hard shifting...

[Chris in Japan]

Again on my stock 70FLH.

I have the feeling that by hot engine, gear shifting is harder than by cold engine.

Could this be possible? And why and how to solve it?

[Chris Haynes]

Clutches expand causing clutch drag. Readjust clutch by the book.

[Chris in Japan]

Clutches expand causing clutch drag. Readjust clutch by the book.

OK! Thanks, Chris!

[PRG]

Howdy Chris,

The old 3 spring pressure plate likes to lift off offset or at an angle compared to the 5 spring ones if there’s the slightest variation in your spring’s compression rates, which allows the edges of the fiber plates to drag lightly when disengaged building heat. Old springs may not fatigue with use uniformly so you may find that you’ve got to adjust your outer spring plate visibly not parallel to the pressure plate to achieve even lift off which is key. Ensure you have the heaviest clutch cable (outer housing) as some aftermarket ones collapse slightly with the clutch lever pulled limiting your lift off range. Clamping down the outer spring plate to offset clutch slip will only exacerbate this problem. The objective is to run the lightest clamping pressure without slip which if you’re not fitting new fiber plates, probably not a bad idea to degrease them with Brake Clean and brake the glaze with 400grit sandpaper on a flat surface Scotchbrighting your steels at the same time. If any of your hub pins have grooves in them, the outcome of any of the above is compromised because they entrap the plates preventing disengagement

[Chris in Japan]

Duly noted, Peter. Many thanks!

Your advice will apply also to my knucklehead where the clutch is also dragging.

Thanks again!

Kind regards.

Chris.

[PRG]

Howdy Chris,

Knucklehead - now he's got me pine'n away for that 47 I stepped aside and let David Wasserman buy from Rocky in Daytona this year.

While this clutch issue's sorta fresh on my mind. Shortish-to-long story here, may benefit you if either of those trans’s leak.

While completely distracted by Vin’s here for spell, hadn’t ridden either of my two shovels in 2 and 3 years respectively but after Eustis got a strong hanker’n to get one out. The 77 wet sumped filling the primary/clutch compartment a 1/3 of the way up. Despite the breather venting into these primaries, these clutches are designed to run dry. No problem, me thinks naively, I’ll just centrifuge that oil off by riding it, offsetting any slippage by tightening up the spring plate temporarily on this previous light feeling superbly functioning clutch. It basically fought itself to a standstill (nearly literally) and I eased it home gingerly and started over with some of the aforementioned activities.

So, with that all fixed back up, got the Sturgis out for a general resuscitation which included a trans oil change I didn’t do on the FLH – it was suspiciously low – and then got that FLH back on the lift and performed same. In the meantime, the Sturgis left overnight drained off almost half a cup of oil on the floor from a mainshaft fitted with a “supernut”. What!? Belt drives do not like oil on the pulleys or belts as it acts like grinding paste with grit to ruin both, so it had to be fixed post haste.

Turned out the first year application of a very small drive gear seal worked out of its recess and pushed the double lipped supernut seal outward enabling the gear oil to drain down the splines and onto the ground. Looking over at the FLH, it too now had a puddle of trans oil under it on a mainshaft also fitted with one of these seals. So, it’ll be 3 clutch/primary pulls in only a couple of weeks. If you do install one of those excellent super nuts, make sure to measure the internal nut depth to the back of the seal lip to make sure your splined shaft does not press against it. And though they combine a seal and an o-ring for the nut face resting against your sprocket, there’s nothing behind your sprocket where it abuts the spacer. Permatex Grey works great to seal it here.

[Chris in Japan]

Not bad, Peter! Flashy that lady in red!

Below a picture of my shovel...

[PRG]

Howdy Chris,

Very snappy indeed! That’s exactly what I was looking for 23 years ago pre-AMCA club days to retro a bit as it had the vintage look (shrouded taillight and drum brakes) while retaining a “real” charging system. A local Shriner had a trinket laden one napping under two full width truck floor mats leaned against the exterior wall of his garage, it having been displaced there by his golf cart. Crusty, 40k engine cooking miles in first-gear parades, not running and $3k.

The missuss and I were rolling by the HD dealer one Saturday am on my 83 FXR (that too bought from under a pile of floor mats, 2 years old, only 5,200 one owner miles with the ignition and regulator wires gnawed off by the owner’s hound dawg for $2.5k..those were the days) while I was stewing over pulling the trigger on the 70 and there was the ugliest FLH you’d ever seen in the used bike lineup. Paint thick as vinyl floor tile, the owner had given up trying to shoot it black pearl in his driveway and traded it in with 12k miles on it for then new hot commodity, the silver FatBoy.

The dealer had made disinterested attempt to make this look like a FatBoy by pulling all the dresser parts off and installing a similar seat. Sitting there in a puddle of oil amongst the other gleaming tradeins, it was generating no interest so for $2,500 it was mine. Seemingly within a week, the RUB’s rolled in and any Shovel that would crank and limp down the street was $10k.