...Maybe a little sooner than I wanted to be.

Background: Purchased new to me 2011 FLHTK from large used bike dealer last weekend (6/4/16). 23,700 miles on it. Since then, put on about 300 of my own miles, almost entirely back roads / 2 lane.

Noticed the clutch slipping on throttle roll-on in 5th gear at 3000 or so RPM yesterday when I was on the highway. Got off it and throttled up more gently, and it didn't slip. This was really the first time I'd had an opportunity to get 'spirited' with the throttle in 5th at that RPM.

Got home and checked the clutch cable after the bike cooled off - essentially zero free play. Nowhere near 1/16th to an 1/8th inch. Added a little slack with the cable adjuster (about half a turn gave me maybe 1/16th or a little less gap on the bottom side of the cable. Haven't had a chance to go back out and test ride this change yet. I also don't have a service manual yet. So a couple of questions:

-first bike with a clutch cable running through the fairing - is it normal that the clutch cable ferrule is angled down a little (more gap at top than bottom)? Seems like yes, as it appears the angle required for the cable to go through the fairing is what causes this.

-Is the torque spec for derby cover screws 82-100 in/lbs?

I called the dealer today - they claim they 'service' the clutch before selling the bikes, but said their test loop is like 6 miles and wouldn't provide an opportunity to catch something like I describe. They do have a 90 day warranty on their bikes (that specifically excludes the clutch of course), and said they'll be willing to take a look at it for me, under warranty, if my adjustments don't resolve the issue.

I think I'd rather try doing the adjustment myself first, since they gave me the bike with at least the clutch cable apparently incorrectly adjusted. I gotta learn sometime.

Also, this bike seems much more finicky about going into neutral than my '08 Deluxe was - possibly related? I'd think that lack of clutch cable slack / potential incomplete clutch engagement would make neutral easier to find rather than more difficult?

Other items of interest: all fluids are Spectro from the dealer - synthetic in the trans and conventional in the motor and primary I believe. No known motor mods (has stock exhaust and air cleaner).

From what I've read on these bikes so far, seems like at least one school of thought is that the clutch springs are too weak from the factory and should be upgraded?

Thanks for any input/advice/answers!

Dan

 

You need to adjust the clutch, then the cable. I had to replace the clutch pack in my 11 EGC after I put the stage 1 on it. It had 42k on it at the time. Roll on it getting on the freeway, and the rpms would take off. I adjusted the clutch, and cable with no resolve. Replaced the clutch and it was good to go. Heavier spring means heavier pull at the lever, keep that in mind too.

 

Adjusting just the cable may mask an incorrectly adjusted clutch pak.
Adjust the clutch first. The adjustment is behind the derby cover. You tube and searches on here will give more than adiquate instructions. Once the clutch pack is adjusted then you adjust the cable. Again, you tube videos will explain the whole process.
Yes, the clutch pak adjustment gas a huge impact on finding neutral.
And, yes, a stronger spring will give a harder lever pull but I installed the energy one +1 kevlar clutch with the heavy duty spring and it's not that big a deal even for slightly arthritic hands.

 

I might also note the internal clutch adjustment is best made when bike is cold. As in overnight. Also make sure to have plenty of slack in the cable when making this adjustment. Then the clutch cable can be adjusted. I would try this before getting a stiffer plate.

 

When you say this ^^^, might want to dump whatever is in there and try some Redline primary. Also, I installed this and my clutch locks up solid now.

http://aim-tamachi.com/pages/variabl...ure-clutches-1

 

On a near stock engine your clutch should be fine, including the spring, unless it has been abused in the past. As suggested above, start by correctly adjusting your clutch, to set a baseline. The process is set out in a Sticky in the Tech Trans section.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the rapid response!

I guess I should have been more clear in my original post. I know the proper method to adjust the clutch is the clutch pack first (with slack in the cable) and then adjust free play in the cable after. I've been digging through numerous posts, and watched a couple videos as well. But never actually done it.

This was why I was asking about the torque spec for the derby cover screws, since I've seen quite a few people who have struggled with them. I don't think that doing this is beyond my mechanical ability, but I'm not really a natural at this stuff either.

By the time I got home yesterday and the bike cooled off, I didn't have time to dig into it fully. I also wanted to talk to the dealer before starting work on it myself in case they had any qualms about warranty coverage with me making adjustments.

That said, I had time for a quick test ride this afternoon (with only my small cable slack adjustment). Not sure if it was having any issues in 4th before, but it definitely is NOT slipping in 4th at 3-4K RPM now. In 5th I was able to get it to slip a bit, but seemingly not as bad as when I noticed it yesterday. Yesterday's was after a couple hours and things were nicely warmed up however - today's things were just getting up to temperature - not sure how much difference that would make.

Is there a chart somewhere for gear vs. speed vs RPM somewhere for these bikes (I know there are some for 5 speed Sportsters, but a cursory google search didn't reveal one for touring bikes with 6 speeds - or maybe my google-fu failed me). When it felt like it wasn't slipping, I was getting 80mph at about 3600 RPM in 5th. When it felt like it WAS slipping, I was seeing 4000 RPM at 80.

It also went right into neutral smoothly when I got home.

Thanks again!

Dan

 

sounds to me your clutch pack is adjusted a little off, if u attempt it yourself i would highly recommend a handheld impact driver for the derby screws, I've never rounded one out with the impact driver. without it your next thread may be "how to get out rounded or broken derby screws.

 

-Is the torque spec for derby cover screws 82-100 in/lbs?

My service manual says 84-108 in/lbs. (2012) Be careful with those torx screws. T-27 is the one, not T-25. I'm pretty sure you got that by now.

 

Thanks for the tip. Now I have a good excuse to get an impact driver.

Yep, saw lots of 'Don't use T-25 bits on those' threads. Have a T-27 and a torque wrench.

Can anyone confirm 84-108 in/lbs for 2011? I Guess 90 would meet both specs I've now seen posted...