dbutton12
.060 Over
See if this sounds like anything you gurus have encountered. Had the 08 Touring out for nice cruise yesterday,,, headed north into the adirondacks, trying to avoid all the mess cruising into the Americade in Lake George. Approached an intersection near Northville and as I pulled clutch in....nobody home, kicked it in neutral and pulled over to see what happened...hoping for something simple like a cable..nope not it. Clutch shaft turned smoothly, but with no effort at all. Sent the rest of the crew on north and headed home with no clutch and wife on back,,,NOT fun. We made it with only two actual stops and several slow-motion "stops" at intersections. The Rocket does NOT like to be started in gear, but I had no other choice at times,,,,at least she didn't leave me stranded or have to be towed. Got back to the shop and let it cool for a few hours while I quaffed a few beers to calm my nerves.
Now the rest of the story: I couldn't stand the suspence...not knowing what was wrong. Pulled the radiator and clutch cover and found the button on the top of the clutch pull rod was missing (later found it with a magnet in the sump). Worse, the lifter arm (which I would call the clutch shaft) is fractured right at the machined cavity for the pull rod. The clutch itself is in excellent condition and no problems found there. What I can't figure out is whether the clutch shaft breaking was the root cause or if the button broke off the pull rod. Also puzzling is that the manual shows a torrington style needle bearing under the thrust washer,,,,mine has no bearing, just the thrust washer and a wave washer....anyone got any ideas??? If you look closely at the pics, you can see the crack in the clutch shaft.
Now the rest of the story: I couldn't stand the suspence...not knowing what was wrong. Pulled the radiator and clutch cover and found the button on the top of the clutch pull rod was missing (later found it with a magnet in the sump). Worse, the lifter arm (which I would call the clutch shaft) is fractured right at the machined cavity for the pull rod. The clutch itself is in excellent condition and no problems found there. What I can't figure out is whether the clutch shaft breaking was the root cause or if the button broke off the pull rod. Also puzzling is that the manual shows a torrington style needle bearing under the thrust washer,,,,mine has no bearing, just the thrust washer and a wave washer....anyone got any ideas??? If you look closely at the pics, you can see the crack in the clutch shaft.