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While you have it apart, inspect the clutch hub splines where the steel discs make contact. There may be worn areas that are causing the steel plates to hang up and not move smoothly. Less likely because it's steel, check the clutch basket splines where the fiber discs ride, there may be some damage, just make sure these areas allow the plates to move freely without binding. Also check the clutch basket bearing, see if it wiggles or is loose, that may also cause engagement problems.
Also check clutch hub to main shaft spline fit, that'll wiggle to, sometimes misdiagnosed as slack in the clutch basket bearing.
All I can offer is..The old Dry, Shovel Clutch (pre 1984) would shudder, and emit some Nasy noises, if it was oil Contaminated... When Dry, as intended...all was Good..
How that relates to a "wet" clutch???? IDK I only have One of those Diaphram clutches...and I dislike it intensely!!
2 thoughts
1 ck the rivets that hold the clutch basket together. Rare but have seen before.
2 Ck with Barnett about what primary fluid they would recommend.
I recall when you installed that adjuster. You had a ton of shims under the springs/shoe. Please put a new chain in there if you haven't already. That should leave you with a one thin shim and won't have the chain hitting the top bar.
I found the pic from back then:
Is that too many shims on the Hayden? Honestly, other than the clutch stuff (which is a more recent problem), the bike ran great once I put that auto tensioner in place. Smooth running, easy shifts, effortless neutral, etc. I'd hate to screw that up.
Got with Barnett. They want ATF in the primary, so I should be good there.
The plan at the moment is to clean up the basket really good and run it over to Mark's (friend with the repair shop) and have him give it a good look. It looks good to me, but I'm not sure I really know what I'm looking for anyway.
Had to order the electrical stuff from my dealer, and that's not arriving for a week or so. That gives me a little time to try to figure out this clutch.
Is that too many shims on the Hayden? Honestly, other than the clutch stuff (which is a more recent problem), the bike ran great once I put that auto tensioner in place. Smooth running, easy shifts, effortless neutral, etc. I'd hate to screw that up.
Got with Barnett. They want ATF in the primary, so I should be good there.
The plan at the moment is to clean up the basket really good and run it over to Mark's (friend with the repair shop) and have him give it a good look. It looks good to me, but I'm not sure I really know what I'm looking for anyway.
Had to order the electrical stuff from my dealer, and that's not arriving for a week or so. That gives me a little time to try to figure out this clutch.
Sorry Bro. I found that photo you posted 7.24.22 The one I had in mind was clearly a Softail with 1/8" between the chain and the bar. My bad.
Ended up with a new charging system and a cleaned up clutch. All I did to the clutch was clean the plates and hit them with some sandpaper per the Barnett guy recommendation. The steels all looked fine. No warp. No signs of getting overheated.
All back together and what a difference. The clutch works like it should again. Really made me realize how bad it had gotten. Back to butter smooth now.
Not much of a pic, but here she is in my dirty garage
Glad you got it sorted. I dont have any experience with the scorpion. Ive used a lot of Barnett stuff over the years, some BDL stuff and the pro clutch. One thing for sure is they all seem to have their own idiosyncrasies.
The Primo Rivera Pro Clutch I love when set up right, but it took a lot of trial and error to get there. The hardest lesson was who to trust. Smart people gave me conflicting advice. One thing Ive learned is Dry Dry Dry ATF only with the pro clutch. All kinds of people give testimony that they successfully use the pro clutch wet with all kinds of fluids some of the instructions say to soak the friction plates and run OEM amount of oil.. then you read newer instructions with the same kit and they were different All I can say with both the 113 & 127 is you have no choice only DRY works. I put between 10 and 12 oz of atf and it runs beautiful for thousands of miles put in 12.5 oz and it eventually slips enough for the steels to get hot, warp and then its done in less than a thousand miles.. soak the frictions and might as well throw them in the trash.
Dont get me started on the spring tension the black that feels nice slips the silver/grey spring holds but your forearm needs to be Popeye. The trick is ignore the factory amount you space the compacted discs.. they call for like 20 thou go 30 and the black will hold for a good long while. When it acts up and starts to slip, go back to 20 but put a thicker steel in.. then when that slips, go back to 30 thou .
They all have their little quirks.
Last edited by Rains2much; May 10, 2026 at 06:51 AM.
Rivera Pro Clutch i have still uses the same base has been trouble free for 10+ years on 1 qt of ATF, no measuring. Below soft pull, clamps like a cheap hooker on a $10 bill. Not seeing the scientific fluid measurement with a Pro Clutch like mentioned, it just works.
Last edited by 1997bagger; May 10, 2026 at 09:25 AM.
Rivera Pro Clutch i have still uses the same base has been trouble free for 10+ years on 1 qt of ATF, no measuring. Below soft pull, clamps like a cheap hooker on a $10 bill. Not seeing the scientific fluid measurement with a Pro Clutch like mentioned, it just works.
You along with many others have had great success. The “smart people” meaning people who know stuff that you can trust. Even the manufacturer use to say a quart, and pre soak the frictions. I failed trying that. Glad that works for you. In fact I tried it over and over and they just slipped and then got heated and burnt. I bought new frictions and some steels about three times in the first 6,000 miles. I believe it works for many. Absolutely didn’t for me.
Then on the other side I’m not alone either. Guys like Mike Magaro and the owner of APM and a few others told me.. but I didn’t listen to stay dry and only let the liquid just touch the chain at the very bottom of the clutch and that’s about 10 oz. If it slips some for even a hundred miles the heat warps the steels sometimes only the last two closest to the pressure plate. I have the 93 style basket that caused me the wort issues. The 98 basket did the same thing.. I started over trying to use the. OEM amount… ruined my steels by the pressure plate and had to completely clean the frictions and even leave submerged in cat litter for a few days to resurrect them and make them dry. I went to dry and 100z and now have 12,000 miles on the king. 7,200 on the springer.
Another theory someone told me is the friction plates have changed and the newer ones just can’t be wet, the older (same part number) did well wet. No clue if that’s true. I’ve bought steels and frictions from both Rivera and APM… same results. Could be your pre 98 frictions are still in stock from the previous manufacturer (if that’s true) gotta think the frictions I’m using are both the odd ball 93 hub and the vastly popular 98-06 hub.
Last edited by Rains2much; May 10, 2026 at 10:17 AM.
If my wet clutch cant get wet, its not for me.
Energy One Kevlar in the Evo
Alto Carbonite in the TC
Stock M8
piles of miles on all
Rotella T4 for all
No problems.
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