'97 Sporty 883 clutch adjustment

[mhdavis]

My bike has about 35,000 miles on it.  The clutch lever freeplay started increasing daily, to the point where, after riding about 30 miles, the clutch would begin dragging when the clutch lever was pulled completely in.  Since this was the original clutch cable, I figured it was stretching due to age, and replaced it.  With the new cable on, the stretch is not as severe, but the freeplay is still increasing with riding.  Does anyone know what's going on, and what I should do to fix it.  It's not normal for the freeplay to increase significantly in less than several thousand miles!

Thanks.

[aswracing]

High probability that the spring plate, embedded into middle of the clutch, is coming apart. It's held together with brass rivets and is a known failure point. If you got 35K on yours, you've done better than a lot of people.

The high failure rate of this item is one of the reasons the aftermarket came out with "extra plate" clutch packs. They include an extra friction disc and two steel plates (along with replacements for the rest of the steels and plates) that eliminate the factory spring plate.

We like (and offer) the Energy One piece ... it comes with a +15% stronger spring, too, and it's attractively priced. Also sold under the BDL brand and probably a few others. You'll need a spring compressor tool to change it.

[14Frisco]

Yes, either the spring plate as aswracing mentions or the throw-out bearing is disintegrating.
My Sporty has had both of these issues, and I put in a Barnett Extra-Plate kit and a new throw-out bearing and all is good.

When you replaced your clutch cable, did you adjust the clutch properly (by taking off the derby cover, etc.)?

[Tom Hockenberry]

Are the lock nuts on the clutch cable backing off ?