Last year, I bought a rat bike.
It's a 1986 Harley Sportster.
the motor runs great but the clutch has me worried.
when the bike is at idle and cold I can pull the clutch lever in, shift into 1st and go through the gears o.k.
Btw, it has a really cheesy set of forward controls that I am collecting parts to convert it back to original.
The problem is that after riding a couple of miles it is impossible to take in/out of gear with the engine running, also with the bike at idle speed in 1st gear with the clutch lever pulled in the bike wants to creep forward.
I have adjusted the clutch a couple of times to no avail.
What worries me is that I bought the bike from a shop that took it in for repair and the owner didn't pay the bill. When pressed the shop told me it was in for a primary chain. They only put in 1.5 pints of sport-trans fluid in the bike. when I adjusted the clutch I noticed primary fluid was low, and I added correct amount of sport-trans fluid, letting excess bleed out of hole in primary cover. I suspect steel clutch plates are warped. do any Harley guys out there have an idea about this?

I know, I know, it's a EVO Sportster, a "chicks" bike.

I bought what I could afford after saving spare change for years in jars/cans.
and what the heck, even Evel rode a Sporty back in the day, before Dyna's
and Softails ect.

I paid less than 4k for a complete running bike. It has a S&S super E, 21 inch front wheel, lowered rear shocks, and a big dent in the cheesy fat-bob tank.
it needs alot of little things, but at least it's made in the U.S.A.,
even though the Gods at Harley outsourced some bits from Japan.

anyways, I am sure some diesel aficionados have to be Harley guys.
Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

The last Sporty I worked on was over 20 years ago. Get yourself a Sporty manual and adjust it as per spec. I know my Pan is particular with it's clutch freeplay. You might also consult Bonehead he has a Sporty and is a damn good wrench.

__________________
1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

Thanks for the reply, I have a Clymer manual, and probably should buy the H-D book.I thought I adjusted it right. But this is the first bike I have ever laid my hands on so I don't really know anything other than what I picked up from friends and countless magazine articles. from what other friends who have had Harley's before have told me they don't always adjust/get fixed by the book. I might just open it up anyways. This "shop" used clear silicone and no gasket to seal the primary. They also told me it was a 1200.... yea right.

I mean it's possible, but if you saw this bike you would understand:

1. huge automotive fuel filter held on with zip ties
2. wood screw holding headlight bezel
3. bent ignition key
4. clutch lever base moved about 1.5 inch away from grip on handle bar to make up for 4 inch risers and a stock clutch cable.
5. scored and heat blued brake rotors
6. rear master cyl. leaking
7. no instruments/warning lights.
8. no front brake light switch

so I doubt someone spent the money to bump it up to a 1200.
though you never know. lol

Before you put down a Sportster...keep in mind it dominated flat track racing for decades......and since the demise of the brits the competition is not racing with engines that are actually sold on production bikes like harley does.

Sportsters have a lot going for them...besides being lighter than their big brother.

Like was mentioned freeplay is very important...too much and your clutch drags and generates a lot of heat that will in turn give you all sorts of fits in heavy traffic.....and too little and the clutch might slip....the correct amount isn't obvious...A correct manual is a good start....I am not as familliar with the Evo sporties as I am with the Ironheads, but the principles carry across the different generations. I would do that before I assumed the clutch driven plates were assumed to be warped....that would be a rare thing to happen. Barnet makes an awesume clutch if it does come down to it....

Point of note that "sweet spot" between too much and too little is not very large on an Ironhead.....and likely simmular on the Evo.... and before the rice riders chime in the Jap bikes have a fraction of the tourqe of a harly and need clutches a fraction the size as a result...simple application of archamedies rule....to keep clutch effort down at the lever you have a limited amount of travel....and therefore a small adjustment window. It does need adjusted periodicly..as cable stretches over time...

Oh...another thing....ever ride a Buell Lightning or Thunderbolt....those are sportster evo engines.....power band so wide the jap riders drool .....no its not as fast but on the other side its far more rideable.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Dude, (I'm assuming here) You really need to go buy a softail, even if yer a chick. You purchased a nightmare. Sell it and go make life right.

my .02

__________________
"HEIDI" White 1998 E-300TD 176K
European Delivery is a HOOT!

2002 Harley "FatBoy"

THe Softail is a better highway bike....but the sportster is a better twisty road and city bike....

