My Road King (2004) has been sitting in my cellar since late November. Now I squeeze the clutch, and she won't roll in gear. I open the derby cover and see everything moving fine, but she won't let go. Adjusted the clutch at the pressure plate, and the cable, but still the same. Worked fine when I parked it, but now she's stuck. She rolls fine in neutral, but not in gear with the the clutch squeezed.

I hold the clutch lever to the bar with a Velcro strap to space out the clutch disks. Then I've been pouring Formula+ over the discs, and rocking her back & forth. No luck.

Why does this happen. Will this happen every time I park the bike for 6 weeks? What can I do to prevent it? Most importantly, is there an easy way to get it unstuck without taking the whole clutch apart?

Any & all ideas much appreciated,
JR

 

A lot of bikes won't roll in gear with clutch pulled in. Oil sticks the plates. Usually pop free when going into first.
Ron

 

I agree...I'd fire it up with all of my riding gear on, and put it into first gear.

 

Here's a follow up on my storage stuck clutch problem:

You guys were right (again).

I took the bike out of storage this week, clutch still firmly stuck after sitting 4 months. I started the bike in neutral, had a buddy give me a push down the road to get the bike rolling, squeezed the clutch & put her in first. Held the clutch in, and goosed the throttle once or twice; no clunk, no bang, no nothin'. The clutch just freed right up, and she's working fine now.

Thanks again!

JR

 

try a 10w40 oil in your primary like Mobil1Vtwin or amsoil or even atf. Formula+ is a 50w oil and will drag like that when cold.

 

Mine did the same thing the first winter I stored it. I had Syn3 in the primary then but switched to Redline primary case oil and V-twin tranny oil and haven't had an issue since.

 

Run ATF in your primary. I have never had the problem but then again my bike never sits.