I have a 1972 shovel with a dry primary. I can't get the clutch to disengage. I have torn through it and some of the bands were stuck together but came apart pretty easy. They were stuck together with an oily film. It doesn't seem like the shaft is coming out far enough. Any suggestions? I'm lost and really want to get on the road.

 

Hey there. I have a 1967 flh. Had the same problem. turned out it was the throwout bearing. Seems the thing lost a bearing and froze up. changed everything. works great now. Not sure if that is your problem but you might try the removing the cover that hs the throwout bearing. good luck

 

First off, do you have a factory manual for your bike? Adjust your clutch to the specs outlined in the manual. If it still doesn't work, start simple and work to the harder stuff. Is your cable good? Is your distance between the clutch lever and the top of the tranny in spec? If you pull your plates, clean them of any old oil and residue, clean the inside of the basket and replace the plates. As previously said, check the throwout bearing and pushrod. Make sure the rod is not deformed on the contact ends. When you have it all back together, adjust the nuts on the clutch. I always preferred to adjust them on the fly, 40 mph, 4th gear roll on and tighten them equally till the clutch doesn't slip.

 

dry clutch and they are oily?? i would check that clutch hub nut seal -- bet its leaking -- also i have seen the clutch push rod wear itself to where it sinks into the bearing-- pull the rod out -- remove everything from pressure plate to clutch hub and clean the whole mess -- buy yourself a new set of kevlar plates -- type this in ebay -->> Kevlar Clutch Disc Set for Harley Big Twins 1968-84 -- do not oil them -- just install them -- check the rattle ***** on the steel disc and check them for warpage -- a light sanding of those if there good -- when you re-install the hub nut put a new seal in do not destroy it and check the rod that it doesnt have a groove in it where the seal lip rides -- before you install the nut put a car a/c "O" ring on the clutch rod -- after the nut is tight (ya dont need to kill the nut also that nut is a left hand thread 1 1/8") -- put another "O" ring on the outside of the nut on the clutch rod -- check the steel plates the have "out" on them stagger the ***** one left one right -- feel the plates how they slide on the hub studs and check the hub studs that they themselves dont have grooves worn in them -- the fiber plate should have some drag but not where you have to force them.. if by dry you mean the primary is closed off but you still have a chain use 1 cup of ATF -- my ?? i like the BEL-RAY primary chain oil -- but ATF works -- re-adjust the clutch -- leave the derby cover off as your gonna have to fine adjust the clutch till you get it right

 

One more thing; If you are running completely dry, you are setting yourself up for disaster. The primary chain and adjusting shoe is not designed to run dry. If you keep running it dry, it WILL break and destroy everything in the chains path as it makes its way around the motor sprocket, to include the side of the motor.

 

the bike you see 100" pics- - one time someone asked victor "yeah you can do a big long burnout in 1st gear,but i'll bet ya cant light it up in 2nd" right on magazine street he stopped -- put the bike in 2nd -- brought up the rpm's and let it fly-- as the bike started to light the tire the primary chain broke --- fist word i heard was " i wish i could go as fast as that chain went down the street" but it did light the tire -- just not for long ---

 

I was speaking from experience. Trashed the primary on the bike in my avatar with a chain. I scattered primary and clutch parts for 300 feet. It took the track crew a half an hour to clean the track of all of the parts. Needless to say, it was expensive.

 

Don't ya just love it when **** goes boom !! . Been going through all my stash boxes this week and oh boy I had forgot about some of this stuff the memory moments the went with some of it . All out and in one spot I've at least 4 trans and good 300 lbs of odd gears & junk in buckets , left over from happy hand days . Was a bit hard on the drive train

 

Man I just got rid of a box of wadded up rods, heads with valves stuck in them, blown cases that would make you cry, pieces of cylinders, broke cams, tranny gears..........If you ain't breakin somthing, you ain't havin fun, or so I used to think.

 

kinda like this buzzing down the I-10 in the center lane and B0O0OOM fact is all i heard was the sound of piece going south and the back tire.. then i realized that traffic was bearing down on me..