Clutch won't disengage

[trikechuck]

I had a shop install 2+2 handlebars on my 2023 TriGlide. When I picked up the trike I noticed the clutch lever was sloppy. I adjusted the clutch according to the manual. This removed the slop from the clutch lever, but now the clutch won't disengage. I tried 3 different positions for the clutch adjustment, ranging from a quarter turn to a full turn after feeling resistance. Has anyone else run into this? Is there something I can do temporarily so I can load the trike on the trailer to get it to the dealer?
Thanks

 

[Tonto]

Jus a stab here, did they possibly add cable extensions?

 

[HDUSA1]

Can you adjust it back to where it was before and make it work long enough to get it on the trailer?

On my 2020 UL w/ Roadsmith conversion, I had to reroute the hydraulic line for the clutch a little differently when I installed my 2+2 bars. I had enough length after the reroute, but it was tight otherwise.

You’ve got a cable for the clutch and guessing they didn’t reroute it and it’s in a bind. Or, they did reroute it and pinched the cable possibly in the handlebar clamp causing the clutch to not release properly.

Nothing surprises me with dealers anymore. The Service Mgr should have brought the bike out to you after the tech got done with it and checked the work. He should have caught the sloppy clutch lever and to me there was no excuse for that. That’s why I won’t let the dealer touch my bike unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Curious what you find out.

 

[trikechuck]

Jus a stab here, did they possibly add cable extensions?

They told me they did not need to add extensions, but I can see a metal ring on the cable about 6 inches past the lever.

 

[trikechuck]

They told me they did not need to add extensions, but I can see a metal ring on the cable about 6 inches past the lever.

Here is a picture.

 

[Papa Zook]

This mod is the permanemt fix for an awful design that if replaced with another Red Button will just continue to fail.

 

[HDUSA1]

Another good video on adjusting clutch below.

The metal ring you are seeing is just the transition from the metal elbow coming out of the clutch housing to the flexible cable portion.

After you release the button on the cable adjuster to set the tension and you push the button back in to lock it, are you pressing a little harder on the final bit to lock the adjustment in place against the threads on ferrule? Before you slide the cover down over the adjuster on the cable, have a helper squeeze the lever and make sure the adjuster isn’t moving and stays locked in place.

adjust 2023 harley clutch at DuckDuckGo

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duckduckgo.com

 

[trikechuck]

Another good video on adjusting clutch below.

The metal ring you are seeing is just the transition from the metal elbow coming out of the clutch housing to the flexible cable portion.

After you release the button on the cable adjuster to set the tension and you push the button back in to lock it, are you pressing a little harder on the final bit to lock the adjustment in place against the threads on ferrule? Before you slide the cover down over the adjuster on the cable, have a helper squeeze the lever and make sure the adjuster isn’t moving and stays locked in place.

adjust 2023 harley clutch at DuckDuckGo

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duckduckgo.com

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll make sure the button is fully pushed in.

 

[ultrafxr]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll make sure the button is fully pushed in.

What he said.

 

[trikechuck]

The clutch will disengage if I pull the cable away from the housing at the lever. I decided to let the dealer try to figure out what the independent shop did. There are other issues that need to be addressed after the handlebar swap

 

[HDUSA1]

The red push button stripping is a known problem on Harley’s if you google it. They were on national backorder for awhile. Papa Zook has the right fix with the metal adjuster and would be my next step. If you don’t want to mess with it yourself, I would buy it and take it to your dealer to install if they don’t carry it.

This was a comment from another website. “Don't know if anyone has had the clutch adjustment button dilemma but I am experiencing it now. Harley Davidson tech said this is a huge problem. Buttons are on back order but I would suggest if you have the newer setup to find you at least one Xtra to have”

 

[HDUSA1]

What were some of the other issues?

 

[ultrafxr]

Buttons are on back order but I would suggest if you have the newer setup to find you at least one Xtra to have”

I have one I keep in my tour-pak 'just in case.' I spoke personally to Far Baggers and confirmed that Harley did make a change to the 'yellow tube' part of the clutch adjuster but the button stayed the same. So evidently they had some evidence that the broken / stripped buttons were caused by the yellow tube part and the button itself was ok.

 

[trikechuck]

What were some of the other issues?

Handlebars seem a little loose and the speedometer jumps when I rev the engine in neutral.

 

[Tonto]

The clutch will disengage if I pull the cable away from the housing at the lever. I decided to let the dealer try to figure out what the independent shop did. There are other issues that need to be addressed after the handlebar swap

So it wasn’t the dealer but an independent shop?! That is really sad. No one pays attention or cares about the work they do anymore. Just take your money and smile as you leave the shop! That’s why I do all my own work whenever possible. I installed 2+2 bars myself without issue. Just took my time and double checked everything. And no one payed me $145 an hour shop labor. Plus now I know more about how things go together and work, this being my first Harley. Hope you get everything taken care of.

 

[ultrafxr]

I too am a do it yourself whenever possible. There are a lot of good YouTube videos out there and along with a shop manual it is not too difficult to do many things yourself. At least if its f***ed up you know who to blame and then you can take it in to a shop vs paying for a poor job and having to take it back.

 

[trikechuck]

You have a good point. If I did the job myself I wouldn't be any worse off. I also wouldn't have to pay a second time for someone to fix the problem. I can do small projects, but haven't done handlebars before.

 

[ultrafxr]

You have a good point. If I did the job myself I wouldn't be any worse off. I also wouldn't have to pay a second time for someone to fix the problem. I can do small projects, but haven't done handlebars before.

Chuck I do hope you can get this resolved without much difficulty, frustration and $$. If you have roadside assistance coverage I'd consider letting them pick it up and deliver to the shop.

First I heard about this was in the summer of 2022, three trikes out west traveling from Williston, ND, to Havre, MT. Stopped for gas and friend on a 2021 TG discovered like you his clutch would not work. We were a good 50 miles from Havre and our hotel. No dealer for 000s of miles. We looked at the adjuster but it was the first time any of us had seen it and had absolutely no idea what had happened or how to fix it.

Luckily for us in that sparsely populated area there were few traffic lights or stop signs so we had the guy put it in neutral then we pushed him and he popped it up into second gear and took off. We caught up and I lead him to Havre with him shifting very carefully without the use of the clutch. I don't like to but in Havre I had to block several intersections with red lights so he could go through. Made it to the hotel and he got roadside assistance to tow him to a dealer about 100 miles away the next day to get it fixed. It was the red button that stripped and let the tension off the cable.

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

What on earth are the engineers at HD thinking. Just put a single one-piece cable on it and be done with it, geez.

 

[trikechuck]

What on earth are the engineers at HD thinking. Just put a single one-piece cable on it and be done with it, geez.

Whoever designed that system definitely went to the Rube Goldberg school of engineering.

 

[HDUSA1]

Whoever designed that system definitely went to the Rube Goldberg school of engineering.

That’s funny.

I went to Rose Hulman in Terre Haute Indiana back in the 1980’s which is the top rated engineering school in the nation. Freshman orientation class was to build a Rube Goldberg contraption for a specific job they assigned to the class for it to do.

The book smart kids all failed miserably, but the few of us kids raised on a farm were all successful with our projects! And of course, we had the obligatory friction tape and baling wire incorporated in to our designs!