Or for someone smaller than average. Or not wealthy enough to spend $16K+ on a bike..I am this catagory...even though I have owned mine since 1983

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

The newspaper for sales of Harleys. Any newspaper. There are more Sportsters for sale than any other type Harley bar none. There's a reason for this...

__________________
"HEIDI" White 1998 E-300TD 176K
European Delivery is a HOOT!

2002 Harley "FatBoy"

Yuppies.......

they bought it to play biker..then got tired....

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

That's right Bonehead, they should never put down a Sporty. My cousin and I used to torture smarta$$es in Z28s with bored and stroked Sportys. As for that sweetspot in the clutch you took the words out of my mouth. My old Pan has the sweetspot.

__________________
1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

Thanks for the insightful reply BHD. Actually, the "chick" bike comment came from a friend who probably watches and believes the Discovery channels hype. A local Harley guru tells me that the 4 speed is the same from the mid '50s K nodel to the last 4 speed model(1990). The clutch cable seems to bind slightly, and is probably too short. I should replace the cable and adjust the clutch properly before I do anything else. My first and only other bike was a 1984 Kawasaki GPZ 550 when I was seventeen, a real rice rocket. However, you couldn't putt around on it. I sold it because it was too fast for a kid my age to ride. It was going to get me in real trouble. An old greybeard told me at the time that "one day I would recognize the error of my ways"(riding a jap bike), he was right. I vowed to never buy another Jap bike after I rode a friends 1976 Liberty edition FXE Shovel, fifteen years later I scraped up enough to buy my own. Even if I had more money I still would have bought a Sporty. Btw, it has drag pipes on it. My neighbors have complained. Do you think baffles would help with the noise? Same neighbor complained that air cooled vw with mufflers on it was too loud. I just don't want the guy p.o. at me after reading the other thread in the open forum about crazy neighbors(he is a dentist).

Sticking baffles in drag pipes is a bad idea....you are better off with a nice set of muffled pipes if noise is an issue for you....unfortunately I can not quote you a good choice for your model...there are good ones and bad ones....but haven't followed tests to know which is which...but keep in mind a cranky neighbor would whine about stock exhaust too....

About the clutch cable check for a kink....and lubricate it...I would recomend a heavy duty cable thats availible with a teflon sleeve....I've run one for the last 15 years with no problems....

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Yeah, you are right: I did buy a nightmare. If you saw some of the relics I have brought home in the past you might scratch your head.

Eventually, when I do get it right. I will really appreciate how nice it is.

More than half the fun for me is looking up parts and crossreference parts for my bike and then hunting them up. Here's why: I used to manage an autoparts store. The old-fashioned kind. No computer except for billing. Where you looked up parts in a paper catalog and then used the jobber price sheet and a calculator to give a price. We specialized in high performance vw parts but were a jobber store and sold parts for most cars. We carried high quality parts and prided ourselves in good parts, good prices, and good service. Well when mcparts came to town we struggled for a couple of years then just closed the doors. In one afternoon four of us loaded the entire store in the back of a semi trailer. It was sad, wholsale customers were still calling with orders while we were loading up. We simply couldn't compete with mcparts on price. With the fancy computers they have, anyone can sell parts, no experience needed. It's really a lost art. I remember looking up conversion u-joints for people with Ford trucks(don't rust) and GM drivetrains. People used to be so amazed I could just walk to the back and come back with sparkplugs, oil filter or other similar part for their car without looking it up. Without depending on a computer you just learn what fits what. It just gets in your blood, I used to take catalogs home to read at night.

BHD,

thanks for reminding me about cranky neighbors. I think I will leave the drag pipes, they sure don't seem to think twice about firing up their inboard v8 powered ski boat at the crack of dawn every morning. They have two dogs that constantly poop all over my yard. They even complained that the outside lights I use ruins the ambiance of the lake.Real yuppies. Between the old diesel and the bike they probably hate me by now.

I will probably use some PB Blast to lubricate the cable till I get a new one.