Even when I start my 2010 Ultra in neutral, when I shift to 1st gear, the bike makes a lurch and the sound from the transmission is a loud clunking sound. Am I missing something during routine maintenance?

 

I would start there, but it's probably never going to go away completely.

 

There are 2 clutch adjustments that may be needed. One is the clutch cable if equiped and the other is the clutch basket, behind the primary cover. Both are easy to do and basket adjustment must be done with engine cold. A shop manual or you-tube can explain it in detail. Some clunk is normal, but a properly adjusted clutch will suppress the clunk.

 

As others have mentioned, make sure the clutch/cable are adjusted properly for starters. Even then you will still notice it especially when the bike is cold. One thing I do is simply hold the clutch in for a few seconds (when possible) before dropping into gear......smooth as silk. It is the nature of a wet clutch application.

 

If you have a cable clutch there are helpful Stickies over in the Tech Primary section that are worth a read. Correct adjustment involves setting the clutch correct first, then the cable.

 

Listen to this man. He knows.

 

As he said, it's the nature of a wet clutch. Especially if the bike has been sitting for a while and the clutch plates have dried out and stuck together. If it only does it once at start up and the clutch works fine from then on with no slippage when accelerating or trying to creep when stopped in gear, your clutch is probably fine. To quote the HD mechanics most common phrase "They all do that." As Jackhole said you can hold the clutch in and let it get some oil or like I do, expect it, grab a lot of brake and let it try to lurch forward

If you've never adjusted a clutch and think it would help, read up here with the search function. I've seen video's that explain how to adjust the clutch and cable and there are a lot of clutch related threads. I've also seen threads here of people that tried to adjust their clutch, messed it up, and had hell getting it right. Some people are good at it and feel that it's part of the routine maintenance and adjust their clutch every time they service the bike. Me personally, I don't touch mine if it feels right. How do adjust it if it's already working perfectly? My Road King has 115,000 miles on it and has been adjusted four times. Once at 1,000 miles, then at 70,000 when the compensator went out, 75,000 when the transmission leaked, and again at 110,000 when I had it rebuilt. In between I simply adjusted the cable since it had stretched. In that time I never felt it slip or creep so I never felt the need to adjust the clutch basket.

Good luck.

 

If mine didn't clunk going into first cold, I would not leave the house on it.
That aint right!
The other day at a State Park, way off in the distance I saw someone get on a new shiny bike and crank it up. I wondered if it was a Harley. Then I heard "CLAM" going into first gear. I thought "Yep, it's a Harley".

 

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The " Lurch forword " when going from neutral into 1st gear should only happen when the motor/prim case oil is cold making clutch plates more likely to stick together & not easily/properly release thats needed to get an easier /less abrupt feeling & sounding shift from neutral into 1st gear especially when the motor/prim are cold/not @ norm op temp.

But if the lurch forward still happens going into 1st gear from neutral when the motor/prim case oil is up to full normal op temp/hot then the clutch likely needs adj to get more/proper clutch disengagement & if that doesnt stop the lurch forward going into 1st gear then the clutch plates and or metal spacers may be warped causing them to hang up & not release properly/fully when the clutch is disengaged .

Warped clutch plates & metal spacers can be caused by for example overheating of prim case & oil or if clutch spring is weak allowing clutch to slip overheating the clutch pack & prim case oil,etc.

As for the loud clunk when shifting into 1st or any other gears too,unfortunately thats normal for the HD trans as long as clutch is adj correctly and is also in good op cond not having warped pleates etc.

But with that said some guys go to a 50/50 mix of std dino prim oil & ATF (or all ATF) which in some cases greatly reduces the clunk when shifting or completely stops it.

Thats because the atf allows the clutch plates in the clutch pack to more easily release from each other when pulling in the clutch lever in to disengage the clutch when shifting.

But there has been many a debate here in hdforums with some people saying running 100% atf in prim isnt an issue and some that said they felt going to 100% atf led to premature IPB failure in their HD.

So its somewhat a tossup ,does the big clunk when shifting over time/miles cause any issues/damage to the trans or does ATF in fact cause issue with IPB?

The fact on that is until someone does some real time testing on mult bikes in all sorts of cond over many miles there absolutely no way to accurately tell if the 50/50 mix or 100% AFT is in fact an issue or not when used in an HD primary case over a lot of miles.

So with that said if anyone is thinking of trying atf in the prim to reduce clunking when shifting i'd rec trying the 50/50 mix of std prim case oil like spectro's 85w prim oil they specifically formulate for HD's prim case along with atf .

Thats because i feel that 50/50 mix should be a bit more robust lubricating mixture that may be enough to improve release of STICKY clutch plates in the clutch pack while at the same time still providing enough protection in the prim case for the IPB & Compensator too vs going with 100% ATF that no matter what anyone says there is no way anyone can tell for sure if ATF lubes just as well in an HD Prim Case it was never designed to lube in the 1st place.

Someday I just may try the 50/50 mix (std prim oil & ATF) thats hopefully a robust enough lube mixture in my bikes primary when i get tired cringing every time i hear the loud clunk that could also be called a loud "bang" when shifting my HD to hopefully reduce or stop the clunk all together which could be coming sooner then later!/LOL!!!

But i wont run full 100% atf in the primary because i dont have enough faith & or solid proof AFT alone lubes just as good or better then std prim case oil does that's specifically formulated for that app having to lube the clutch,compensator, IPB ,etc.

Thats JMHO & $.02 with nothing to back it up other then having 4.5 decades of 1st hand experience wrenching bikes/cars/classic muscle cars/building motors etc under my belt to draw on & pass along to fellow HDForums members which i hope helps someone out.

Scott

 

Good one