free website stats program from hard pull clutch to no pull | Harley Davidson Forums

from hard pull clutch to no pull

rollingstone7

rollingstone7

Member
Some months ago, I was having difficulty pulling my clutch in. It seemed to get harder to pull as time went by so I installed an easy pull mod on the stock ball and ramp feed. This worked well for a while. I noticed about 6 weeks ago that it seemed to be hard pulling again so I did Gliders fool-proof adjustment, (which is perfect every single time, mind you!), and was good again till today. Went to adjust again due to hard pulling. I noticed my lever wasn't coming all the way back. After a few pumps, the lever was about a inch off my grip. Started from scratch again only this time when I finished, I could'nt pull the clutch in at all.
Slacked the cable again loosened my 11/16 nut again, and now threaded adjuster will turn in and stop, but my lever does'nt go out away from the grip. If I adjust at the cable, the clutch won't pull in at all. Drained the tranny and removed easy pull and reassembled but still the same thing. Anyone know what I might have done that would cause this, or does it sound like my clutch has been slowly going out?
Bike is 01 Heritage. I run Lucas 75-90 synthetic in the 5 speed tranny. I think previous owner said clutch was replaced at about 50K. That was over 3 years ago and bike now has a little over 70k. Even though my scoot has high mileage, it is maintained meticulously. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
Did you check your throw out bearing while doing the ball & ramp change. Also look at your clutch cable housing. If it got to close to the exhaust it can melt the plastic tube inside the housing and seizes the cable to the housing, won't be able to move.
tourbox
 
Tourbox thanks for your reply. I did not check the throwout bearing but I certainly will. No problem to pull apart again, I did'nt torque anything & the exhaust is still out of the way. The cable moves freely and is in good shape. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
 
Okay. Checked throw-out bearing and it seems to be okay. While double checking my reassembly of the ramp feed however, I did notice that the ramp assembly, (just under the c-clamp), had a lot of up & down play. About 1/8th of an inch worth from the back to the clamp. Should there be that much play or should it be absolutely snug? Just to clarify, on the clutch adjustment I know that when you "seat" the threaded adjuster you should be able to go past where it seats and the lever should begin movement away from the bar. After "seating" this one, I can continue the turn in only about a eighth inch and then it stops and will go no further with no movement whatsoever of the lever. Adjuster rod looks okay, not bent or anything. Thanks much for all your help. Appreciated.
 
Are you calling the snap ring,# 20, a c clamp? Take your ramp assym. apart and make sure the 3 balls,# 16, are in place. I usually place a dab of grease in the cups to hold them in place.


tourbox
 
About the 1/8 inch "play" I mentioned above. I realized in my infinate wisdom that that's normal and it has to have that slack to move the rod. DUHHH. Talk about feeling stupid. Anyway, I had my old lady, (bless her), slowly turn the threaded adjuster in and out while I held two fingers on the oil slinger watched the movement. I had her stop at first outward movement. Buttoned up the cover with just two side bolts and now if I gently hold the lever in, I can move it away with a turn in the way it should be. BUT, the lever is still about an inch off the bar. Is there a "default" or starting way to set the threaded adjuster, a recommended starting point if you will? Thanks.

I was thinking circlip. Don't know why I wrote c clamp, LOL!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As stated in Gliders adj. procedure, loosen the cable adj. all the way, collapsed. This gives total free play in the cable. Then do the rest of the procedure with total free play. I will then turn the center adj. allen screw in until touches,or stops, then another 1/2 turn or so. I'll do this 2-3 times then back it off 1/2 turn from the last bottom out point. When doing it 2-3 times you are centering the 3 balls. If that still doesn't work then pull the oil slinger assym., clutch rod & adjuster screw out.You can push the long rod out with small diameter screw driver or use a pencil. Look at the ends to see if they are worn from being to tight. If not you may need to go into the clutch itself.
tourbox
 
Thanks tourbox. I've already done the proceedure several times and everything is like it should be until I adjust the cable up front. I get it adjusted, but upon completion the lever will not pull in. It's just stuck in its released position and I'm unable to pull it in even a little bit. I'm going to change the cable and put a new throw-out bearing with new thrust washers and see what happens. Thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated.
 
I would suspect the cable itself inside the sheath. It could be fraying and binding up on the inside of the sheath. If you take the cable loose from the grip and the ramp, you should be able to move the cable inside the sheath easily with no binding. If it binds, or you can't move it at all, then the fraying is probably the problem. That would then require a new cable.

Cheers,

TQ
 
Sounds like either the cable is messed up like TQ suggests or the ball and ramp assembly isnt correct as Tourbox mentions above.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top