Originally Posted by Steve Cole

Well we've all talked about them and after fighting clutch slippage issues it became time to take a hard look at why they seem to be different from bike to bike and look at the new HD SE High Capacity Kit. To say the least what HD has done seems pretty poor to me. If you have a 2017 Touring bike with the 107 engine you got clutch number 1 (9 disc). If you have a 2017 Trike or 114 M8 you got clutch number 2 (10 disc). That's right they are putting different clutch setups in them!

Now if you go to the dealer and lookup STOCK replacement Clutch plate kit you only come up with one part number for ALL M8 models 37000258. That is clutch number 2 from above! That's right they only sell the 10 disc replacement set for all models! There is a foot note in the Service guide not to mix parts from the 9 disc and the 10 disc setups.

So here is where it gets interesting, my clutch sucks and always has but a friend has a pretty nice feel in his bike. Both engage near the end of the lever travel but his just seemed nicer and smoother than mine so yesterday we tore them apart to have a look. Mine is a 2017 RK his is a 2017 Road Glide both with 107 M8 engines. We get them apart and as expected mine had a 9 disc with white stripe springs installed. Get his apart and his has the 10 disc with white stripe springs. Now according to all the books his should have been a 9 disc just like mine! So they must be getting them mixed up on the production line during assemble.

So down at the dealership to order the 10 disc 37000258 is when we found all the book information and of coarse they do not stock one and they are on back order, so I said how about the NEW SE High Capacity clutch, nope, no stock. So we start looking up its component parts and low and behold it is a combination of a 37000258 clutch pack and 37000288 springs! So the New and improved SE Clutch kit is nothing more than the stock 10 disc clutch with heavier springs!

So for those of you with a Trike or a 114 factory engine do not bother with the SE clutch as you already have it, you just need the heavier springs which are only $24.95. For the rest of us who knows what you got as some will have gotten lucky like my buddy and already have it.

White stripe springs are a new LOWER pressure spring Stock for 2017 M8 applications now called 1100N
Orange/red stripe springs are the Stock 2014 - 2016 A&S spring now called 1200N
There is a new heavier spring called a 1275N but they didn't have them so I could not get them but I would assume they have a different color stripe on them too.

Weather or not the 10 disc will solve my problem of slippage or not we will find out later when they come in from back order.

Originally Posted by Heatwave

I went through this recently while upgrading my 2017 CVO Limited to a Stage IV. I figured since I already had a "10 disc" clutch, I only needed to upgrade the springs from factory to the heavier duty 1275N springs and I would essentially have the "upgraded hi-capacity" clutch.

I asked the dealer to contact HD to confirm that was the case. HD tech service informed my dealer that their are 3 different sets of clutch discs. The 9 disc clutch in the 107, the 10 disc in the 114 and the 10 disc in the hi-capacity. The discs in the factory 107 & 114 are made of the same material. The discs in the hi-capacity are made of a material with a higher friction coefficient therefore you will not get the same load capacity (160 ftlbs at crank) by just upgrading the springs in combination with factory clutch discs. According to HD tech support, if you want the full rating of the upgraded hi-capacity clutch, you'll need the upgraded springs AND the upgraded 10 disc clutch pack.

All factory M8s (both 9 & 10 disc) come with the 1100N springs. They can be upgraded to the 1200N or the 1275N spings. The 1275N has the highest lever pull but to get the highest engine load rating it needs to be in combination with the upgraded 10 disc clutch pack.

Originally Posted by Max Headflow

Goods discussion Steve. Not sure which clutch I've got, 9 to 10 plate but with my M8 RK with stage 2 kit and stock clutch shoes evidence of slipping. After 2000 miles, primary oil was black. The black coating the inside of the clutch cover is a good sign of the clutch shedding friction material . Still don't care for the engagement either.. I guess I'll see whether it makes it to end of the warranty period.

Originally Posted by Heatwave

I went through this recently while upgrading my 2017 CVO Limited to a Stage IV. I figured since I already had a "10 disc" clutch, I only needed to upgrade the springs from factory to the heavier duty 1275N springs and I would essentially have the "upgraded hi-capacity" clutch.

I asked the dealer to contact HD to confirm that was the case. HD tech service informed my dealer that their are 3 different sets of clutch discs. The 9 disc clutch in the 107, the 10 disc in the 114 and the 10 disc in the hi-capacity. The discs in the factory 107 & 114 are made of the same material. The discs in the hi-capacity are made of a material with a higher friction coefficient therefore you will not get the same load capacity (160 ftlbs at crank) by just upgrading the springs in combination with factory clutch discs. According to HD tech support, if you want the full rating of the upgraded hi-capacity clutch, you'll need the upgraded springs AND the upgraded 10 disc clutch pack.

All factory M8s (both 9 & 10 disc) come with the 1100N springs. They can be upgraded to the 1200N or the 1275N spings. The 1275N has the highest lever pull but to get the highest engine load rating it needs to be in combination with the upgraded 10 disc clutch pack.

Originally Posted by NCTURBOS

If I pull the derby cover off to upgrade the springs, will I then be able to count the 9 vs 10 clutch discs, or will I need to pull the outer primary cover to count them?

K.

Originally Posted by GlidingJoe

So did you acquire the High Capacity clutch disc's or just install the springs?