Hello all, I have about 4,200 miles on my '18 Street Glide that I purchased in September. I had the clutch recall work done about 400 miles ago. About two weeks ago, I rode the bike on Friday and then attempted to ride on Sunday. On Sunday, the clutch would not disengage. Thankfully the dealer picked up the bike since I am about 45 minutes away. A few days later they called and said that there was an excessive amount of fluid in the clutch chamber and that this was a known issue. They drained the excess fluid and per HD recommendation die was put in the fluid. I was instructed to ride the bike for 500 to 1000 more miles before they could determine the next step for repair. (Due to all of the effin' rain), yesterday was the first day that I was able to pick up the bike. When I went to start her up the clutch would still not disengage. Fortunately the service manager saw me attempt to start and scoot uphill a few feet due to the clutch not disengaging. I parked the bike and waited for the the service tech to check her out. When the service tech got on the bike, the clutch worked fine. Instead of attempting to make the 45 minute ride home in the dark with the possibility of getting stranded I told the tech to keep the bike until they figure out what's going on. I was told that they had not seen a problem like this and since he could not find a problem, he could not fix it. So... Has anyone had a similar issue? Any suggestions? This is my first HD. I have been riding other brands for over 30 years.

 

Sounds like you are experiencing trans fluid transfer from the transmission to the primary, which is a very widespread problem these bikes have. Look around here for fat pushrod, the fix is in threads and you'll learn all about it.

That said, even if the primary is way overfilled, you would not normally be unable to disengage the clutch; it may drag a little though. Sounds like either the master or slave cylinder has issues. Get 'em to fix it and note the fluid levels. Your transmission is likely empty or near it.

 

The trans to primary fluid transfer issue surely has nothing to do with it. You can over fill the primary by quarts and the clutch will still engage/disengage.
Sounds like the actuator failed (again) and needs replacement. If the tech lets it sit a day or two again he'll see it looses hydraulic fluid and becomes soft; however, if you pump it a few times it will appear normal.

 

Thanks VDuce, there is definitely fluid transferring. ACC to HD some is expected. I did see the thread on the pushrods, other issues as well as a few snarky replies and a comment on purchasing an Indian. (There is no way in hell that I am going to deal with Polaris again after having to wrench and find solutions for my 18 yo Vic.) I went with a new HD due to the warranty and relative close support. I am hoping to get enough information to be able to speak intelligently with the dealer to solve the problem. Getting them to fix it without me shelling out more bucks and doing it under warranty is currently the issue. Ideally what I would like to see from this form is two or three other people who have had a similar issue and a solution that they found. I was told by the dealer's wrench that they had never seen this problem before.

 

 

My question would be, did the tech follow the instructions from Harley verbatim, or did they find shortcuts to save time. I had to return my bike to the dealer because the tech took shortcuts and did not follow the instructions from Harley. I did not experience any issues, but the dealer wanted to make sure recall was done correctly.

 

Thanks, That's a great question and I wish I had a great answer. Right now I am in limbo. I spoke with service, they say that they tried to repeat the issue yesterday and today. Since we are due for crap weather for the next week, I am hoping that something will present itself before the next over 40 no rain day. I'm also debating on how soon should I get the general manager, store manager involved.
FWIW: I was told that if I was in Florida I could get a loaner bike....

 

The tech didn't bleed the line when they did the recall on my bike. I have only a couple hundred miles since but have not had any problems with it.

 

We had the same problem. Bike was fine but after few miles there was this unexplainable loss of fluid in the master cylinder. Resulting in a not working clutch.

 

If you know that for sure (and I am not questioning you), then the TECH did not follow the proper procedure for the recall. How you can take the slave out, remove and replace the piston assembly and NOT bleed the line is beyond me. My shop has a big glass window so you can watch guys working on the bikes. I watched the whole recall replacement when I had mine done. He swapped out the slave piston, installed the new one, bled the line with a pneumatic bleeder and then hooked up the gauge to verify clutch pack functionality/movement was in spec.