Clutch adjustment

[franknsr]

Going through ol 1080 to take care of all its little quirks because I plan on taking a couple long trips on it this summer. One thing I just can't figure out is the clutch adjustment. It has always made a disturbingly loud bang when I put it into gear. This is even after I wait for the revs to come down after starting it. My brother jokes that it sounds like a rock hitting a pie tin. Glad it entertains him, but its beginning to scare the heck out of me.

The reservoir is full, I've checked the system for air, adjusted the clutch according to the service manual, and checked to make sure the cylinder is coming all the way out to the C clip when I pull the lever. Everything seems to work and feel ok, just does not sound healthy.

I'd appreciate any suggestions or ideas of what to check.

[blackheart]

How easy is it to shift, find neutral, etc.?  So long as you are achieving full release there is little you can do.  On mine I adjusted it per the service manual,  just make sure you adjust it cold, not hot since we are dealing with differential expansion between steel mainshaft and aluminum housings.  Compared to an 05 Victory TC this EH clutch is beautiful with little or no drag.  Compared to an old 79 HD it really shines.  Id say mine is on par with a modern HD.   

Besides the physical travel of the pressure plate things which can affect release: warped steels, warped clutch plates.  If its not dragging and shifts easy regardless of rpm, id say you are good.

Its important to understand on these slow speed vtwins the clutches are fairly large as the primary reduction is typically in the range of 1.46 - 1.75 so the torque the clutch is designed to hadle is a multiplication of the primary reduction ratio so parts are fairly large.  With significant mass when you put it in gear all this mass has to come to a halt so there is audible noise.

The new HD M8 must use some form of a clutch brake as the eliminated alot of the CLUNK but gone are the days of easy neutral finds while moving slow.  At times the M8 is dead silent when placing in gear at rest, impressive but there are other side effects.

If you don't want to follow the service manual procedure cold get the bike as hot as it will ever get and adjust the clutch where you have just a little free play, say 1/8 of a turn on threaded pull rod, but realize if it gets hotter the adjustment may tighten up depending on the combined effects of clutch pack heating and housing heat.  Certainly as ckutch pack wears the clearance tightens too.

[franknsr]

Hey Blackheart, thanks for the info. I'm adjusting the clutch with the bike cold. You mention that is a lot better than a 79, but 1080 isn't much better than my '81. Finding neutral is relatively easy, I don't get any creeping in gear so it seems all is good, just that damn loud bang shifting into gear warm or cold.

I just checked the movement of the slave cylinder with a dial indicator. With the lever pulled all the way in I'm getting total movement of .075. Didn't see a specification in the manual or online any where so if anyone has an idea if this is acceptable, or if you have a minute to measure yours and post here, it would be appreciated.

[Berlin Bob]

acording to Jamie...if ya can roll it in gear the clutch is adjusted properly

[Berlin Bob]

of course  with the lever pulled in ....heheheh 

[wytfut]

well I like everything here being said... but will add my 2 cents worth....
don't run that slave all the way to the snap ring.... motor heats up.... everything expands...
I believe in the early days they said us a match book cover as your depth gauge..... I used that for years and now pretty much eyeball it in there...

some of these for what ever reason are a bastard to bleed.... mine 525 is . Several I've worked on.... piece of cake....

Make sure when you adjust ... that the 1/2" nut is on the very end of that adjustment screwshaft... very likely you'll bust off one side if you don't...

525 is a definite crash box.... cold start going into first gear every time huge crunch.... after that, itd does well..

Not ALL X's are the same.... Our DWS had the sweetest shifting tranny of our three. Probably one of the best shiftting trannys on an X I've ever ridden or worked on. It shifted beautifully before and after updated tranny...

Oil heated up at idle, clutch will run free of lube .... will make it hard to shift at times, and find neutral.

Jamie's Dentent shift spring is the cats meow, and some of our shift cams are a little different. Note Mike Degroods post on facebook recently....   Even though his tranny had been updated, he was still getting false neutrals, etc. of OEM stock tranny.

if you cannot move X backward with engine running or not, with clutch pulled in..... its not adjusted right.... I'd tend to guess the same with "surging" at idle...

And I know this may date me a bit in X world.... but the trick to find neutral, that i still practice to this day.... blip the throttle at the same time tap the shifter.... it'll go into neutral every time no problem. Yes it takes practice but it works. I'm not sure but I think the quick flick of the throttle tosses a little oil onto the disks... and lubes it up just enough, to let everything slip a bit.  this trick works, but its all timing, and takes practice.... 1500 rpm blip of throttle...
My boys and nephew hate me for that trick. They never did master it...

Had a very cool breakfast ride this morning... about 50 miles of 41+ degrees...   but the sun was out, hardly any wind.... got to our destination around 9, and had a great buffet breakfast in Mccool Junction.
hope everyone else had a good weekend too...

flatlandersupportingXworld
Bruce

[2CoolWheels]

Bruce,
   Yes, I have figured out the whole shift cam thing. But that only addresses neutraling when downshifting from 3 to 2. It doesn't address a clunk when putting the bike into gear. Both my bikes clunk somewhat going into gear, but haven't been a problem otherwise.

[franknsr]

Hmm, well, 1080 seems to shift fine compared to others, and rolls nicely in gear with the clutch pulled in, so I guess I should be happy with how it is. Thanks for the info all.