Crossposted here from the Softail forum, via suggestion from FreedomRider...

This is an '84 FXST from the factory with the EVO engine, kicker and electric start, 4spd tranny, and chain drive. Late last summer/early fall, I went to roll her out of the garage (in neutral) to go to work. She rolled easy a couple of feet and then got hard to push. Squeezing the clutch handle didn't change anything. Seemed to ride fine that night, but it worried me. In all the years I've owned it (since 1988) it's always rolled freely in neutral.

Thinking that maybe the rear caliper was hanging up, or maybe the rotor was warped, I jacked her up, pulled the caliper off, and rolled the tire by hand. The tire would turn freely so far, and then get tight - again, this is in neutral. I never rode it again last year...because this is worrying me. Today, I jacked her up again and split the drive chain. The tire spins freely. Pulled the pressure plate, and the friction disks and steels. Hooked the drive chain back together (now that I've eliminated wheel bearings and brakes) and the problem persists. The tire will pull chain about 1 foot, then it binds up. It will roll freely the opposite direct, for a ways, then binds again.

This worries me because, in all the years I've had it, I NEVER had this problem. I've had it since 1988, but in all those years it's done more sitting than running - simply because of my occupations. I bought it used when I was in the Army and it sat. When I got out of the Army, I went to work driving truck over-the-road. I'd get it out once in a while, but mostly it sat. 4 years ago, I sold my truck and went to work locally and decided I needed to get her running and back on the road. A lot of little things needed to be fixed due to sitting. 3 years ago, over the winter, I took it to (by all accounts) a reputable shop. The carb (an S&S Super E) needed to be rebuilt, the regulator had failed, the front master cylinder was leaking, and the main reason it went to the shop was because there was an oil leak (gear oil) that appeared to be coming from the transmission - something beyond my skill level. Shortly after they picked it up, the service manager called and said that the tranny needed to be rebuild.

Spring rolled around, they called said it was ready to be picked up. Went to their shop, it was parked in front of the shop - with a PUDDLE of gear oil under it! Service manager said it was just leftover oil from the disassembly/reassembly process(?) Okay, brought it home, road it a few times, and every time I parked it, a puddle of gear oil appeared under it. Back it went - they repaired it under warranty - apparently they messed up a seal when they reassembled it the first time. Having said that, just about everything they did, I had to go back and tweak. The carb had to be tuned. I ended up replacing the front master cylinder because it started leaking the first month I had it back. I had to go back and COMPLETELY reset the clutch! The throw-out lever wasn't set up properly (the book calls for 13/16" between the lever and the shift tower), there was 7/8" space between the pressure plate and the release disc (new friction disc/steel should be at 1 1/32") which, according to the book, means the clutch won't release. And it barely did! At a stoplight, in gear, she would be pulling. Starting it in neutral, and dropping it into 1st would kill the motor, and so on.

Any thoughts? Is there anything else that I can check? To positively say yes it's in the tranny? Or no, it's something else? My fear, considering all the other trouble that I've had with the work they did, is that they messed up the rebuild on the tranny. I REALLY don't want to be going down the road and have the tranny lock up!

 

And, seeing as this is a cross-post

THIS is how she looks RIGHT now!
Notice... NO clutch hardware installed...

 

You say it ain't the brakes or wheel bearings. I see you have a spoke wheel. Is it true/not rubbing anything?
The only other stuff that is moving is some stuff in the trans and the rear drive chain.
The stuff in the primary case shouldn't be moving with the trans in neutral.
Did you check the chain for stiffness in some of it's links? It would have to be pretty bad/noticeable in the chain for it to make the bike hard to roll but it's part of what moves when rolling in neutral.
If the chain and wheel are okay, that leaves the trans as the suspect component in my mind.

 

chain and sprocket, hooked teeth on sprocket will try to throw the chain

 

First you need a new mechanic...if a transmission leak is beyond your skill level...this bike will put you in the poorhouse...it is basically a shovelhead with an EVO top end.

The best thing I ever did to my 84 was convert the rotary top 4 speed into a doorstop...but the baker trans I bought cost almost as much as the bike is worth in today's crappy used bike market.

You seem to have a service manual...you should pull the trans and have a look at it yourself...they are pretty simple, and there are tons of videos on you tube...you couldn't do any worse than your mechanic.

