Clutch pain

[Bikespod]

Hi I'm newish here, and am seriously looking for an 1150, but need to know one small bit of info that could be a game changer. I currently have an XT660X Yamaha and the clutch is giving me terrible tennis elbow. What I want to know is, the 1150 GS has a hydraulic clutch I believe, is it nice and light to use?
I've been riding bikes for 25 years and couldn't be without one. Hopefully I can get a GS and save my arm at the same time.
Thanks for any help.
Nick

 

[Bugbear]

Simple answer is to try one but you'll find that it requires no effort at all.

 

[Bendy toy]

Also get your neck checked out by a chiropractor (I'm in the final year of training).

Bike riding tends to build up the scalene muscles in the neck and the odd falling off doesn't help over the years. This can lead to compression on nerves in the neck and shoulder which weakens the muscles.

 

[Bikespod]

Thanks for those answers. Good to hear its nice and light. The last bike I had with a hydraulic clutch was a VFR 750 and that was easy on the forearm.
Yes I've had a few offs and my body is generally old and decrepit. Being in construction doesn't help any either.

 

[Womble]

It's also very possible to do clutchless changes going up the box, even with the shaft drive, which makes life even easier. You'll still need to feather the clutch around town and riding offroad, but don't let the shaft drive put you off.

 

[Bendy toy]

I'm still GS-free riding my trusty Yamaha Diversion 900 (shaftie as well ). It actually goes up the box better without the clutch. Clutching (as you would normally) makes it clunk badly. Maybe I let the revs drop too much, but I cant reliably shift with the clutch. Without the clutch I preload the gear lever then momentarily dip the throttle just enough to unload the transmission then back to where it was and the gear just drops in. It needs a little forethought, but the shifts are very quick with almost no effort. But forget to preload the gear lever and its not so nice as the cogs get thrown over too late.

A friend with a BMW says the same method works for him and somehow he also does smooth clutchless downshifts. He's braver than me TBH.

Going down I deliberately missmatch the throttle & clutch so the revs blip and the lower gear snicks in nicely. It only gets full clutch movement at setting off from standstill.