Hello all,
I'm new here and Im no mechanic but I'm definitely not new to wrenching on bikes

Just recently purchased a few months ago a 2007 Road King Classic 54k miles I have a bit of an OCD when it comes to pre maintenance as I ride hard and long distance and I like to keep up with the pack.

Clutch started dragging at take off so I figured it was a good time to upgrade to some performance parts.
I installed the Barnett carbon fiber extra plate clutch kit which calls for the damper spring and damper spring seat to be removed from the clutch basket entirely. (Pre soaked in the recomended primary oil) It ran for a few hours before starting to slip out of 5th a few minor adjustments later and it ran for about another block before loosing it completely ( no clutch engagment at all). A few more quick adjustments at the basket and the cable and It ran great for a few hours and then started slipping again. So I upgraded to the Barnett spring conversion kit. Pulled it apart plates still look brand new. After installing the spring conversion kit the clutch will not engage at all. Shift into 1st 2nd 3rd whatever there's no engagement at all bike won't go nowhere.

I've tried multiple variations of adjustments between the pushrod at the basket and the clutch cable. My initial adjustments usually starts with loosening the clutch cable all the way (free play) as this is what the tech from Barnett I spoke to over the phone recommended to do. I've tried various different adjustment at the basket push rod. I've tried touching the back plate and then adjusting 1/2, 3/4, 1full turn. I've tried torquing the pushrod all the way down to ensure the backplate was in place and then repeated adjusting. After each initial adjustment at the basket I would ajust the clutch cable to 1/8, 1/16, all the way to 1/2 at the clutch lever.

After every adjustment the pressure from the clutch lever felt great and popped back just fine ( I would pop the clutch lever 5 or 6 times after every adjustment). This leads me to believe that I'm not having a ball and ramp issue but I'm no mechanic and I'm only assuming.
when I squeeze the clutch I can see the pressure plate moving out about a quarter inch or so maybe less but it looks like it's functioning properly.
I started the bike with the primary cover off (yes i got oil everywere if your wondering &#128514 to see if inotice anythng goin on, the clutch pak was chattering a bit. Shortly after, I realized I can put my finger on the front clutch plate and wiggle it ever-so-slightly while the clutch is supposed to be engaged. I tried all my adjustments again wiggling the clutch plate each time didn't make a difference, the clutch pack was still a bit loose. And it only Wiggles like 1/16th or less. But This leads me to believe that the slight amount of slack in the clutch pack is not allowing the clutch to engage???
I spoke to a tech over the phone at the local Harley dealership and he told me there should be no play at all and it should be under a good deal of pressure, he also told me they don't sell Barnet s*** anymore because it's too problematic.

Has anyone ever experienced this issue using Barnett clutch kits?
Could these clutch plates defective? Milled out of spec?
Should I try running the extra plate clutch pack (10 friction, 9 steel) with the stock damper seat and damper spring to eliminate the slack inside the clutch pack or just the damper seat??
Is there anything else i could try?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

What kind of oil in the primary??? I replaced a clutch on my Sportster years ago (Energy One) and they recommended using Type F ATF fluid. They said not to use the HD Syn 3 oil as that had additives to make the oil a bit more slippery and they had experienced some issue with clutch slippage. There are couple of threads about oils for primaries....do a search and check them out. Otherwise I attach the following to new members....

Welcome from Spartan Country, Michigan!
I tell a lot of new comers to the forum to get: Factory Service manual and the Parts manual. Get a three ring binder and record all your maintenance, repairs, accessories, etc. This will be a great reminder of what was done when. And great material to pass along to the new owner should you sell and upgrade. Also know how large your fuel tank is, and record your fuel usage. I have an app called Simply Auto that I record all my fuel used. I use the odometer and use the fuel gage as reference only. I reset the odometer to zero on fill ups, and I know I can safely get 200 miles on a tank on around town riding.
Good Luck!!

 

Welcome to the Forum

 

I would suspect that the splines on the inner clutch hub or the tranny pulley are stripped out.

 

Maxima v twin primary oil non synthetic

 

@critter85 sounds interesting. With the bike jacked up and the wheels free I can shift down into first and hold the back wheel with my hands. But like I said no matter how many times I adjusted the clutch pack still has about 1/16 of an inch of play when it should be engaged

 

@critter85 Okay so I decided to test out your theory but without taking my inner primary off because if I do that I need to replace all the gaskets Etc I clicked the bike into gear and held the inner basket with a breaker bar my sliding it in between the both holes to see if I could move the interbasket freely of the back tire. But as hard as I tried I could not get it to move independent from the back tire while the bike is in gear. Would this be sufficient enough troubleshooting to assume the inner hub clutch basket or pulley is not stripped???

 

The is so much here that does not make sense.

1. Pressure plate should only move about 0.080 to 0.100 inch when pulling the clutch lever. Not 1/4 inch. Is the whole clutch pack moving also?
2. Primary oil won't make any difference.
3. Damping ring and spring won't make any difference in clutch engagement. It will make a difference in friction zone width.
4. not sure how you are twisting the inner basket with a beaker bar.
5. Sounds like the clutch started to slip on take off and not drag. They are supposed to drag during take off, It's call the fiction zone.
6. Did the problem get worse when you first tried to adjust the clutch?

You are saying the clutch does not engage. Try draining the primary oil, and pulling the clutch cover (not the whole primary) so you can see the clutch. Start the bike up and place in gear, lock the rear brake and let the clutch out. Does the pressure plate spin? If it does, you got something stripped between the rear wheel and the inner clutch hub. If it doesn't, you likely have a stack up issue in the clutch plates or improper clutch adjustment.

With the center adjuster unscrewed some, can you move the inner hub in and out?