so anyway i recently purchased a used 87 fxstc and im trying to fix a few clutch issues. i replaced the clutch plates about 6 months ago along with clutch cable and cant for the life of me get the settings to take. i hav a clymers and hav been through all the steps at least five times. everytime i try riding it i get to 3rd and it starts lunging forward,backfiring loudly eventually dying. i can usually get it started long enough to muddle it home but then i open the primary seems to b rubbed up and the plates seem to be getting scratched up pretty good. any ideas would b appreciated. could this actually b trans. related?

 

Are you sure its not an electrical issue? My ECM went bad and caused the bike to "lunge" when both cyclinders fired, and no power when on 1 cyclinder, then the second cylinder would fire and lunge again.

 

The backfiring sounds like a timing issue,bad gas,and or a carb problem. The lunging forward is a clutch adjustment issue if the clutches were installed correctly.

 

if you have been through the clutch and clutch cable install forward and backward and can rely on the fact that you followed all the directions carefully, I would look into the two things mentioned above... looking at the high speed jet on the carb first to eliminate fouling... then on to the electrical system and the ECM. Be methodical and check off the things that you have done to keep track... pretty soon it will be running fine... it's not all that complicated, but it can be frustrating.

 

thanks for the advice at least i hav something to go on that i havnt tried. is the clymers sufficient or is it advisable to pay the money for the harley book to accompany this bike? i will keep you posted on my progress.

 

I've never used a Clymers book but, I wouldn't use anything but an H-D manual. That's my preference..

 

Sounds more like an engine problem, like whats beeen said above I'd fix that first then go after the clutch issue

 

+1 on the HD manuals. They built it...

 

check battery ground! mine lunged in first gear and the motor died a couple of times, turned out my ground strap was almost falling off! tightend that sucker up and its never done it again.

 

Mine did those things turned out the carb need re jetting it had after market slash cut pipes and a high flow filter fitted man it ran rough till I sorted it.