i'm having all sorts of issues with my clutch on a 2012 sportster 48. (i ride daily, freeway and city streets— over 30,000 miles on 2012 48 sportster, though i do not ride hard). i first noticed the gears knocking a bit when coming to a stop in 1st, usually more pronounced when i first begin riding. sometimes it goes away after five mins or so, sometimes not. then i began noticing that the clutch lever seemed looser than before, although at first, i did not notice any trouble shifting. sometimes the position of my clutch lever seems to slip, sometimes drastically to the point where i almost don't have room to shift. then, magically, it seems to reposition itself. odd . . . then i noticed clutch slipping in first, from bad to really bad . . . neutral and lower gears can be difficult to find, at times, almost impossible. ALL these symptoms occur intermittently (at random), to lessor or greater degrees.

i made a clutch adjustment through derby cover and adjusted clutch cable per the service manual, though i changed one step— i first slackened the clutch lever by loosening the jam nut and then turning the adjuster on the cable, then i went in through the cover and adjusted the adjusting screw and re-installed the hex lockplate. the service manual recommends the opposite. i did this per advice from a youtuber mechanic that i trust. i'm not sure that this makes any difference. note: the outer ramp upon which the adjusting screw inserts seemed really loose. it took at least a half turn, maybe more, before it seated. i then went out the prescribed 1/4 turn and replaced derby cover. clutch seemed fine for a while, then all my problems returned (all but the knocking of gears in 1st. odd . . . ).

after more troubles, i tried adjusting the clutch cable. this seemed to work for a day or two, then more troubles. repeated entire clutch adjustment, cable and adjusting screw through derby cover. all seemed fine for a day or two, then more troubles. i have been making periodic cable adjustments and that seems to fix it for a while, but then it goes out again.

if i take it in, i'm afraid that harley will charge me for a simple clutch adjustment, which seems to work for a while etc. also, i read somewhere that the transmission level can wreak havoc on the operation, even disable it. my transmission level is correct.

 

the riveted spring plate/grenade ring may be gone or failing. http://www.motorcyclepowersportsnews...-spring-plate/
if you can inspect and confirm this, replacing the evil spring plate and stock clutch pack may help.


may not be the plate at all but, it's possible with that mileage if it was never removed and it is the stock clutch pack.


others will chime in

 

I agree on the spring plate ... with the symptoms you are stating and the mileage, and that the adjustments don't hold ... the spring plate is a very likely suspect ... Cvaria has you on the right track I think ...