I'm pretty much brand new to this forum, harley's, and bikes in general. I do have a mechanical background, and have been working on cars in one form or another for years, though.

I've had my 2004 RKC for almost two weeks now, and really love it. It has 27k miles on it, and the harley dealer I bought it from said it had just had its 25k mile service. They also said the bike had been bought new there, and had all of its service there, although they couldn't provide the records (hmmm).

Anyway, last night, I replaced a failing front motor mount. That part went fine, but I did find something unusual in the clutch operation, that I'd like some input on.

I went to roll the bike backwards. I had left it in first gear the night before, so I just squeezed the clutch, and rolled the bike. While it did roll, I did feel some resistance. To check, I shifted into neutral, and the resistance went away. OK, clutch is dragging. Being fresh off my MSF school, I always shift the bike to neutral before starting, so I've never tried to start it in gear. For giggles, I tried it last night. In first, with the clutch squeezed, the bike lurched forward maybe 2 inches, fired up, and then remained stopped. Slipping the clutch felt normal, and movement did not occur until probably 1/2 way out on the lever.

I shut it down, and again tried to roll it in gear, clutch lever squeezed (I call this disengaged, but some might argue, so I'll go with lever squeezed). This time, there was still some resistance, but it was less. I changed the mount out, and went upstairs to read the service manual.

This morning, I adjusted the clutch cable. There was in excess of 1/8" space between the ferrule and handle, so I adjusted it down to the 1/16" range per the manual. Tried the clutch in roll again, and it felt better, but still dragged. Tried the start in gear test again, and again, very similar result.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I read the clutch adjustment procedure in the manual, and once I get an inspection cover gasket, can try that, but I'm not sure if the behavior I'm experiencing is abnormal. Like I said, I always start up in neutral, and pretty much the only time I really roll the bike around is either in neutral (since I'm rolling out of garage, motor running, and don't want an accident), or when it is warm, like at the end of a ride, when things are 'looser'. Further, I just had it at the dealership (not the one I bought it from), for a new rear tire. I asked them to see if anything else jumped at them, since the bike was new to me, and all they found was the motor mount. My thought is that had the clutch been an issue at all, it would have been in their best interest to point that out, as well.

I get no grinding of gears, or trying to pull at stops. I also don't notice any bogging or other symptoms that the clutch is dragging big time. Its also worth noting that both times I did the roll in gear, clutch squeezed test, the bike had not been run for at least 12 hours, and it was below 50 degrees in the garage.

Clutch cable stretch was my first thought, so I adjusted that. Looking at the service manual adjustment procedure, it would seem that it is for the opposite problem, when wear of the plates causes slippage. I don't see how wear could cause the clutch to not disengage. Being an oil bath clutch, my brain says that in order for the clutch to grab when its bathed in oil, it must be quite 'grippy' when dry, like when I'm trying to roll it cold, without having been started.

So, in short, do I have a problem? If so, does it sound like an adjustment, or replacement operation? And finally, am I doing any further harm riding it in the meantime?

Thanks in advance,

Toby

 

Don't sweat it Toby, your clutch sounds to be normal. As you stated the wet clutch when cold will have a bit of "stick" to it. Even the lurch when cold is Probably fine. If they did the service correct with new fluid and an adjust in the clutch it will quickly loosen a bit. I always start in nuetral with clutch lever pulled in also, just a habit. As far as cable stretch, I would think that was over long ago with 27,000 miles on the scoot.

 

If the bike is cold what you are feeling is cold oil drag on the clutch. That shoud disappear when warmed up. If not you need a clutch adjustment which is easy to do.

 

Thanks guys. It definitely goes away when the bike warms up.

I figured it might be normal, but like I said, I just never hit those exact circumstances before.

Toby