Clutch lever went slack

[TCALZ06]

There are only two places for the tranny fluid to go. If it was leaking you should know it.

If your trans is shot/bad seal it can go into your primary from what I've heard from guys on here.

I would probably drain your primary and try to see how much you pull out

I like Amsoil 20/50 for the engine
Harley for primary(no synthetics)

I also use Amsoil for the trans. It was mentioned above not to but I've never heard this. Also, even Baker has changed their recommendation from what I've read on here from redline shock proof to something else now

I'm a big fan of synthetics & Amsoil but if you change at the proper intervals it probably doesn't matter. There are a lot of different opinions on oils

 

[Brew]

This is what Baker now recommends...
BAKER Drivetrain | BAKER Discovers Spectro

 

[what?]

bear with me guys

are the "clutch hub nut" and "clutch basket nut" one in the same and must they be accessed within the primary?

On the 08' pitbull there is a clutch adjustment nut on the right side of the bike.
The how-to had a pretty good post on adjustment.

It seems like this is common for this to happen. How often should I expect to be adjusting this? I got some service records with the bike and it looks as if the clutch was adjusted once before.

 

[woodbutcher]

the clutch hub nut is on the left side inside the primary cover.

remove the cover
remove the hub nut
clean the inside of the nut completely
clean the shaft completely
torque (w/o loctite) to 150 lbft to draw everything together
remove nut and apply red loctite
replace nut and torque assembly to 120 lbft.
adjust the clutch lever as recommended in manual

if this is not done, it will come loose again.

 

[BWG56]

the clutch hub nut is on the left side inside the primary cover.

1- remove the cover
3- remove the hub nut
4- clean the inside of the nut completely
5- clean the shaft completely
torque (w/o loctite) to 150 lbft to draw everything together
remove nut and apply red loctite
replace nut and torque assembly to 120 lbft.
adjust the clutch lever as recommended in manual

if this is not done, it will come loose again.

2-you need to remove the 4 pressure plate bolts and pressure plate to get at the nut. The nut is left hand threads.

 

[woodbutcher]

2-you need to remove the 4 pressure plate bolts and pressure plate to get at the nut. The nut is left hand threads.

thanks for adding. :2thumbs:

like i stated in a different post, i don't know shit.

 

[Dozer1]

this is what I got thus far.

checked the engine oil and it was fine.
not a drop was showing on the tranny dipstick even in the upright position. I took a long allen key and inserted it into the filler neck and there was barely any in there at all.
primary drive lubricant was checked and seemed to have enough in there to wet the chain at the front and rear .
adjusted the clutch cable and the clutch lever did stiffen up.

now the question becomes where the f'n tranny fluid went to. I did not check the level before riding and there are no visible leaks under the bike.
the drain plugs are where they should be.

I am assuming this is a contained system. My question now is, can the tranny fluid migrate into the primary, if so there should have been more fluid showing up in the primary, no?

any recommendations on
A) engine oil
B) transmission lubricant
C) primary lubricant

thanks for the feedback.............you guys are awesome.

Not alot to add besides what's already been said. But in response to the type of tranny fluid used, I use Drag Specialties 80W-90. Engine oil is Mobil-1 synthetic. Have also had problems reading tranny dipstick tho. Fluid is so clear is difficult to see on shiney stick (or I'm just too damn blind to see it! ). Therefore, my solution is to keep small piece of black paper handy. I pull dipstick then lay it on paper. Oil level then shows up. Before then, always appeared tranny was bone dry. Duh!

Hope you figure it out!

 

[what?]

Not alot to add besides what's already been said. But in response to the type of tranny fluid used, I use Drag Specialties 80W-90. Engine oil is Mobil-1 synthetic. Have also had problems reading tranny dipstick tho. Fluid is so clear is difficult to see on shiney stick (or I'm just too damn blind to see it! ). Therefore, my solution is to keep small piece of black paper handy. I pull dipstick then lay it on paper. Oil level then shows up. Before then, always appeared tranny was bone dry. Duh!

Hope you figure it out!

Yeah I had a hard time reading it also.
I cut very thin strips of cardboard about 1/8 inch wide and about 12 inches long. gauged it next to the dipstick and inserted it to the depth that the dipstick would go......waited about a second and then pulled it out. nothing. i put a few ounces of of fluid in until i got the correct reading. it worked pretty good. I'm going to putz around the neighborhood on it and see if it loosens again.
if it does then i'll be tightening up that hub nut.
do i need to replace the gasket if the primary comes off with no issues?

 

[woodbutcher]

usually if you are careful, it will be good for a couple times. but not a bad idea to have an extra one on hand. just sayin'

 

[what?]

usually if you are careful, it will be good for a couple times. but not a bad idea to have an extra one on hand. just sayin'

wood

somebody on here mentioned a tightening pattern for the primary cover bolts when putting the cover back on. Is it critical or should i just randomly tighten opposing sides a little at a time until I can do the final torque adjustment?

thanks

 

[woodbutcher]

there is a sequence but i don't have it. it seems like it has been posted on here before.

 

[narow37]

I'm going to try and give you the sequence out of the 2007 service manual. starting at the left 9 o'clock position and going clock wise, the bolts are numbered as follows.
9, 11, 6, 4, 2, 13, 12, 14, 10, 8, 1, 3, 5, 7. so orient these and start with number one. hope this makes sense for you.

 

[woodbutcher]

thanks, Shane.

 

[Raywood]

 

[narow37]

thanks Ray, I didn't have a scanner to use.

 

[what?]

well............I called in sick today.
Pulled the primary per the instructions and sure as shit the hub nut was loose. I could actually turn it by hand. one thing.............and i think somone else mentioned it, the pressure plate also needs to be removed to get access to the nut. used the loctite and torqued to the specs.
needed to fiddle with the clutch adjustment as it wouldn't even go into gear after tightening the hub nut.
for those of you who haven't done this it is a pretty easy job. just make sure you keep track of how everything came out especially the pressure plate. i wasn't paying attention when i took it off and wasn't sure how it went back on as it is concave. concave side goes in i hope.

anyway took it for a spin and it shifted much easier.
next couple of days here are going to be in the 80's and sunny.
might have to call out sick tomorrow too.

thanks guys.

 

[narow37]

good to hear you got it taken care of. what you should have for the clutch diaphragm is dome pointing out (concave side facing inward).

 

[what?]

there were some wear marks that set me straight. concave in is what i did.

just got back from a short ride and it felt like the motor was struggling in third....i guess kind of sputtering a little when the rpms dropped off.
would the adjustment of the clutch have anything to do with this? if so is there another adjustment that might be needed? maybe with the carb?

 

[narow37]

hard to say. is the bike stock, different pipes, air cleaner? tell us everything thats been done to the bike. what RPM are we talking about that it was stumbling? what jets are in the carb if its not stock?

 

[what?]

I'm not sure if its entirely stock. Pipes and air cleaner yes. The service records did indicate a tune up for backfiring during decceleration and that different jets were installed prior to receipt by last owner. Not sure what type.

This was not happening prior to the clutch going slack. I wanted to know if the clutch adjustment had something to do with it. Do you think the clutch adjustment is correct or could it be slipping in and out of gear?

It almost felt as if it were running out of gas when going into third and when i throttled it at higher rpms. 1500-2000rpms