So I just picked up a 1995 Softail Springer. I'm a noob to this, so bear with me.

When I purchased the bike, the previous owner had lowered the suspension as far as possible being that he was a fairly short guy. I'm not, and I'm pretty heavy too, so I had to raise it back up to stock after I found I was bottoming it out regularly. Problem is that now it wont' move when it is in gear. The motor runs fine and the transmission shifts with ease, but it pulls with all the force of one of those Power Wheels children's toys. On flat ground it pulls me a along a bit, but on a hill, I can roll it backwards in first gear. Looking at the belt on the rear sprocket you can see it isn't slipping there, or moving for that matter, so I'm guessing I have to pull off the primary and get a look inside. It's not making any odd sounds, nor did it at any point, but when I pulled off the derby cover, there was a distinct smell of burnt rubber...

I assume that this is something to do with the raised suspension causing the belt to slip due to a change in distance, or something to this effect. Any advice you good people can give me on how to fix it would be very sincerely appreciated. Thanks in advance.

After looking around a bit, I'm starting to think that maybe this is a clutch problem. I was told that the belt slipping isn't very likely. Does a clutch problem sound feasible to anyone? Is it possible it is an adjustment issue? The bike took a spill on the clutch side, so is it possible that the hit would cause the clutch not to engage fully and slip? The bike has 31,000 miles on it, so I wouldn't think it impossible that the clutch plate is worn out as well. Would a worn out clutch behave this way? My experience with worn out clutches in cars tells me that it would either slip occasionally, or at least make some noise, but I'm am fully aware that a Harley is a completely different beast. Thanks to anyone who can help, or at least point me in the right direction. I'm very proficient in Photoshop, so anyone who can give me some concrete guidance on this matter I would be glad to reciprocate with that if you want to see how something would look on your bike or try out some new paint. I'll also be glad to answer any questions if I haven't been clear enough.

I don't know anything about bikes, but i do wrench on cars for a living. Try shifting into first, and slowly letting out the clutch while staying on the brakes. If the engine continues to turn over without stalingwith the clutch out and standing on your brakes, I would say the clutch is toast. This is a quick test on cars, and I would assume it should work fora bike.

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Definitely can apply the brakes and keep the engine running. It's seems as thought the clutch won't engage. Do you think that it could be an adjustment issue caused when I laid it down or is it most likely the clutch plate or something of that nature being burnt up?

Thanks very much for the reply!

If it were me I would take off the primary cover after draining the primary oil and have a look inside. It sounds like the clutch is either out of adjustment or maybe a nut backed off and your slipping on the shaft( had that happen once). You don't need to open the primary up that much to look but since it's a new bike to you I would inspect what the old owner might have done. Loosen the adjusting screw on the clutch cable until it is entirely loose and readjust the clutch at the clutch hub. That little screw in the middle of the clutch, back off the lock nut and turn the screw in until you feel it snug and back it out 1/4 to 1/2 turn( I do 1/4 turn) and tighten the lock nut again and readjust the adjustment on the cable. I would then start the bike and see if things worked better before I put the primary back on( not ride it with the cover off, just see if it's working).

Schoney, I will definitely give that a try tomorrow. Thank you very much for the advice, and I'll post up my results.

Did as you described, Schoney, and low and behold, the bike seems to pull itself along as it is supposed to. I didn't have a chance to take it out and properly run it around as it is raining like a mother here, but there is at least a major improvement.