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1st to 2nd-real hard

D

Doug S

Member
Hi,

I'm riding a 94 FXSTC with 25K on the clock, new to me last year, it has redline in the tranny and Formula+ in the primary.

I noticed this early last fall and it seems to be temperature related, the colder the ambient temp the more this happens. Hotter days it's not an issue.

Roll it out, warm it up, get going and when you try for second it's really stiff, at times almost impossible. I've tried pushing the shifter down then up, slowing down, cycling the clutch, it will finally give up and go into second and on a real cold day third will be just a tad stiff. After the first time through the gears the trouble is gone and it shifts smooth as silk until I let it sit for a few hours.

Troubleshooting 101 tells me to look at the last thing done but I have not trouched the tranny, I checked and/or adjusted the clutch twice but no change.

Ideas?

Thanks
Doug
 
Thanks, I'm going to replace my clutch cable soon and have a qt. of spectro to change at that time. I hope it's something that simple but to be honest, sometimes it's alot more than "stiff", more like epoxied...LOL

Doug
 
Doug S said:
Thanks, I'm going to replace my clutch cable soon and have a qt. of spectro to change at that time. I hope it's something that simple but to be honest, sometimes it's alot more than "stiff", more like epoxied...LOL

Doug
Click to expand...

DOUG, could you try this BEFORE you change anything?

ADJUST your clutch cable to 0 TIGHT(no play) at the handle bar/lever... JUST see if that takes the stiffness out of the cold shift....
NOT to run it that way. JUST to see IF it does?

I swear by the redline and YES it is thicker..... but I for ONE would like to see if the problem can be solved BEFORE NEW cable and especially the tranny lubricant ..

Thanks if you would. signed....BUBBIE
 
Like Bubbie says, adjust the freeplay "close to zero" (turn the bars lock to lock to make sure the clutch is released all the way however). That is the way I like mine set, so the "friction zone" utilizes the lever sweep fully with minimum clutch drag when pulled tight to the grip. If hard shifting and clutch drag cold is still there, try the fluid change as Spectrol is what I use and works great.
 
a little update,

I tried the clutch cable free play, made no difference at all but it was a good idea.

Couple things:
When the primary oil is cold the bike is nearly impossible to push with it in gear and the clutch pushed-engine off. Put it in neutral and it's easy.

When I have the shifting issue, it's not just stiff, it's almost locked and while it happens more often when it's cold, yesterday it was 60 and it happened after 20 miles. Seems to happen when you ride around in first alot at a steady speed, like in a parking lot.

Thanks
Doug
 
Doug S said:
a little update,

I tried the clutch cable free play, made no difference at all but it was a good idea.

Couple things:
When the primary oil is cold the bike is nearly impossible to push with it in gear and the clutch pushed-engine off. Put it in neutral and it's easy.

When I have the shifting issue, it's not just stiff, it's almost locked and while it happens more often when it's cold, yesterday it was 60 and it happened after 20 miles. Seems to happen when you ride around in first alot at a steady speed, like in a parking lot.

Thanks
Doug
Click to expand...

That sounds like a lot of clutch drag that could be caused by too much oil in the primary too thick an oil in the primary poorly assembled clutch or warped clutch plates
first thing id do is to drain and replace the primary oil using harley formula + for the lubricant ensure the oil level is just on the bottom of the clutch basket
the oil assists in the grip of the plates working the same as licking a plastic sucker to help it stick to a window if the oil is too thick or you have too much it makes it harder for the plates to break the seal
once the seal is broken the oil assists the plates to slip between each other
so correct oil and level is critical to the correct operation of the clutch

Brian
 
fin,

Yes, I am thinking the same thing, too much oil but I changed it myself and could have screwed up I guess. Gonna check that and change the trany oil this weekend. The clutch works well, not slipping, no chatter and smooth engagment, I can find neutral fairly easy and I always use Formula+.

I'm hoping it's some sort of lube issue but the hard shift seems like it's gonna be something else.

Doug
 
Sounds like you are onto something Doug...try Glider' suggestion about using a lube that flows better cold than Formula+ as a start...by changing to Spectrol, BelRay or others, for the tranny...100% Synthetic lube that flows a bit better can possibly reduce the clutch drag and definitely flow better in cold weather.
 
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