated to be two months from now. About $235 US with EMS shipping, and usually my credit card provider adds a currency conversion fee, so the final price is a bit more. Webike usually beats their expected delivery time, sometimes by a month or more. I can't promise that I will have enough energy to install it when it arrives, but if I do, I'll make an installation video about it.

And here is his video where he rides his JA55 with the clutch kit installed. I think this might be his first video where he rides his CT125 off the highway. It doesn't begin with a map, and at 2:50 he makes a turn onto a dirt road, both of which are very unusual for Vetch. It ends with scenery as normal. If you turn on captioning, you will see English captions. In essence he is says that he very much likes it, and especially that he can downshift at speed more easily now to match the engine and road speeds, and he likes to be able to shift from fourth to second smoothly without having to use third gear. The description section of the video is in English and explains the video and his accessories and cameras.

Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere on the forum.. just notch it off to old age forgetfulness.. LOL

 

[Msfitoy]

I have been following the Vetch Channel on YouTube for a couple of years now as one of my favorites. He spends a lot of time editing each video to make an interesting story, and does a much better job than I do. His rides follow a pattern that I try to copy on my riding videos, but don't come close to him on quality. A ride usually starts with a map, then comes a long highway ride that ends in a scenic spot, where he makes coffee, or a meal or snack while he views the scenery. I consider him the grand master of the genre. His video this week is completely different, where he reviews the Takegawa Hydro Clutch Kit. The kit for the JA55 (2021-2022 and the JA65 (2023) are slightly different. The only difference I can see seems to be in the main gasket: Here are the links, apologies if someone else has already posted these links:
JA55: https://japan.webike.net/products/25844532.html
JA65: https://japan.webike.net/products/25844531.html

I ordered the one for the JA65, and arrival at the Webike warehouse is estimated to be two months from now. About $235 US with EMS shipping, and usually my credit card provider adds a currency conversion fee, so the final price is a bit more. Webike usually beats their expected delivery time, sometimes by a month or more. I can't promise that I will have enough energy to install it when it arrives, but if I do, I'll make an installation video about it.

And here is his video where he rides his JA55 with the clutch kit installed. I think this might be his first video where he rides his CT125 off the highway. It doesn't begin with a map, and at 2:50 he makes a turn onto a dirt road, both of which are very unusual for Vetch. It ends with scenery as normal. It is a bit tedious to translate all of the text throughout the video, but in essence he is saying that he very much likes it, and especially that he can downshift at speed more easily now to match the engine and road speeds, and he likes to be able to shift from fourth to second smoothly without having to use third gear. The description section of the video is in English and explains the video and his accessories and cameras.

Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere on the forum.. just notch it off to old age forgetfulness.. LOL

Vetch is my favorite too...

 

[m in sc]

that kit is very cool. it doesn't eliminate the auto clutch, which i wanted to do, but that's a great execution/idea. i like that a lot.

 

[vintagegarage]

I received an update from Webike this morning:
"
We would like to inform you that the product you ordered have been arrived earlier than expected.
We will prepare and ship your order in a few days."

Webike doesn't ship on the weekend, so I think that means the Takegawa Hydro Clutch kit will ship out next week. I'm not sure what I will do with it when it arrives.. LOL... The left handlebar is a pretty busy place. I'm interested to see if there is room for the master cylinder and also the Barkbusters. I think most likely, the kit will sit on the shelf until I remove the engine side cover for some other reason, so that might be a while.

 

[Kags1969]

I followed your link to an in stock clutch kit and ordered it and am having it shipped DHL (which is really fast). I should get the kit before the long weekend. I am sure that the instructions will be in Japanese, does anyone know of a tutorial for installing this kit? I have a bunch of different projects I can work on over the long weekend, but would love to install this and get to a manual feeling clutch on the CT125.

 

[dmonkey]

Not sure about an install tutorial, but you can get a rough machine translated version of the instructions by following these steps:

Find the "Product #" from the Webike page for the respective Takegawa kit that you ordered, then search for the same product number on this page:
http://www.takegawa.co.jp/user_data/manual.php

Download the .pdf file which will be in Japanese, then upload that file to Google Translate for documents:
https://translate.google.com/?sl=ja&tl=en&op=docs
Once uploaded and converted there will be a button to download the translation. It won't be perfect, but it will give you more detail than working off the illustrations alone.

