I was curious as to what the supposed advantage is between the old school cable driven clutch and the newer hydraulic clutch. My 2018 Road King has the latter, and I was just curious, as my earlier bikes all had the cable clutch.

 

Main (maybe only) advantage as I see it is it eliminates the need for periodic adjustments

 

easier pull at the lever

 

Wont have the cable snap on you!

 

Lots of folks saying the lever pull on the M8 hydraulic clutch is heavier than the previous cable clutch

 

None. I think it’s a ploy for the dealers to have another maintenance item. I hate mine with a passion but there is no other choice unless I go to open primary and just have a dry clutch, which I will not do because I have that on my other bike and I do not want that for touring.

 

I miss being able to adjust when it catches, I like it to come on right off the grip. The newer bikes I've sat on at the dealership seem to have a lighter pull than my '14. Tues I'm going to change the clutch fluid in mine. I don't miss having to loosen the cable an readjust it to remove the clever for stuff.

 

The cable clutch set up has been solid over the years. I’ve had a few. Got to be honest my current 2014 bike with hydraulic clutch I like a lot. Been back twice early for recall rebuild but you could almost expect it with something new like that. I don’t miss at all the maintenance required from the cable setup. Time will tell on how the hydraulic setup holds up. I expect it’ll prove to be dependable.

 

I agree.....

Just like a cable clutch, it still requires maintenance.... you'll need to flush the hydraulic fluid from time to time, will eventually need to rebuild the master cylinder/slave cylinder, and may even need to replace a clutch fluid line once in awhile...

 

Of all the things the MoCo could have improved on, the clutch was one of those they could have left alone.