Honda CG125 ES-7 2008 UK Clutch Questions (JC30 Engine)

[CG125ES-7 Nut Buster]

Hi All,

I have bought EBC Heavy Duty friction plates, new cable to eliminate my clutch starting to slip. 11,000 miles and first change i believe. The clutch engages when the pull lever is pushed forward so probably just the 10 year old cable.

Are EBC HD clutch springs worth it or just a pain in the hand/wrist?

Do these require special tools for the oil spinner removal and clutch plates?

Every time I start a project I get caught out needing something.

Thanks for any links.
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CG125ES-7 With memories of my BSA Bantams 125, 150 and 175. Honda PC50. Honda MT50. Honda CD175. Yamaha FS1E. Yamaha RD250. Yamaha XT550. Yamaha Super Tenere 750.

[Robby]

Just change the cable. Clutch plates should be fine as they are, and everyone seems to cock up their first couple of clutch plate changes. You'll break it by trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist.

Pro tip for changing the cable. Leave the existing one in place, and route the new one in alongside it. Connect up the new cable and adjust it (bottom adjuster for most of the adjustment, top one only for fine tuning), then remove the old one.
This means your new cable is correctly routed.

[kgm]

Changing the clutch on a CG is an easy job. As above change th cable first and if it's still problematic look at the clutch itself.

If doing the plates I think you're as well to do the springs too. Do it right and you won't have to go back in there for a long time. There is a special tool required for the oil spinner. You can buy them cheap on eBay or make one easily from an old socket.

Cable routing tip above is a good one but not really necessary on a simple CG, and it relies on the old routing being correct.

[CG125ES-7 Nut Buster]

Worth it or a 15% extra pain in wrist/arse?
What did you lube a 10 year old clutch cable with a happy ending.
A new cable + lube for the next 10 years, suggestions?
Can I beat the engine oil as a inner cable year round lubricant?
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CG125ES-7 With memories of my BSA Bantams 125, 150 and 175. Honda PC50. Honda MT50. Honda CD175. Yamaha FS1E. Yamaha RD250. Yamaha XT550. Yamaha Super Tenere 750.

[Teflon-Mike]

HOW2: Overhaul Clutch (Small Honda's +)

[BusterGonads]

I'm a bit surprised the CG clutch is knackered in 11000 miles. It's a pretty sturdy little beast with barely enough power to wear out a clutch that quick unless it was being abused by a complete knacker.

EDIT - re-reading Op's first post in the thread and he answers the question himself - its the cable. If it isn't rusty, just lubricate it and work it up and down a bit and see if it frees. If not, then new cable. Keep the new clutch plates safe for ten years when the actual clutch wears out.

[Teflon-Mike]

Buster: -The average M/C these days only covers around 3ooo miles a year. 110000 miles then is most likely round the clock 99,000 miles, Plus 11,000.... and the equivilent of 36 yeaars average miles or perhaps five to seven total life-miles for any motorcycle...

He says the thing is a 2008 model.... so at least ten plus years old.. has it been clocked in that time? Not impossible, these things can rack up car type annual miles in commuter service, but ho-hum. Its no spring chicken, and Learner/Commuters rarely have the most contientiouse no expense spared owners looking after them! Would only take a couple of oil changes IF its owner was even THAT contientiouse, stucking in copper or molybdnum addadive or cheap supermarket, addadive containing car oil, to lube syncro-cones in car/type gear-box, to eff up good clutch plates;

whilst learner clutch use can be horenouse...

One comes past my house regularly and I wanmt to go out with a base-ball bat and teach them how to use a clutch properly! Four gear changes in 200 yards in a 20 zone!! and banged twixt each, never letting the clutch out fully, its slipping the whole way up the road FFS! Theres another, probably CG copy that will need new clutch plates earlier on!

Vis the rest; replacing the plates and springs is not a bad bit of preventative maintenence. Meanwhile a new cable, at aprox £10-15 is cheap enough to just do and be done with rather then faff around trying to work oil down the whole length and stay there..... itrs probably cheaper then a cable luber amd a can of swuirty oil to try and recover the old one with stretched strands and loose nipples....
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[BusterGonads]

Teff.

The OP reports the bike as an eleven thousand miler not a hundred and eleven thousand one. I'd like to see the round the clock cg125, by the way. It should be in a museum of amazing machines if it exists, though I did meet a guy on Facebook who said he had been commuting on a couple of these bikes since they came out and he had one with 80 odd thousand on it and one with 62 thousand and neither of them had had any internal work, just thousand mile oil changes and tappets and normal routine servicing.

Its true that a lot of CGs are hammered by youngsters who dont' even think of maintaining them, but there are plenty that are genuine low mileage bikes that have been in a garage for a decade and more. I've actually got one like that, though I put 6000 miles on it in the last year. It was an 18 year old bike that had ten thou and a few when I got it in May 2018 and now it has 17010 on the clock. The MOT history database online is useful in checking mileage history and previous faults.

My money is on a grotty cable. The clue is that he says the clutch engages when he pushes the lever forward.

Certainly worth starting there and replacing or sorting the cable before breaking open the clutch side casing.

By the way - a question for you:

I just got a low mileage cb250 nighthawk - 12000 miles. Am I right in thinking these have an oil screen inboard of the oil pump? Do I need to crack open the case and clean that at 12000 miles. The engine is a peach. Very smooth and quiet, so I don't want it knackered by oil starvation.

[Teflon-Mike]

[BusterGonads]

Thanks for that. Looking at that strainer, I will get at it soon. It was owned by a man in his seventies and early eighties and a life long motorcyclist.His son bought it for him after he fell off his 800 BMW at age 72 and was embarrassed because he couldn't pick it up. I am hoping he probably took a serious approach to maintenance, so it was hopefully done at the recommended 8000 miles.
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2016 Triumph Street Twin; 2000 Honda CG125; 1997 Honda Nighthawk CB250