[Troublehead]

I have an odd situation that maybe someone out there may have knowledge of. I ride a 75 FLH, and its been great even with various mods, including a B grind andrews cam, and solids. the trouble began when I swithched to Crane solid lifters, and pushrods, (there were some aftermarket solids and pushrods in it prior to this.) along with new lifter blocks. since then, the torque has been lame, and the bike has no pull to it. I had it tuned, and timed by a shop, and the problem is still present. With Crane solids, the cam has to come out, so the lifters can go in, as the pushrods are too long to install with the lifters in, and heads on. the timing marks on the pinion, cam, and breather are all as they should be, so what am I missing? a compression test indicates 132 psi frt, and 130 psi rear. it has a dyna S ignition system, so no points.
Any ideas as to whats going on? I would appreciate any help. Thanks, T-Head.

 

[Darien1965]

Hey T-Head, I don't know much but I do have two cents worth for ya. Are they adjustable pushrods? Well, weather they are or not, check the adjustment or fit. Was the ones you took out solids? Are these new lifters and pushrods. Just a thought. Let us know what's up.


Big D

 

[Troublehead]

power loss

Hi Big D, the pushrods are adjustable, and were right when the install was done, and readjusted a few times since, all seems well there. it was a real hauler till the Crane parts were installed.I thought it might be a timing issue, there is a Rivera S.S. advance unit, and the dyna S Installed a few years earlier, but its been timed a couple times so I'm unsure what to make of it now. well, lets see what else I can try.. thanks for the reply.

 

[KBOlsen]

Head...

Call Lake Shore HD at (847) 662-4500 and ask for John C. in the service dept. He's one of the best there is with shovelheads.

 

[sparks'n'dust]

Also try doing a leak-down test - it will indicate compression loss, and locate which parts are leaking (rings, valves, head gaskets
But if it was fine before, and is not fine now, immediately after work was done, re-do everythig, and more than likely you will find the problem.

 

[Troublehead]

good idea

Also try doing a leak-down test - it will indicate compression loss, and locate which parts are leaking (rings, valves, head gaskets
But if it was fine before, and is not fine now, immediately after work was done, re-do everythig, and more than likely you will find the problem.

I think thats an excellent idea, when I installed the B grind cam some years ago, the timing was scribed to make it easier to duplicate the setting upon assembly. this however didnt work, as the new cam must be causing a change in valve train geometry. the tuner agreed. so if the new lifters did the same thing, some different timing would be needed again. I am wondering if when doing the install on the Crane parts, if the frt cyl. was on TDC. so I will be taking it all down to make sure I didnt overlook something. Thanks for the idea, T-Head.

 

[sparks'n'dust]

Timing

Verify your correct cam/crank pinion/breather gear timing and ignition timing first before complete disassembly.

 

[Troublehead]

Well, I have found one reason for suffering performance,, I had some work done on the trans, (I dont use "tranny" anymore, for some reason people think it means something else,,,) and the clutch was redone, and the assembler put the plates in reverse order, so i have a steeel up against the basket instead of a fiber. Dont know if this can cause the loss of pull, but its getting redone anyway. (no wonder the clutch was crabby...) going thru the timing and such next,, and i'll keep you posted... where is Indiana Jones when you need him...

 

[sparks'n'dust]

Any news?

 

[Troublehead]

Not yet, the weather is uncooperative , all cold and raining, tho should be warm tomorrow. So i'll have tales of internal combustion carnage for you then..

 

[Troublehead]

Well, some news,,,

I dismantled the primary today, (much easier with the new bike lift) the clutch plates are suspect. The steels are all glazed looking and about 30% blue. The fibers are glazed over most of their surfaces, and smell burned. These are the "red" barnett plates,and there was no oily feeling to the fibers either. The basket is also polished smooth and spotted blue in places. I recall that when the clutch was dismantled to begin with, the plates (both steel&fiber ) didnt exhibit the glazed / blue appearance. Any thoughts??

 

[Kainam]

Sounds like the clutch might have been mis adjusted causing it to slip under hard acceleration.

 

[Troublehead]

Certainly could be,, these older clutches are a strange beast, I think i'll get an alchemist to do it this time,,,,ordered new plates, springs, and pressure plate, so we'll see if that corrects the power situation too.

 

[Troublehead]

The clutch rebuild is finished, the plates were all glazed, the pressure plate dimpled, and anything but flat, the springs had taken a set of about one coil, so I guess that explains part of the trouble,, and its not unexpected after 32 years of shriners parades, (previous owner) and my wild riding. So its all to rights now, next, the timing. Tune in next time for,,, Terror in the timing chest !!

 

[Kainam]

Same Bat-time, Same Bat-Channel.... I'll be tuned in!

 

[GAZOO!]

Did you soak the fiber plates to make sure they get saturated before installation (this is a wet clutch right?)?

 

[Troublehead]

Did you soak the fiber plates to make sure they get saturated before installation (this is a wet clutch right?)?

I asked about soaking the fibers, and was told by the seller, and a local indie shop not to. The clutch does not run in a bath like evos, sporties, Buells, Vrods, there is just a dribbler in the primary to lube the chain, as it collects in the bottom of the primary, its scavenged back into the oil pump, to the tank, and probably leaks out of somewhere else..... so long story short, no its dry.

 

[GAZOO!]

I asked about soaking the fibers, and was told by the seller, and a local indie shop not to. The clutch does not run in a bath like evos, sporties, Buells, Vrods, there is just a dribbler in the primary to lube the chain, as it collects in the bottom of the primary, its scavenged back into the oil pump, to the tank, and probably leaks out of somewhere else..... so long story short, no its dry.

Interesting, I though only Ducati's ran dry clutches.

 

[Troublehead]

Interesting, I though only Ducati's ran dry clutches.

I think its just a hold over from the tin primary days, of the knuckle and pan engines.(and probably before that.) I dont know why they designed it this way, would have been less complex to make it a wet primary. as it is, it has to be air tight to support the scavenge suction. Some folks do convert them to wet, change the plates, and block the scavenge port,and chain oiler. But I left mine as is.. and an odd fact, the clutch assy's of older bikes, (before Evo's) were originally an agricultural equipment clutch, said to be either made by, or used by Allis Chalmers.

 

[Troublehead]

Well, not terror in the timing chest,,, everything is as it should be, (I suspect gremlins) all the marks line up, flywheels in the right position, I havnt checked over the advance unit yet, its a stainless rivera , going to lube it, then see whats up. then re adj. the pushrods, re-time, see what happens... (maybe I'm so used to my firebolt, and V-rod that I just think its slow.. )