Clutch is hard to engage sometimes

If I just ride to work and back or a short errand that doesn't have a lot of stop starts, my clutch is smooth and easy to pull.

If the engine is nice and warm and I have to do a lot of city driving, my clutch seems to get really stiff and hard to engage. I feel like I need to go to the gym to strengthen my hand so I can use the clutch. Let the bike sit and cool down for a while and the clutch is easy to pull.

Is this a sign of needing some work done? I've only dealt with truck and auto clutches so not sure where to start the diagnosis. Any thoughts?

 

Sounds like you need to flush/lube or replace the CABLE. Also, check the routing, if it's too close to the exhaust headers it could be cooking the inner sheath causing it to bind when hot. The actual movement of the clutch throwout itself is very short, and I can't imagine anything that would make the actual clutch itself harder to pull. Really does sound like a cable issue.

 

I had a similar problem and found the clutch boss nut had come loose. At times it would back out and make the clutch handle nearly impossible to pull and then it would tighten back up and everything seemed normal. Reset the travel, torqued the nut, reset the lock washer, and the problem went away. This was on an old Yamaha so don't know if you have the same setup.