1998 Harley sportster clutch trouble??

[Doug Huntley]

Just got an awesome 98 sportster 1200 but clutch ailing I guess. Cant seem to find neutral and when in gear and clutch lever pulled,,, bike seems to want to go. When engine is off and clutch is pulled it is not quite free wheeling as it should be. Seems like clutch is partially engaged and is dragging some when pushed rather than free wheeling. Tried adjusting cable up top but no luck. Still seems to be partially engaged. Just got bike. Extremely well cared for mint condition, meticulous owner but he had it garaged for two years before I got it. Does this sound familiar to you?. Any input would be appreciated as I am a novice....,,,,but not for long.

[DaFish]

Yeah, Get a repair manual for the bike from the MOCO and adjust the clutch down at the tranny. If that don't do it, you may have to take it down and find the problem.

DaFish

[Shockwave]

About mid-way down the cable you will find a rubber boot that covers a place to adjust the cable. If no luck with that adjustment then remove the basket cover and inspect the release unit. It is hard to describe what is in there but if you had the cover off it is really easy to put it all back together wrong. There is a piece in there that can be placed in several positions that affects clutch travel. It is relatively simple so if you are mechanically inclined you should be able to figure it out. All this is from memory from when I had my 97 Sporty down so pardon any mistakes.

[old skool]

welcome from FL, i just had this same problem with my 04 sporty, i got the book, adjusted the clutch at the clutch not on the cable just like the book said. that is the first place to start. it didn't work for me, sporty clutches have a spring plate that is held together by riviots, if the bike is beat on or road hard or just old those rivits can pop out and bounce around inside your clutch destroying everything as was with mine. do yourself a favor get the book adjust the clutch if it doesn't work take it to a indy you trust or a HD dealer and tell them whats going on. and the info you have recived here so they know you know what yr talkin about (at least a little :)) if you catch a serious problem like this early it can be a couple a hundred dollar job, if ya dont like me it can cost upwards of 1200+ :( if this is the problem let us know because i just found a new clutch for sporty's that gets rid of the spring plate so ya won't have the problem again, unfortunatly for me i found out about it after i had a new one with the same ol spring plate instaled in mine.... oh well lessoned leard

[DaFish]

+1 :whs:

skool just went through this, he is preaching gospel here.

DaFish