hydraulic clutch

cycleguy1970 · Aug 18, 2022

Hello

I have a 2016 Tri-Glide and at about 200 miles the clutch heats up so bad it is gone ! It completely disengages! After an hour of letting it cool you can get about 10 minutes of riding before it slowly disengages and does it again. I have had it professionally bled by harley and all new fluid with the same results . They assured me she was good to go.

It wasnt ! Got 200 miles from home on way to Sturgis and had to be hauled back by Triple A! DEALER is stumped. Ive heard there were problems with this system but never this one.

Trike only has 15000 miles on it and is equipped with Oberon adjustable levers.

Anyway ANY HELP or advice would be great.

Thanks for taking the time.

Jack Klarich · Aug 18, 2022

Jim, HD has had several campaigns to fix this problem, your Trike should have the clutch master cylinder either rebuilt or replaced along with the slave cylinder

The entire system needs to be bled every 2 years, gas bubbles build up in the system leading to overheating and degradation of the fluid. You know the rest of the story already with your break down on the way to Sturgis

You might want to have this conversation with your local dealer to see if they will goodwill this job for you. They should have several internal memos on this plus the recalls

2K1200LTS · Aug 18, 2022

Check the line going into your slave cylinder by the exhaust. Had a couple over the years where the exhaust was change of had a reverse kit put in and the line was too close to the exhaust and melted the covering on the line. When it gets that hot you end up losing your clutch, let it cool down then it's OK.

Koolbreeze · Aug 18, 2022

Just because Harley bled the clutch fluid does not mean they did a complete flush with good fluid. The tiniest air bubble can expand and cause an issue like you have. Along with moisture in the fluid will cause the same.

I would test the clutch fluid to see how much moisture is in there and if it is above 2% you may have found your issue.

Get one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076SC377J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

NHBAGGER · Aug 18, 2022

Try putting your stock lever back on to see if the issue goes away.

rhino 2 · Aug 18, 2022

cycleguy1970 said:
Hello

I have a 2016 Tri-Glide and at about 200 miles the clutch heats up so bad it is gone ! It completely disengages! After an hour of letting it cool you can get about 10 minutes of riding before it slowly disengages and does it again. I have had it professionally bled by harley and all new fluid with the same results . They assured me she was good to go.

It wasnt ! Got 200 miles from home on way to Sturgis and had to be hauled back by Triple A! DEALER is stumped. Ive heard there were problems with this system but never this one.

Trike only has 15000 miles on it and is equipped with Oberon adjustable levers.

Anyway ANY HELP or advice would be great.

Thanks for taking the time.

I had the Oberon on my 2017 Tri…And it does pre load the clutch…I kept mine on # 2..

That said I never had a problem but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be your problem?

Seaweed · Aug 19, 2022

Koolbreeze said:
Just because Harley bled the clutch fluid does not mean they did a complete flush with good fluid. The tiniest air bubble can expand and cause an issue like you have. Along with moisture in the fluid will cause the same.

I would test the clutch fluid to see how much moisture is in there and if it is above 2% you may have found your issue.

Get one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076SC377J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

View attachment 109313

Does this work with clutch fluid as well as brake fluid?

ultrafxr · Aug 19, 2022

Seaweed said:
Does this work with clutch fluid as well as brake fluid?

Yes it is the same fluid in both systems. Most likely DOT 4 but check on the cover of the master cylinder(s). It should say what type fluid is required.

Jack Klarich · Aug 19, 2022

Seaweed said:
Does this work with clutch fluid as well as brake fluid?

ultrafxr said:
Yes it is the same fluid in both systems. Most likely DOT 4 but check on the cover of the master cylinder(s). It should say what type fluid is required.

Yes it will work on all brake fluid

Keep in mind when you do a fluid change, only buy as much fluid as you need. Once you open the bottle the clock is ticking.

This means moisture is entering the fluid, so use it all up, do not keep it on the shelf for any extended period of time. You will thank your self for this