i just picked up a 1980 sporster yesterday if fires right up sounds good, i live around detroit so i couldn't take it for a ride so i over looked the clutch but any way got it home and it seams the clutch isn't engageing i was told it has a brand new clutch in it any sugestions why it might not be working. i tryed to put more tention on the cable and still nothing. any help apreciated, i am new to the harley

 

..could be several factors,,like cable not sliding do to corosion,
did it move any at all???did it pull 1/4 way then stick in??
but first look the condition of cabel over,if your lucky thats
what it is,,try lubication of cable first,,good luck,could be clucth
locked up,,lots of things it could be,,

 

the cables good i put tention on the cable and pulled the clutch in and could hear a pop so i guess its some thing in side. knowing my luck i will have to replace the clutch

 

That pop may have been your wallet springing open![sm=icon_rofl.gif]

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ok i talked to the guy i bought it from and said it has realy thick grease in it and to let it warm up a little and sure enough i took it for a little ride and he was right thanks for the help

 

The clutch plates were sticking together. Wonder why the trans/primary has "really thick grease" in it?

 

Isn't is supposed to have 90 weight oil? Maybe I'm wrong, I'll have to check my manual. If you live in MI, then it was probably cold, so any oil would be cold and that would cause it to be thicker than in a warm environment. So sure, after it warms up it would thin out. I don't ever have a problem with that on my 83 Sportster, and I used to live in MI as well.
My manual says that the transmission takes 1.5 pints of Power Blend Super Premium Oil...what ever that is. That's for 79-early 84 Sportsters. It doesn't say anything about clutch oil that I can see yet. Here is what else it says:
Type - wet-multiple disc
Capacity - 174 ft-lbs
Sprint
adjustment - fixed spacers std. length 1.530 in.
free length inner - 2-25/64 in.
free length outer - 2-25/64 in.
Clutch shell bearing on clutch gear (loose) - .0000 in. - .0010 in.

I have not had to work on my clutch or transmission yet, but maybe they share the same oil?

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Gear oil is numbered differently from engine oil. The viscosity number is doubled to prevent someone from putting 40wt gear oil in an engine. Therefore, the same weight gear oil would be labled 80wt. Sportster transmissions, clutches, and primaries share the same oil supply (unless you have an early dry clutch model).The factory recommends using Sport-Trans fluid, a synthetic oil, on all Sportsters '71 and newer. My clutch plates have never stuck when using this stuff. I live down South, but an old Triumph I used to own had stuck plates every time I tried to start it in colder weather using regular gear lube.

 

thanks for all the help and info. strickrodt70 i like your bike makes me want to paint mine all black

 

One other thing - you can get that "pop" sound when the clutch ramp assembly is messed up. There are two ramps, an inner and an outer. Between them are 3 small steel ***** that sit in dimpled recesses. The cable attaches to the outer ramp, and when you pull it, the ramps ride up over the ***** and push the clutch plates apart. If this is assembled wrong and/or one or more of the ***** are missing, you'll get a pop as the ramps don't work against each other correctly - and the chutch won't work, either. It's also possible to adjust the cable so tight that when you pull the clutch lever, you make the outer ramp jump all the wayto the next recess with a pop, and then the clutch won't work until the mechanism is reset. Good luck. BTW, I have a black bike too!