| Author | Message | ||
     Ebuella_virus |
We were 5 miles on our way out to ride beautiful Hwy 1 and escape the heat of the Central Valley when I started to feel my clutch give out on my '05 Firebolt. I automatically assumed that it was the clutch cable finally giving out (25k miles) because for the last 2 months, I had felt an occasional "clicking" which I thought was a broken strand rubbing against the inside of the housing. One of my Buell buddies said that he had a spare at home and we could get back on the road in an hour. We took off the cable only to find good news, bad news, and worse news. Good news- nothing was wrong with the cable at all Bad news- we destroyed the cable as we were taking it off because we had the spare. Worse news- The problem had to be in the primary case. We took of the inspection cover and found that the adjustment screw was way too loose. We tightened it down to snug and backed of a quarter turn as per manual instructions. After doing this, I found the clutch pull to be firm but spongy towards the end of the pull. Whatever, so we put the cover back on and started it up. I never knew that an XB's clutch could sound like a Ducati dry clutch... definitely not good. Obviously, we had more work to do and the ride was definitely postponed. We couldn't work on the bike at my buddy's and so we rode back to my house only 1 mile away through residential streets (I just "jammed" the gears at the best rpm's I could) and we opened her up again. This time, we found that the wellnut had disintegrated (Ducati dry clutch sound) and thrashed a few retention rings and beveled in parts of the clutch hub. After examining the damage and the broken parts, we concluded that the inner seat for the clutch spring had failed because of the non-adjustment of the adjustment screw for the last 25k miles and that the "clicking" was the seat "reseating" itself over and over during the last 2 months not to mention wearing away. But when we had taken out the wellness nut during the first inspection, the seat moved completely out of its proper space. After putting the wellnut back in, adjusting the screw, and starting her up, the seat failed and grenaded that area. So here was the damage: Retaining ring 37908-90 Retaining ring 37909-90 Retaining ring 11250 Inner spring seat 37873-90 Clutch hub 37898-02 (although we could have probably gotten away with using the old one but better safe than sorry) Wellnut 11730A Screaming Eagle Sportster Clutch pack (includes spring) since I was in the primary anyway and my clutch pack is still the original set(still in great condition after 25k miles BTW) NOTE: All these are HD Sportster parts and so they were picked up at Mitchell HD as well as the shift shaft seal below. Additional parts to replace due to opening primary Inspection Gasket (American Sport Bike) Primary Gasket (American Sport Bike) Shift Shaft Seal 1 inspection cover bolt (I think it got caught between my German Shepherd's toes and is in the front lawn) BTW, you do need the spring compression tool to get to these parts which was generously loaned to us by one of the local shops because one of my riding buddies is in good with them. So... 4 Revelations and 1 Question from this episode Rev 1 - Harley Parts are inexpensive compared to previously owned Ninja and FZR parts Rev 2 - Listen to the sounds and feel of your bike and inspect them closely... don't "ass u me" what's going on Rev 3 - The manual says "Clutch adjustment interval is every 5,000 miles". It DOES NOT say clutch cable ONLY. Watch that adjustment screw. Rev 4 - It's not what you know, it's who you know. Thank you Rueben and Jon Question - Has anyone run the Screaming Eagle clutch pack? I've run Barnett in other bikes but thought I'd give it a try. I'll be getting the ordered parts in a week and a half and will review the clutch pack upgrade. Ride safely y'all... | ||
| Ratbuell |
I haven't run an S/E clutch in a Buell yet, but had the pack in my Evo bagger for years and it worked flawlessly. 770# bike, 80" evo with 80hp/90tq at the rear wheel and never had a clutch issue (after I cooked the stock clutch with the engine work - and 40k miles). Yes, you have to adjust both the cable *and* the clutch pack  Now that you know... ride and enjoy! |
