When I got the bike, and so far since, when I first start it up and put it into first gear, it grinds just a bit. Now I've heard this happen on other Harleys I've observed since, even brand new ones, but it is not a healthy sound. Its fine after its driven for even a moment though. But I took it upon myself to try adjusting the clutch cable. I did this for a few reasons. I wanted to get inside and look at stuff, cuz its kinda fun. Also, the primary chain case leaks at the shift shaft seal, so I wanted to check a few of the gaskets and parts to see what needed replacing. Like the main primary cover gasket had little pieces hanging out, so I knew it would need replacing when I took it off (I also plan to paint it wrinkle black).
Nate told me they replaced the clutch cable, so the new cable is this really fat braided steel look. It didn't have a boot to cover the adjuster, which I'm not a fan of parts like that left to the elements. So I have to find a 4" long boot that is slightly wider than stock, which shouldnt be too hard, or I can buy the stock boot and try to finesse it on. I'm not really worried about it now.
So, on to the procedure. I followed the Clymer guys on this one. Quick note, the Clymer manuals are ok, but since they have to keep giving different instruction on 3 or 4 different sets of model years for the span covered by the manual, I feel like they leave out important details. It was $40, where the Harley service manual is $60. The Harley manual covers just your year, so you only have to deal with procedures that differentiate on different Sportster models, which probably isn't nearly as much. I wish I would have bought the Harley manual, but I am too cheap to justify buying $100 worth of service manuals that tell me roughly the same thing.
Again, on with the procedure. I noticed right away that the hex bolts for the chain inspection hole cover looked like they had been sodomized. I had to really jam the hex key in and pray that it wouldn't strip it completely. Luckily it worked, and $1 per screw later, they're shiny & new. Each screw has its own little o-ring, and the little cover itself has an o-ring. They were in good shape. Yay for good news!
On to the clutch cover. The first thing the manual doesn't tell you, is that the foot peg has to come off to get access to one of the screws, unless maybe you have some special tool to get into the wierd space, but then the peg would really be in the way if you didn't take it off. So the peg cam off at the mount. Note, you don't have to take it off where the mount is mounted to the case, just the peg itself.
The third thing the manual doesn't tell you, but I had guessed: if you don't have a cool stand (which I did not yet have when I did this), and the bike is sitting on the left side, when you start undoing the bolts for the lutch cover, the primary oil is going to come out. Backroads had told me they replaced the engine and primary oil, so this stuff was pretty clean. Just smells like gear oil, which has a particular smell. So I get a little rubbermaid disposable container, make sure it's spotless, and let it slowly drain in until it stops (yes, I reused the oil that came out, because it was brand new, and I'll later be taking the whole primary case cover off and replacing the oil anyways).
Then I pull the cover off and gasp in horror. The clutch cover has some special kind of gasket. As I had been reading so far in the manual, and the parts place online, its called a quad ring, but its a big circle that fits between the cover and the primary case. Why is it called a quad ring? A normal circular gasket is either flat or tubular/round. This gasket is square, ie 4 sides, which explains the quad ring name. But why did I gasp in horror? It looked like the PO, or whoever last put this on, had used a combination of bubblegum and liquid gasket. This means it's going to take time to get all this crud off so the new one will work. And sure enough, it took time, but it came off. Maybe this was the original gasket, and it could have melted a bit, but they must have used liquid gasket in there somewhere, because there were 2 distinct colors of crud I was scraping off.
The next thing the manual doesn't tell you, is that if its on its side, it is no easy task to install the quad ring and clutch cover when you put it back on. Like I said, it's square (which would give it a better sealing surface, so I get it now). The primary case has a little groove that you put it in so it will sit there nicely while you put the clutch cover on. The groove even has 4 little notches around the edge to help it stay in place. BUT WHEN THE BIKE IS ON ITS SIDE, GRAVITY DOESN'T CARE! It just wants to fall out. Maybe this is why the last person used liquid gasket, to kind of glue it in place while they put it on. So it took a great deal of tom-foolery to get the thing to stay in place long enough to get the clutch cover on. The first time I started tightening, I was worried it had come out, and if it isn't in the little groove, its going to leak. Took it off and saw it was still in there, and put the clutch cover on. Put the oil back in through the chain inspection cover.
Problem solved. And no, it doesn't leak out of the clutch cover. It barely leaks out of the shift shaft seal, but I'm still going to deal with it. And this bit of PO work worries me about what else I'll find. The best part is, I get to do this all over again when I take the primary cover off to deal with the other gaskets & seals, and paint the cover!
These posts are longer than I expected, but whatevz
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