one_rod
Club Member
So, long story ahead, stay with me.
Or don't, your choice.
My Road King snapped it's clutch cable on the way home from a club run the other weekend.
Annoying, but hardly a disaster. The RAC brought me home.
I don't mind admitting that although I've always worked on my own bikes, I am fairly new to the world of HD maintenance. My first Harley was a Sportster. Had it for a couple of years and it was faultlessly reliable. Never had to take a spanner to it once.
And this was the first time the RK had really let me down in nearly three years of ownership.
I come from a background in old Japanese machines, and a clutch cable change is a thirty minute job. Naively, I thought it would be the same for my RK.
Rang the nearest HD dealer.
"Hi, I need a clutch cable for a 2002 Road King"
"Clutch cable?...er...just a minute..." Tap, tap tap on the computer... "Err...do you know the part number?"
"No. You're the dealer, I thought you might tell me"
"Err...what year was it again?"
" 02"
" Ok, and it was a road...what? "
"King"
Tap, tap, tap...
"Right, I think I've found the part, but we haven't got one. It will be £88 and fourteen days delivery. Do you want me to order one?"
"Nah, I'm good thanks"
It was then I had the sense to check the service manual, and see that changing the cable is not the simple job I expected.
First the gearbox end cover has to come off, and to do that, you have to remove the exhaust. All of it.
Oh well, if I've got to drain the gearbox oil, might as well put some new stuff in. And if I'm doing that, might as well do the full 3 hole service thing.
And while I've got the exhaust off, I'll check the dreaded cam chain tensioners. It's an 88" TC after all. Be rude not to.
On a friend's advice I went on the Jersey HD website.
New clutch cable, gearbox gasket, cam chest gasket, oil filter, air filter and gasket, sump plug seal, circlips etc, etc.
All in stock, 48 hours delivery, and all of it for not much more than Stoneacre wanted, to supply me with (probably) one wrong part.
Two days later, with all the bits in my sweaty little hands, it was time to begin.
I like to kid myself that I'm reasonably competent at bike maintenance, coming from a generation that was literally too poor to pay someone else to do it for you.
So, exhaust off. It put up a good fight, but I beat it in the end.
Gearbox opened, clutch cable installed...
Except I can't get the cable into the handlebar lever, no matter what I do. Tried everything. Have they sent me the wrong part or something?
Eventually I gave in and re-read the manual. Every other bike in the world, you start from the clutch end and work back to the lever. Not on this one. Start from the lever, and work down. Ok, do it their way. Open the gearbox back up, start from the other end, everything snaps together like lego.
A lesson learned there, then.
One bit of good news, the camchain grenades were fine, good for a few thousand more miles.
Close that cover up, and say a thank you prayer to the god of mechanical things.
New filters, fluids, everything checked and tightened, ready to refit the exhaust.
You did remember to order some exhaust gaskets, didn't you? Didn't you?
Ahh...Looks like some idiot isn't going riding this weekend.
Or don't, your choice.
My Road King snapped it's clutch cable on the way home from a club run the other weekend.
Annoying, but hardly a disaster. The RAC brought me home.
I don't mind admitting that although I've always worked on my own bikes, I am fairly new to the world of HD maintenance. My first Harley was a Sportster. Had it for a couple of years and it was faultlessly reliable. Never had to take a spanner to it once.
And this was the first time the RK had really let me down in nearly three years of ownership.
I come from a background in old Japanese machines, and a clutch cable change is a thirty minute job. Naively, I thought it would be the same for my RK.
Rang the nearest HD dealer.
"Hi, I need a clutch cable for a 2002 Road King"
"Clutch cable?...er...just a minute..." Tap, tap tap on the computer... "Err...do you know the part number?"
"No. You're the dealer, I thought you might tell me"
"Err...what year was it again?"
" 02"
" Ok, and it was a road...what? "
"King"
Tap, tap, tap...
"Right, I think I've found the part, but we haven't got one. It will be £88 and fourteen days delivery. Do you want me to order one?"
"Nah, I'm good thanks"
It was then I had the sense to check the service manual, and see that changing the cable is not the simple job I expected.
First the gearbox end cover has to come off, and to do that, you have to remove the exhaust. All of it.
Oh well, if I've got to drain the gearbox oil, might as well put some new stuff in. And if I'm doing that, might as well do the full 3 hole service thing.
And while I've got the exhaust off, I'll check the dreaded cam chain tensioners. It's an 88" TC after all. Be rude not to.
On a friend's advice I went on the Jersey HD website.
New clutch cable, gearbox gasket, cam chest gasket, oil filter, air filter and gasket, sump plug seal, circlips etc, etc.
All in stock, 48 hours delivery, and all of it for not much more than Stoneacre wanted, to supply me with (probably) one wrong part.
Two days later, with all the bits in my sweaty little hands, it was time to begin.
I like to kid myself that I'm reasonably competent at bike maintenance, coming from a generation that was literally too poor to pay someone else to do it for you.
So, exhaust off. It put up a good fight, but I beat it in the end.
Gearbox opened, clutch cable installed...
Except I can't get the cable into the handlebar lever, no matter what I do. Tried everything. Have they sent me the wrong part or something?
Eventually I gave in and re-read the manual. Every other bike in the world, you start from the clutch end and work back to the lever. Not on this one. Start from the lever, and work down. Ok, do it their way. Open the gearbox back up, start from the other end, everything snaps together like lego.
A lesson learned there, then.
One bit of good news, the camchain grenades were fine, good for a few thousand more miles.
Close that cover up, and say a thank you prayer to the god of mechanical things.
New filters, fluids, everything checked and tightened, ready to refit the exhaust.
You did remember to order some exhaust gaskets, didn't you? Didn't you?
Ahh...Looks like some idiot isn't going riding this weekend.
