A few weeks ago, I noticed a slip in 3rd gear on my '08 Nightster. I had released the clutch lever, was twisting the throttle and then heard some racket from the left case, lost power to the wheel for a split second, regained power, lost it again, regained it again. There is a scraping-like sound during the split second that the power is cut from the rear wheel, then a "smack" when it re-engages. This happened intermittently for a while and all but twice only from 2nd to 3rd (happened twice 4th to 3rd). It doesn't happen every time I shift from 2nd to 3rd. I've adjusted the primary chain and the clutch, which seemed to make it less severe of a slip, but still noticeable. I recognized a few days ago that I can cause it to slip by running 3rd up to about 50mph, rolling off of the throttle until it drops below 40mph and then twisting the throttle. This causes the slip every time. This only happens in 3rd gear. With steady acceleration between 3rd and 4th it happens maybe 30% of the time. Yesterday (and for the first time) I noticed the slip as I was releasing the clutch lever. Since I've started doing the maintenance on the bike (20,000 miles ago) each and every time I've adjusted the clutch I turn the screw to resistance and then a quarter turn back - it lands in the same spot it was in to begin with. The bike has 43K on it. I don't know what I've got going on here... warped clutch plates, warn clutch, bent shifter fork, etc. Any ideas that would help to narrow it down (short of splitting the cases. I'd like to have a better idea of what is going on before I resort to overhaul). Thanks!!!

 

Sounds like a clutch that is slipping. Chances are your clutch is probably starting to wear out and it just doesn't have the grip anymore. That, and if you've been riding hard for 43k miles, it's almost a certainty.

 

I would have the clutch pack pulled and inspected ASAP. The spring plate in the pack may be failing (broken rivets). They usually don't last more than 40-50K miles depending on how much city vs highway miles you do.

If caught early, you can just replace the spring plate. Let it go, and you'll need a whole clutch pack. $$$$

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+3

 

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking that worn clutch disks or spring plate were possible, but wouldn't the slipping occur in the other gears too? Haven't had an issue with 1,2, 4 or 5, only 3.