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01 FLSTC Clutch Problem

rollingstone7

rollingstone7

Member
Hello Everyone,
Was out doing errands and after getting fuel, pulled in my clutch lever and hit the starter. Motor turned over but bike inched forward as it did. So, I put it in neutral and started no problem. I suspected I needed a clutch adjustment. Waited till morning and did adjustment with the bike cold. Here's the problem: Before adjusting, I slacked my cable till the lever was on the bars. After the adjustment, I went to tighten the cable back, and ran totally off the adjuster. This led to my rechecking the clutch adjustment I did, (a couple of times!). Now after inspecting and moving the cable back and forth at the lever, I've determined that the cable is just not returning to full release position like it should. It is....STUCK. Before I drain my gear oil and pull my tranny bearing cover, can anyone give me an idea what might cause this? And is there anything special I should be looking for? Appreciate any suggestions. Thanx!
 
Your cable may be parting and is unravelling which makes it longer so you can not adjust anymore.

I don't think you need to drain the tranny to pull the side cover, although you may get whatever is in that cover leaking out.

You will have to take the side cover off to be able to remove the cable. But when you take off the side cover you may see that the cable is parting right at the end. If not there, it may be anywhere along the length.

Let us know.

Cheers,

TQ
 
Thanks TQ. I read some other answers to posts you made, and I'm pretty well convinced that the ball & feed ramps may be out of alignment as you described for a similar problem. Gonna tackle that first thing in the morning unless I get side-tracked. Thanx much for your help. I'll let you know what I find out.
 
Re: 01 FLSTC Clutch Problem FOLLOW-UP

TQ and Tourbox - Thanks. Thought I'd post a follow-up. Today I went out and drained my tranny fluid and because I have those V&H Longshots on, I ended up loosening my rear pipe in order to get the play to be able to remove the cover. When I got it off, I released the cable and inspected the oil slinger and did a visual on everything else. Looked okay. I removed the ball and ramp feed parts. I inspected the cable and no frays at all. I took the ball and ramp feed parts and cleaned them up. I put a small bit of bearing grease on each ball bearing and reassembled everything. I ended up having to do about four clutch adjustments before I finally got to the "sweet spot" and adjusted the cable. I'm back on the road now. I got a real satisfaction on the test ride just because I did the work myself. Not only did I save some hard earned bucks, but now I know how to do that. In conclusion, I can say that when you do a clutch adjustment, don't mess with the clutch lever until the cable is fully adjusted. I think that's what messed me up in the first place. Thanks again. Appreciated.
 
Re: 01 FLSTC Clutch Problem FOLLOW-UP

Excellent work!
 
Re: 01 FLSTC Clutch Problem FOLLOW-UP

Glad you got it. I use the grease also to secure the balls in place.
tourbox
 
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