I swapped mine out, doesn't take long and not difficult. I do have mechanical experience but if you take your time and with all videos available should not be a problem.

 

That's what I did. I have some mechanical experience, but not a lot. Knowing that, I took my time to watch videos, read articles and chat on these forums. After a few months and gathering tools and parts, it only took me a leisurely afternoon to do it all with no problems at all. If anyone is interested, I made notes of everything I did in case I ever do it again on another Sportster. If you're interested is seeing these notes, pm me. If I can do it, anyone can.

 

Same here, and the only reason mine was replaced was when I blew my engine at 203,000 miles

 

Well , my clutch went at 28,000 kms ...Totally shot .
Energy 1 was the replacement but i never knew about changing the bearing .
Lucky I had the energy 1 in the garage but it was not installed .
Going to order the bearing from Amazon , hope i get the right one . *** 7200B TVP Angular Contact Bearing
27.56 USD

 

You won't regret upgrading your bearing. When you hold them both together, you will be amazed at the quality difference. Cheap insurance for peace of mind and a much better clutch lever pull. Note that the numbers printed on the bearings are on opposite side, stock vs *** 7200B. You will have to remove the bearings from the housing which is not a big deal, press one out and press the other one in. I have detailed instructions if you're interested. Note that this job can be done at any time because only the Derby Cover needs to be removed. If you already have the whole primary case cover off, it's even easier.

 

How did you press the old one out? In my case, it was tightly inside the surrounding casing, almost fused I'd say.

 

Here is my write-up. The entire process takes just a few minutes once the housing is out:Sportster Clutch Throw Out Bearing Replacement

This can be done now or at any time the clutch ramp assembly has been removed.

With motorcycle sitting level on the Jack:

1. Raise the motorcycle on the jack. (If the primary oil has not been drained, it will spill out unless the bike is level.)

2. Remove the two clamps that hold the clutch cable to the frame. Remove the zip-ties and slide off the boot. Loosen the clutch cable all the way.

Remove the DERBY COVER:

1. Loosen the Derby Cover screws head bit in a “Star-Pattern”. Hold the Derby Cover in place while removing the last screw so the spring holding the clutch adjuster locknut doesn’t fly out.

2. Remove the clutch adjuster locknut. With a thin shaft, flat blade screwdriver, turn the clutch adjuster screw CW until you can manually unscrew the locknut and remove it from the screwdriver shaft.

3. Remove the ramp assembly from the clutch cable end and do not let loose of the clutch cable end until you have removed it from the clutch cable or it will fall into the primary and disappear. Leave the clutch cable attached to the primary cover.

Replace the THROW OUT BEARING:

1. Remove the snap ring which holds the release plate (holder/retainer) in place.

2. Remove the release plate.

3. Remove the retaining ring/circlip which holds the threaded adjuster screw in place in the release plate.

4. Remove the stock radial throw out bearing from the release plate by PRESSING it out. (See notes below.)

5. The new *** 7200B angular throw out bearing goes into the release plate with the wide-OUTER race going in first. The threaded adjuster screw goes in with the mushroom end on the back side of where you push the bearing into. This makes the base/mushroom end with a lip to be in contact with the wide-INNER race. The bearing must be PRESS-FIT into position inside the release plate. (See notes below.)


Once the adjuster screw is inserted through the bearing with the threads facing out of the other side of the release plate, install the small retaining/circlip that holds the adjuster screw in place.

The wide-outer and the narrow-inner races are on the same side. (This is the numbers side.)*

The narrow-outer and the wide-inner are on the same side.



Note:

· To PRESS OUT the old throw out bearing from the release plate, you will need an 18mm socket and a 32mm socket with two small boards and a bench vice.

· To PRESS IN the new bearing into the release plate you will need only the 32mm socket and two small boards with a bench vice. Be careful not to press too far. You can tap the final distance with a soft hammer and the 32mm socket.



*There are numbers on the stock bearing outer race which are on the opposite side from the new bearing. Disregard these numbers because they will confuse you.

 

Here is a video that has poor quality and no english but it starts getting interesting almost half-way through where this guy shows you how to press the bearing. Do not pay attention to the numbers on the bearings. They will confuse you because the stock bearing and the *** bearing are different.. Read my description on which side faces out. and take your time. It is actually easier than you think.

 

Cool, thanx! Very helpful. Next time I need to do that I'll buy a bench vice from HF.

 

Once you get your bench vice, you will wonder how you ever got along without one. It's like having another person help you. Be sure your bench is secured to a wall or something before you do any heavy duty pushing or pulling on whatever is in the vice.