Clutch / Newbie needs Help

Hi,

as you know it's often pretty expensive let the Dealer fix the bike. Well, in Germany we pay at least the two or three times the price you pay. So it's a good idea to do some of the wrenching by yourself.

So this is the first time I will do the clutch by myself. I have the manual saw the vids on Youtube and doing the clutch looks like I can do it. But it need some advice.

My ride, RKC 2000, has now 66.000 miles. I've noticed that my clutch is short of engagement and the clutch comes right at the end of the lever. But there is no slipping at all.
I'm up to buy a BDL Engery ONE BT14, wich just should be fine to my stock setup

Yes I did the proper clutch adjustment.

- Do you think this short engagement is a matter of worn plates?

- heard that by replacing the disks the spring(s) should be replaced too, especally when your clutch is over 40.000 miles. Where they talking about the Diaphragm Spring or about the clutch hub springs? Since I've no slipping with the worn Disk the springs should be fine with the new disks?

- the BDL Energy One shouldn't be used with synthetic oil because -one- brand failed in testing. They say nothing about it on their HP so what do you think?

- would you change the Damper- and the Damper Seat Spring also?

Just give me some Input

I myself like the barnett set up on a stock king thats more than you will need . i did the barnettset up it was steels and friction discs . my deuce made 96hp 99ftlbs of torque . and i run the piss out of it and i have used the stock spring with no problems at all . the barnett set up gives you extra plates so you have more holding surface area you should be fine with that . 243.00 us at jp cycles .

Are you positive you did the adjustment correct ? You back the cable all the way unloaded the balls on clutch ramp by pulling the lever thrre or four times. And then adjusted the clutch pack on the primary. Run adjuster in till it just drags and then back of as the manual states for that model. Then re adjust cable so that you have about the thickness of a dime at cable housing and handle bar clamp. If your lower adjustment at primary clutch basket is not correct your lever feel will be off. And make sure that your fluid level is correct if over full that will also effect clutch , im not trying to be a smart ass im just dont want you to spend money if you dont have to. If the clutch does not slip in high gear when you throttle down on it heavy then the spring at plates should be fine .?

When you backed out the adjuster at the clutch, how far did you back it out?? Service Manual will say 1/2 to 1 full turn out from seated...I set mine at 3/4 turn out...with that the lever is about 1/4-1/2" from the grip when it starts to engage...I don't think its worn plates,the stock clutch set up properly can handle a fair amount of torque,quite a bit more than stock...
Do the adjustment like baggerpaul said and when you set the adjuster make sure it doesn't move when you tighten down the lock nut...I keep the allen in the adjuster to hold it in place while locking it down...good luck, keep us posted...

So are all HD clutches the same? By that I mean do they all have the ramp (also is where the cable ball connects) that goes in and has a threaded screw that needs to be turned counter clockwise?

sporty like yours the ramp is on the left side were the cable connects and your adjustment on the primary basket would be a 1/4 turn out after you seat the adjustment allen. big twins are half or 3/4 turn off the basket depends were you like the clutch to come in . you are just adjusting the free play in the throw out bearing .

Yeah it is weird cause for my adjustment it tells me to tighten the ramp until I feel resistance than back off a quarter turn. Yep, we are talking about the same thing. I readjusted mine and it engages almost instantly. I like that!!

Yes, I'm shure about the adjustment. I did it the Glyder way witch is pretty much as you described it. For my understanding the adjustment is to setup the engagement point at the lever?

I agree the spring and the plates should be fine but why do I have this very short engagement?
I have had contact with BDL and they said "Yes, short engagement is a matter of worn plates". Ok, if it's not the adjustment and it's not the plates what else causes short engagement?

Your clutch is fine....

Try going out 3/4 turn instead of 1/2 a turn... Quote from Glider method "It's better to adjust the clutch so that it starts to grab at least an inch or more from the bar for complete disc separation." Which is what you have.Your clutch is engaging out an inch or more,close to the end of lever travel...and you want it to start to engage closer to the bar...The clutch pushrod adjustment is what determines where the lever is when engagement starts....

Could it be possible that your cable is worn and you dont have enough threds left on cable adjustment to take up slack . for stretch and clutch comes in very quick ?

That is possible too,but before buying new stuff he could try backing out the adjuster to a couple of different positions between 1/2 and a full turn to find a spot he likes the lever to start to engage... the more you back out the adjuster the closer to the bar engagements starts,no??

dam strait im all about fix it do not buy it!!! my old man told me a long time ago show me that its broke and then we will sell it to a customer till then keep looking till you find out whats wrong.

he could drain some oil out of primary and have derby cover off and make adjustments till he gets it right. it wont hurt any to start it and try it in the garage 2 or three times insted of putting it all back together. some people have trouble with the clutch adjustment hot and cold have alot to do with it .

Agree 100%...my old man is the same way...find whats broke,find out why it broke ,then fix it....he says now days a lot of mechanics are replacement junkies ,not mechanics...

yep...practice practice practice,then you learn...very hard to get it right if the clutch isn't cold, would be luck IMO...if the oil level is barely touching the basket oil level should be good...a tad low is better than a little high..

Thanks to all.
Hell yeah, this the right place for dropping my questions. Pretty good answers here!

Yes, no short engagement means the clutch comes quick. I haven't had the cables on my list. And to be honest I havent lubed them for quite a long time. Yes, it will be neccesary.

What I will do is just to lube it today do the adjustment a couple of times and check either it's getting better or not.
On the weekend I will check the threds.

Good idea, will give it a try.


When done I will respond.

keep us posted! and good luck!

So i've lubed the cable and ...... what a huuuuugeeee difference.

It feels like in need 30% less power to pull the lever and there is much more controll of the engagement than before. It's not like the problem (short engagement) is gone but i'd say it's under controll and it feels much better.
As all of you know, sometimes you feel there must be something wrong with your ride even there is nothing at all.
So what I've learned from you is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Today I'll do the final adjustment, then it should be good and in wintertime I'll have a look on the disks and meassure them.

And don't do what I did to my cables, for the last 15.000 Miles I lubed my cables just once in a while with some drops WD-40 and this bs. your cables don't like that at all and a lot of dirt will stick on your cable. If you do it, do it the right way.

I want to thank all of you for your fast and good answers.





What I did to lube the cable was this:


To remove the pin of the clutch lever I recomend a plier like this otherwise it is a pain in the a$$ job.


A nice Howto with lots of pics you'll finde here.

P.S.: don't try to fill 2 teaspoons of oil into a small bag out of an gallon can. Cleaning the mess takes longer than lubing the cable.

Good to hear....maintenance is a wonderful thing....