Not sure if this is better suited here or in DIY Clutch / Trans / Primary section, but seeing as this area gets more traffic I'll see if anyone else can offer some input.

The bike is a '95 Buell S2, but for all intents and purposes, the parts in question will be the same as on a Sportster of similar vintage. Bike began to make a knocking / rattling noise internally, which seemed to be coming from the clutch area. Clutch and trans still functioned properly, and the noise was obviously present at low speeds regardless of clutch engagement / disengagement or transmission position.

I promptly parked it and began a teardown to isolate and repair the problem before the damage could spread, and noticed the shavings on the primary drain magnet were larger and more numerous than I would regard as normal. Primary chain tensioner adjustment was within spec and no damage or excessive wear to tensioner. Upon removal of the primary cover, I noticed that the clutch shell / starter ring gear had been contacting the pawl on the shifter shaft assembly and the detent plate on the shifter fork drum. The clutch mainshaft nut was tightened to torque spec, however I can grip the outer clutch shell and wiggle it in relation to the inner clutch hub, which causes the clearence to the shifter shaft and detent plate to change. I suspect that at stops and low drivetrain loads, the clutch shell may be bouncing against the parts behind it, and perhaps rubbing them continuously under acceleration loads. The mainshaft, countershaft, and shift drum seem to all have good endplay and ride smoothly on their bearings, and the gearset in the transmission looks practically new with no evident wear. All of the springs for the pawls and detent plate are as they should be.

Would I be correct to assume that there should be no play in the fitment of the clutch shell to hub, and that I need to replace the clutch hub bearing to eliminate the interference? Thanks in advance for any insight. I'm sitting at home during our local bikeweek with my ride in pieces, and haven't even had the chance to run a whole tank of gas through it since it came out of storage... [:@]