Clutch adjustment ?
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Penna
Clutch adjustment ?
I would like to get my clutch to engage a little closer to the grip than it is now. Where is this adjustment made, at the clutch basket or the cable freeplay adjuster ? Which way would I go to get the friction area closer to the grip , less or more freeplay , if that is where the adjustment is or backing out the clutch adjuster more . Right now I have my freeplay set at about 1/8" and the clutch adjuster screw backed out 1/2 turn.
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From: Honah Lee
Set the basket 1/2-3/4" turn with primary cold. Be sure you do it a few times actually going in past no play a turn or so to deburr threads and pull the lever so you know your are coming from zero clearance. That is where most errors are made. If you are truly 1/2 turn out, your problem is with the lever free play. That can be set as little as a 1/32 as long as it is 1/32 all the way at both stop positions of the bars. Do it that way and you will fill the clutch starting grab closer to the grip. It also will not bang going into first on startup if you start in neutral while holding in clutch and continue to hold in clutch for about 60 seconds (till cold rpm idle takes it's first drop)
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Joined: Jan 2012
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From: Oklahoma
There are only 2 ways to do this, the hard way and the easy way. This is my OPINION, I am not a Harley trained technician. The adjustment at the clutch hub sets the relationship between the clutch release ramp/ball assembly to be certain that no release effort is ever applied to the clutch when not wanted. The cable adjustment requires free play to also make certain of the same thing. Once the minimum free play requirement is met, it can be increased to adjust the friction zone to suit the rider's taste.
Once the hub adjustment is set to factory specs, the fine tuning is easier with cable adjustments as there is no need to repeatedly remove the 5 screws, make a small adjustment, replace the cover and 5 screws and test ride and repeat until the desired setting is discovered. For you, shortening the cable adjuster will accomplish your goal, perhaps 1/2 a turn at a time until you get what you want. CAUTION: The easy pull clutch provides relatively little clutch release mechanism movement so a seemingly small change in friction zone might prevent full clutch release. The indications for that would be an increased "bang" when shifting into gear, a tendency for the bike to crawl forward when the clutch lever is solid against the grip and greater difficulty in getting the transmission into neutral.
While there are advocates of both hub adjustment and cable adjustment, once the minimum maintenance tolerances are met, it makes no difference which way you make the "fine tuning" adjustments.
Now, sit back and watch the smoke and fire.
Once the hub adjustment is set to factory specs, the fine tuning is easier with cable adjustments as there is no need to repeatedly remove the 5 screws, make a small adjustment, replace the cover and 5 screws and test ride and repeat until the desired setting is discovered. For you, shortening the cable adjuster will accomplish your goal, perhaps 1/2 a turn at a time until you get what you want. CAUTION: The easy pull clutch provides relatively little clutch release mechanism movement so a seemingly small change in friction zone might prevent full clutch release. The indications for that would be an increased "bang" when shifting into gear, a tendency for the bike to crawl forward when the clutch lever is solid against the grip and greater difficulty in getting the transmission into neutral.
While there are advocates of both hub adjustment and cable adjustment, once the minimum maintenance tolerances are met, it makes no difference which way you make the "fine tuning" adjustments.
Now, sit back and watch the smoke and fire.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 539
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From: Penna
So I should have slop in the cable adjuster before setting the 1/2 - 3/4 turn on the clutch basket, then set the freeplay of the cable after the adjustment is made on the clutch basket, correct ?
My understanding per the manual is that the cable should be loose before trying to setting the clutch basket.
My understanding per the manual is that the cable should be loose before trying to setting the clutch basket.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Honah Lee
So I should have slop in the cable adjuster before setting the 1/2 - 3/4 turn on the clutch basket, then set the freeplay of the cable after the adjustment is made on the clutch basket, correct ?
My understanding per the manual is that the cable should be loose before trying to setting the clutch basket.
My understanding per the manual is that the cable should be loose before trying to setting the clutch basket.
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Makes sense to me!