Today I did the 20K mile service on my Sporty. I don't know a lot of the history on this bike (as I bought it only a month or so ago) but when I rode it and slowly let out the clutch in 1st gear it would slip. I did a clutch adjustment and it didn't help at all. Well with a little bit of research some people said that changing the primary fluid could help. I drained the fluid, refilled it and adjusted the primary chain (since I was already down there) and NO MORE SLIPPING! Magic! I will say, I don't think the fluid was ever changed. That stuff was BLACK! I know on cars, changing transmission fluid can help with slipping so it would make sense that the same would be true on a motorcycle. I just thought I'd put that out there in case someone else is experiencing a similar issue. I'm not suggesting it will fix this type of problem in every case, but it's a cheap and easy thing to try prior to whipping out your entire clutch assembly and replacing it (which was what I was about to do).

 

Any little / shiny brass pieces in the fluid you drained? Sportsters have a spring plate in the clutch assembly that will eventually fail depending on mileage and abuse. If the slipping returns you should plan on replacing the clutch friction discs and spring plate.

 

No brass pieces or anything like that. At least not that I saw.

 

It's always a good idea to change the fluids right away when you buy a used bike. Never trust the previous owner's maintenance.

 

So..... What type of fluid it you put in your bike?

 

And anything used that has a motor.

 

Used the Harley brand primary fluid.