 

Can you turn the clutch drum with the primary chain in place, but with the drive chain off?
if not, pull the drum off the trans shaft, and see if the output shaft turns freely with out the chain attached to anything.
If it does turn at the trans, try turning the engine at the engine output shaft. the alternator drum is behind the engine output sprocket. The alternator drum could be messed up..a magnet or something could be jamming up, they will break if someone
doesn't install the drum correctly.
Just eliminate one thing at a time since you already have the primary cover off and things apart.
Did they change the tranny sprocket? Well, I guess the drag would be there all the time if so. How about the chain, is it straight? A bent Chain can cause drag like that. So could a bent sprocket.
i think a bent pressure plate or uneven adjustment on the pressure plate could do the same, especially if it's the three finger set up. But, I had the 3 fingers deal on my 1450 shovel and it didn't give me any issue.
I'd check the things around the primary and clutch since you're already apart there.

 

I just rebuilt my four speed kicker last year,put that clutch pack back together,remove the whole setup from the main shaft,comp sprocket and primary chain all together. There is a small key on the main shaft,don't loose it. Then try to turn everything,in neutral you should be able to spin the main shaft with fingers. Follow the manual.

 

Next i would pull the clutch hub and verify that the bearing in the hub isn't on it's way out.

 

Okay here is the latest...

First off, thanks for all the responses so far! Gave me some food for thought...I never thought about the drive chain binding, for example.

I got a late start today - rain delay! Unfortunately, my garage is like a jig-saw puzzle. I can get the bike out, but to get it on the jack and work on it, I need to move a bunch of other stuff, which I didn't want to leave out in the rain.
This is what I did today. I removed the chain guard, reset the axle so there was about 1" of play in the drive chain and the axle was parallel to the swing-arm pivot. With the transmission in neutral:

1. Clutch hub spins freely in either direction
2. When turning the engine over, by the compensating sprocket, the clutch drum turns freely but the clutch hub didn't move (remember the plates and steels are removed.)
3. Turning rear tire in normal riding direction, it is stiff, but consistent. Clutch hub spins with it, but can be stopped without causing any drag on the tire.
4. Turning the tire in the opposite direction, after about 1/2 a rotation, it binds and the clutch hub stops turning. After another 1/2 rotation, it loosens up and the clutch hub starts spinning as well.
5. Repeating steps 3 and 4 give the same results. After about 1/2 a tire rotation in the opposite direction it binds and is stiff for another 1/2 rotation then loosens up. It will continue to rotate in that direction without binding.

Next I removed the drive chain completely. With the transmission in neutral, spinning the clutch hub in either direction, causes the drive sprocket to rotate a few teeth in that direction before it stops. No noticeable drag on the clutch hub when the drive sprocket stops moving.
With the transmission in 1st gear:

1. Spinning the clutch hub as if you were backing up, the hub turns about 2 1/4 turns easily then binds up for about 1 turn, then loosens up and spins easily again.
2. Spinning the clutch hub in the opposite direction yields the same results. About 2 1/4 turns before it binds, then after a full turn it loosens up again.

I get the same results with the transmission in 2nd gear.

By removing the drive chain, you take everything 'behind' the transmission out of the picture. With the clutch 'guts' removed, leaving only the hub and the drum - both of which seem to be fine - this leaves me thinking it has to be something in the transmission. Thoughts?

Tom84FXST:
Yeah, I obviously DO need a new mechanic! I've done most everything on her myself, to date. I now have an air compressor, so getting the compensating sprocket bolt and the clutch hub nut off - which is mainly what I was worried about - should be doable! And I obviously can't do any worse than that shop did... More importantly! WHICH Baker tranny did you put in your 84? Last summer, before this problem cropped up, I had her out on the Interstate on the way home from work one night (I took the long way home ). At 70 miles an hour, she wasn't happy! She's turning about 3500rpm and that wasn't a pleasant ride! I stumbled over that Baker site and got to thinking that that 6-into-4 might be just the ticket...but I couldn't justify the price, considering it wasn't broken, but now...

 

Yeah, consider all the money at the last mechanic as a learning experience and never set foot in that shop again.

Does sound like something in the transmission is shot. Bent? Bad bearing? Dunno. If it was me, I would fix the 4 speed and change the sprockets somewhere to get a little higher gearing. Unless the repair costs start approaching a replacement like the Baker.

First motor I rebuilt was a Lotus TC that I paid a lot of money for a shop to rebuild. 15K miles later, as I held the #3 piston in my hand, I said, "You know, I think I could screw a motor up just as good as this and do it for a whole lot less money."