Tough Clutch, Rusty Bike, Broken Cable, Split Seams

I just bought my first bike, an 82' Maxim 550. It is need of quite a bit of TLC and I'm hoping to learn a bit of basic maintence and mechanical savvy along the way. Obviously being a new rider I have a lot of questions, but there are four issues that rise to the top.

First - my clutch is really tough to pull. I've had three suggestions on how to fix the problem, but I'm not sure which one to take. One friend suggested trying to find an "easy clutch" type kit. Another suggested taking the cable off and greasing it. The third was to simply remove one end of the cable and spray WD-40 down the line. Any ideas?

The second question I have is in regards to maintenence, or the lack of maintenence that has been performed on this bike over the years. What is the best way to remove rust? There are small deposits on every metal surface of the bike, from the nuts and bolts to the heat sinks to the dent in the gas tank. Some of these surfaces are painted (gas tank) others are bare metal, and the pipes look like they may be chrome. What is the best way to remove the rust from all of these surfaces?

My third question is going to be more vague than the first two. There are two cables that attach to the clutch lever on the handlebars. One is obviously the clutch cable, but the other is smaller and seems like it may be a safety mechanism of some kind (possibly something that keeps he bike from moving with the kickstand down). Any ideas what that second cable is? The reason I'm asking is because the rubber boot has dry-rotted and broken apart so the end of the cable falls out fairly easy. I'm trying to determine the best way to get this cable to stay in place. It's pretty annoying to have to continually put this cable back in place. Any ideas?

Finally the seat has definitely seen better days, and needs to be re-covered. The foam seems to be alright, but the cover is split on 4 seams. Has anyone used one of the do-it-yourself kits before? How do they work? Am I better off taking the seat somewhere to have it re-covered?

Any help with any of these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Don't take any of my suggestions as law, because I'm certainly FAR from an expert on these subjects.

However, you can get cable lube and try that for the clutch cable. In my dad's bike the clutch springs are stiff and it's just hard to pull, on his bike (not XJ) it will have to be taken apart and adjusted. The lube does make it easier.

For rust, you can try to use metal polishes, depending on how deep the rust goes, I've never had anything more than light oxidation that I've removed with metal polish... Not sure if it can be used with full blown 'rust' or not.

The last question, there is a safety mechanism on my bike (84 750 Maxim)which does this:
-If the tranmission is in neutral and kickstand is down: start
-If the tranmission is in gear, sidestand up, pull in the clutch: start

So on the second point of the safety mechanism, it uses that part on the handlebars (I guess? I'm not actually sure where the relay is, only that it exists and it works) to ensure safety. I'm really not sure how to affix it, sorry that's beyond my skill.

 

buy a new clutch cable, if one breaks it can get you hurt, i've had problems with "motion-pro" brand
rust is here to stay, if someone could fix it they would be rich
polish it, paint it or live with it
that other cable might be the choke control cable, you may be able to adjust it at the other end

 

Welcome to you John. Polock is right, just buy new cables, the old ones aren't worth the risk of salvaging. $100 in cables buys a lot of peace of mind.