king clutch?

[cheifrider]

hi all, the 48 chief is all better in the front end,the"ism" now seems to be that the clutches are slipping .took them apart and cleaned them up, to no avail.any input on king clutches ? are they worth the dough and do i have to make any major modifications to install them?lastly where might a good place to get a set thanks,tom

[LouieMCman]

One of the best things I've bought for my chief is the King Clutch, I had no trouble installing (no mods) or with operation!

Louie

[NancyJo]

king clutch

Ed Glasgow has king clutch kits for sale.
100 Dutch Hill Rd. Tully, N.Y.
315 696 8076 or ed53ind@aol.com
He vends at Super Swap at Syracuse Fairgrounds
February 11-12
My husband is going to be putting one in our chief.

[20scout]

It might be as simple as adjusting your clutch. Everybody is quick to put in King Clutches before they even know what the problem is. As you may have guessed, I'm not a big fan of King Clutches. I have been running the original kind for years and never felt there was anything wrong with them in the first place. Check your clutch basket to make sure the posts are not bent. Or you might have to take out or add a disc or two. Engine and tranny adjustments are time consuming and get overlooked quite easily. Check the book again and good luck.

[indianut]

I agree with 20Scout. The stock Indian clutches work fine. If your clutch is slipping it is more than likely an improperly set-up clutch or worn discs. I have a King clutch in one of my Indians and it works fine and so do the stock clutches in my other 3. My 37 Chief with the King clutch got so hot in traffic once that I could not disengage the clutch and almost kissed a car. It did cool and work properly fairly quickly, but that is the only clutch problem I have had with a properly adjusted clutch in many miles on many Indians

[Carl N. Olsen]

I have had stock Indians with the stock clutch and they all ground going into 1st unless you retarded the spark and SLAMMED the lever hard and fast into gear. Every time you grind the gears it is unessessary wear and metal filling in your oil leading to more wear. I tried a Jerry Greer clutch in a 47 chief a few years ago and no more grinding and no slipping, in my professional opinion this is the best clutch out there as are the rest of thier products. The toll free phone # is 800-307-9027, give them a call, you won't regret it.
Carl

[INLINE4NUT]

Carl
It must be all those off brand MCs youve been fixin & ridin (HA!HA!) Ive found unlike the HDs with my Indians if everything is st up fine and not worn out they shift jusyt fine but unlike the other off brand one must shift like making love to a rare beauty! Smooth and easy,hey sem to respone much better!
On anothet note I would agree that Greers products are very well made and do fit well! A great choice for sure!

[exeric]

I have a King clutch in my '40 chief and I think it's great. However, a good stock clutch mated to good parts is probably just as good. I replaced the stock clutch disks in mine because the original was just plain evil. Now I can down shift and when I put it in first gear my friends don't say " Hey Guiseppie, grind me a pound !"

[20scout]

I put in a set of King Clutch plates in my 40' scout, ONLY because I could not fine a new set of the original kind at the time. In less tha 500 miles, I had to replace the because they had warped! So much for space age technology! Since then I have replaced them with the correct ones and have had no clutch problems. Taking in for possable human error, I still not sold on them. But what has convinced me the most is of all of the "old timers" who have ridden for decades (hard too I might add) and that I respect the most, will tell you the same thing. If you replace the exsiting plates with new, regardless of what kind, you should see possitive results. New is new, right? Just spend a little time on you bike to make sure of what the problem is first. We have all fixted a problem only to find out later it was something else. Bottom line is, do what ever you need to do to get (and keep) your bike on the road. Good luck!

TR

[cheifrider]

thanks for all your replys guys and gals . i certainly appreciate it .just to let you guys who are leaning towards staying with original plates know, i am pretty much a stickler for original parts and i spend alot of $ aquiring it .but this chief is my( "go out and do some donuts around road kings") model.so......... i have talked to ed glasgow(seems like a great gent)and he has a set in the mail to me , cool thing is he is just down the road from me.worst case scenario..take em out right?

ps. i did spend quite some time messing with adjutments and when i was done it seemed the location of all the relative parts was the same as when i started.i wonder if the plates sitting in sludge may have caused them to become just absolutely saturated.thanks again for the input,tom

[T. Cotten]

I have limited experience with Qua, King, and Greer clutches.
All needed some attention to detail that was related to the original hardware, not the replacements.

If your discs get warped in only 500 miles,....it's your own fault, dude.

...Cotten

[cheifrider]

ed did tell me that before installing these plates to fit them dry and INSURE that they moved freely on the studs along with checking to make sure the bushing isnt sloppy(allready checked and it seems to be tighter than kelseys nuts)the only other thing ive heard is some guys run atf in their primary,but i dont have a sealed one,any thoughts?

[20scout]

Cotten,
I am not above admiting that I can and do make mistakes. I am saying that based on my experiance and with from the input from others, I don't care for them.....OK? Just my opinion. If they work for you and you like them, OK! Just your opinion. Sorry chiefrider, this is your posting and I don't mean to disrupt it. Do what ever it takes to get your bike on the road safely.

TR

[Baytown]

King Clutch 1947 Chief

My 1947 Chief has had a King Clutch Kevlar setup since they became available in Australia (approx 4 years ago, if not more.)
I replaced the original steel plates due to grinding on shifting into first.
I ride my bike in a very hot environment, highway speeds almost every week, and I've been very happy with this item.
Yes, a steel clutch may have been just as good, as I still get some grinding if I don't match the revs vs shift, but all in all, I'm happy. I am the sort of rider that will replace internal components (electrical ignition etc) due to technological improvements. Once again, my machine may run just as good with a well maintained and set up original clutch, ignition etc, but I'm sold on these items.

Best wishes from Oz.

Ken

[cheifrider]

wow!seems this posting has gotten some real opinions.i do agree with baytown on the modern upgrades internally ,i put a electronic ignition in my 41 u and what a difference it made .i used to swear this bike hated me,and therefore i hated it(still havent forgiven it for all the@#$%^$$ kickin it made me do)and im sure a real wrench would tell me that it was in the points condensor etc.well i went through all that from scratch and the electronic ignition made all the difference in the world.i do believe each of these old machines have there own personality .if not ,why then does 1 guy have a one kick chief(cold)and the other has to go through the tried but true priming proceedure as is standard for most old flat heads. the real deal is to ride them regardless of what it takes .nothing like having a beer at the bar ,lookin out the window when 20 new bikes pull up and they poke,prod ,and then come in the door to ask.......WHAT YEAR IS IT?