 

[vintagegarage]

Kags1968,
What dmonkey said.. That is best. I also use my Android phone. I hit the microphone button and say "Google Translate". When Google Translate comes up, there is a camera icon on the right side, and if you press on that, you go to Google Lens. Take a picture of the part of the instruction you want to read, at it will translate it to English.

Also, I think your clutch kit will arrive before mine. I shipped using EMS, and it made a round trip back to Webike without leaving Japan, Not sure why it was returned to sender, but Webike has resent it, and it is currently showing as being at the Tokyo Airport awaiting the flight to the US. Yours is probably already in the US.
I don't know of any current installation video, but I think the video below covers much of what you will need to know about taking off the side case and putting everything back together if you mess up. I was planning to use this video as the primary helper for my installation:

 

[vintagegarage]

(ed) Iwould love to install this and get to a manual feeling clutch on the CT125.

I could be wrong, but as I understand it, you won't get a manual feeling clutch after installing the kit. The feel might be a bit different. Again, I could be wrong, but I think the autoclutch will still come into play when you stop at a light and then take off from a standing start. Please report back after your install and let us know what you think of it, and how the installation went.

 

[m in sc]

yes, the auto clutch will absolutely still be functional. Im considering getting this since my auto clutch is no more, and only because its kind of trick. in the fall i plan on taking the cover back off and trimming down the flywheel spinner on the lathe so i can, if i want, fit a 6 disc clutch and make a bushing to tighten up the shifting arm engagement to the shift drum on mine. For some unknown reason, ALL the pics i took of the internals of the motor when i did mine went poof and i cant find them anywhere.

 

[Kags1969]

I downloaded the Instructions and used google translate and read through them and studied the pictures. Seems like this is mostly a hydraulic outer and inner cylinder (with the clutch handle/perch) that bolts through the side cover. It replaces the parts that push on the clutch during shifting. So it looks like you may need to use the clutch to switch gears, but that the auto clutch disengages as the engine slows. It will be cool to try. I will post up when I get it installed. I watched the youtube video and he indicates that it feels like a clutched system while riding. Recluse makes a clutch that some off-roaders use that disengages automatically, I bet this feels similar to that.

 

[Kags1969]

From an article on Webike.

"The kit leaves the primary automatic centrifugal clutch in place, so when starting and stopping, the clutch operation is the same as a normal Cub, and no clutch operation is required.
It allows manual operation of power interruption when the centrifugal clutch is connected by raising the rpm, and the clutch operation is required to shift gears while riding."

So clutch needed for shifting between gears. I am curious about totally disabling the centrifugal clutch. I read in this thread about welding the clutch on the centrifugal (dont want to do that) but it would be cool if someone made an attachment to disable the centrifugal clutch.

 

[vintagegarage]

When you ship by EMS from Japan to the USA, end delivery, at least for delivery to me, is by the USPS, Yesterday, the USPS status showed my clutch kit (the second try shipment after the first was returned to Webike by EMS) would be delivered today. Today, the status is that it will be delivered tomorrow. I also got a note from Webike overnight with this info:
"We are sorry to inform you that the product ordered contained brake fluid (liquid), which was removed and shipped to the you.
We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding."
I think that may explain why the first try never left Japan and went back to Webike for re-shipment. DHL might not care about shipping brake fluid, as I think they deliver end to end, at least for where I live. I wouldn't think that USPS in Jamaica, NY would delay a shipment to drain the brake fluid, so I assume Webike had to drain the fluid before EMS would ship it out of Japan. I'll be interested to know if those who get the kit and ship with DHL find their fluid drained or not.

 

[Kags1969]

My package has left Japan, so didn't seem to be an issue with DHL. I have an ETA of August 6th, but they have sandbagged a little in the past. Maybe this weekend? If not, then next week.

 

[oldskool]

My package has left Japan, so didn't seem to be an issue with DHL. I have an ETA of August 6th, but they have sandbagged a little in the past. Maybe this weekend? If not, then next week.

August 6th 2024?

 

[m in sc]

last time i ordered a set of exhaust pipes from webike i got them in like 4 days shipping time. earlier this year, they are really good on shipping time 99.9% of the time.