When riding my 02 Fatboy yesterday, I noticed the clutch cable is out of whack. I'm fairly handy with cars, but am new to working on bikes, so bear with me. The cable basically seems to have way to much slack in it. I have to pull the lever in about half way before the cable itself starts to pull. It seems simple enough to adjust this, but my question is this.....is it normal for a cable to come that far out of whack very quickly, or is there anything I need to look for in terms of problems that could have caused this. Thanks all.
Clutch cable adjustment
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5,678 Posts
Honkylips,
Not sure why it would come out of adjustment so quickly, but I would look at the adjuster (under the rubber boot on the cable) to see if it has loosend up or something. I would also remove the derby cover on the primary and take a peak inside the primary to see if things look ok in there as well. I would be looking for clutch (Kevlar) framents in the primary, just to check and see if the clutches are holding up well.
If you need to adjust your clutch cable, you need to check the end play on the clutch cable. This should be anywhere from 1/8th inch to 3/16th inch. This measuement is is taken between the clutch perch and the cable. You have to grab the cable and gently pull it to take the measuement. Grab two wrenches and adjust as necessary.
Hope this helps.
Not sure why it would come out of adjustment so quickly, but I would look at the adjuster (under the rubber boot on the cable) to see if it has loosend up or something. I would also remove the derby cover on the primary and take a peak inside the primary to see if things look ok in there as well. I would be looking for clutch (Kevlar) framents in the primary, just to check and see if the clutches are holding up well.
If you need to adjust your clutch cable, you need to check the end play on the clutch cable. This should be anywhere from 1/8th inch to 3/16th inch. This measuement is is taken between the clutch perch and the cable. You have to grab the cable and gently pull it to take the measuement. Grab two wrenches and adjust as necessary.
Hope this helps.
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401 Posts
jockeyshift,
I too am new at bike maintenance, but my dealer has left me with no choice but do my own. Quick question on the clutch adjustment. How basically do you adjust the clutch inside the pimary. I mean are we looking for nothing other than a setting or what here?
I too am new at bike maintenance, but my dealer has left me with no choice but do my own. Quick question on the clutch adjustment. How basically do you adjust the clutch inside the pimary. I mean are we looking for nothing other than a setting or what here?
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41 Posts
You should definetly get yourself a service manual...It shows in, detail, how to adjust clutch cable. Per HD This is an adjustment that should be preformed after 1000 miles of operation.
Chris
Chris
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41 Posts
Ed Y:
A Quote from the service manual "On Models with hydraulic forks(FLSTD, FLSTC, FLSTF, FXST, FXSTB) after 1000 miles a Harley Davidson Dealer should perform the first scheduled service...CLUTCH ADJUSTMENT...Hand Lever free play: 1/16-1/8 in. "
Chris
A Quote from the service manual "On Models with hydraulic forks(FLSTD, FLSTC, FLSTF, FXST, FXSTB) after 1000 miles a Harley Davidson Dealer should perform the first scheduled service...CLUTCH ADJUSTMENT...Hand Lever free play: 1/16-1/8 in. "
Chris
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41 Posts
Yup, I mean the 1st 1000 miles...If that was not performed you could have slack build up in the cabling from stretch.....
trying to be helpful
Chris
trying to be helpful
Chris
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