I have an 04 road king custom. I bought a new clutch cable, checked it against the stock cable (they were the same length) and installed it. Adjusted it to give me the 1/16th to 1/8th inch play at the lever. Now, when i crank the bike and pull in the clutch lever i only get grinding. the clutch lever feels like its working, but it seems to be doing nothing. I followed the clutch adjustment procedure in my service manual but to no avail. any suggestions?

 

Your next step is to pull the derby cover and adjust the clutch itself. Do a search for clutch adjustment. There's been plenty of posts on the topic.

 

Here is a couple of videos on adjusting the cable and the clutch pack.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/1...clutch-one.htm
Good luck,
Tom

 

ok, I have done the clutch adjustment procedure from the service manual and the situation has not changed in the least. I can look into the dipsitck hole and see the ramp mechanism work. The clutch lever feels good. I can take the derby cover off, pull in the clutch lever and watch the plate move in and out. How far should the plate move? I have never been more confused. The gears grind as though the clutch lever has not even been pulled in. When I replaced the cable, I removed the exhaust, removed the clutch release cover, removed the huge snap ring, took out the ramp and ***** and replaced the cable. Put it back together according to service manual instructions. Does anyone have any more ideas before I have to look like the real idiot and haul the thing in to the dealership?

 

You may have pulled the ramp over center when you changed the cable. Look into the filler hole and push or pull on the ramp with a screw driver to position it away from the cable. Be sure the the cable is at its shortest and the primary adjustment is backed off. Then check the pull of the ramp and do the cable adjustments again.

This site is for an easyboy installation but the last few pictures will give the relative position of the ramp.

http://www.harleydavidsons.to/easyboy.html