1988 Clutch Problems
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Tullahoma
1988 Clutch Problems
I have a 1988 Softail and am having an issue after a clutch cable replacement. While riding the clutch is not slipping and at a stop is fully disengaged. However, when leaving from a stop as I release the clutch lever the bike will lurch forward and make a chirping noise. It does not do this every time but is frequent enough to be quite annoying. I have read that the chirping noise is possibly caused by the drive belt but as this problem was not present before I replaced the clutch cable I'm not sure how they are related. Any help or direction would be appreciated.
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Tullahoma
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Haslet Texas
Damn man what size bars are you running???
Did you replace the plastic cylinder that the ring part of the clutch cable attaches too?
I've had one that wore a groove in it and would sometimes catch.
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Tullahoma
Yeah I like to run pretty tall bars. 16 inch apes I think is what they are, might even be 18's.
I did not replace that piece. So you think the cable is getting hung up on it as I release the lever and then moving that full distance all at once causing it to lurch?
I did not replace that piece. So you think the cable is getting hung up on it as I release the lever and then moving that full distance all at once causing it to lurch?
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,062
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From: Haslet Texas
FWIW I run +4's on my 16"s.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: South Carolina
Get into your service manual,
Perform a diaphragm spring adjustment.
Perform a clutch adjustment
Adjust the clutch cable
Perform a diaphragm spring adjustment.
Perform a clutch adjustment
Adjust the clutch cable
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Tullahoma
Yes, I had to do all of this. Like I said the clutch seems to be adjusted correctly based on it not slipping while riding or dragging while at a stop. And I would say 75% of the time when I take off from a stop everything works just as it should. But the other 25% of time its like I popped the clutch and the bike just wants to lurch forward accompanied by the chirping noise.
I'm gonna check the pivot pin tonight and see if that may be the culprit. My other thought was if the clutch plates are somehow binding up but I would have figured I would see that
If the pivot pin looks ok I'll tear into everything again and start the cable adjustment from scratch.
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Stage III
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Delaware
I would bet that it's your throw out bearing!
They are pretty fragile and just changing the cable could cause failure. Time to open the other side. If you have engine guards, you could lay the bike over on the bars and not lose any oil. I've done it on the road a few times.
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6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Tullahoma
This is what I found with the Pivot pin. A little bit of wear, so I'll probably replace it just for good measure but wasn't enough to convince me this was my only problem
So I went into the primary side first and this is what I found:
One of the bolt holes on the inner hub had completely broken off. I'm thinking with this being the case as the clutch was being activated I wasn't getting an even pull on the pressure plate and maybe causing the plates to bind up resulting in my bike jumping out from under me occasionally. My main concern is I have no idea what caused this failure as I know it wasn't like this when I put it back together the last time. Its more than likely a result of something stupid I did but I don't know what that is. I followed the clutch adjustment procedure and pressure plate adjustment procedure exactly how the service manual says to do it. Hopefully someone can enlighten me on what I may have done to mess it up this bad.
I'm gonna need to source a hub puller to get that hub off. Since I'm going to have to pull the hub to replace it is there anything else in there that I should go ahead and do while I've got it torn down this far? The bikes got about 40K miles on it. I figured I would at least put a new clutch back in it.
I did go into the tranny side as well. Is the throwout bearing refereed to as something different in the manual? I was looking at all the transmission diagrams and I couldn't find anything that was referred to as a throwout bearing.