RK Primary Fluid Change

 

I have been working my way through a very lengthy checklist of
maintenance procedures on the Road King.  On the agenda for today was
a good cleaning and detailing along with changing the tranny and
primary fluids.

This was the first time I have changed the primary fluid and a couple
of things struck me as odd.

The first was after pulling the clutch inspection cover I found the
clutch was not centered within the open port. The bottom of the
pressure plate was very near the lower edge of the inspection cover
opening. There was virtually no clearance at the bottom and maybe 15
to 20mm at the top. Everything works fine but this struck me as
unusual.

The second thing I found odd was how difficult it is to get the fluid
into the opening. Maybe difficult is not the right word.  Since there
was very little gap between the clutch and the primary chain cover
there was no way I could just pour the fluid in. First I tried to use
a turkey baster to squirt the fluid past the clutch but the fluid was
too thick making the procedure to slow. So I fashioned a paper trough
that I slipped between the case and the clutch and then poured the
fluid into the trough.  This worked OK but was still tedious and slow.

Is there a trick to pouring the new fluid into the case and is it
normal for the clutch not to be centered in the opening?

 

don (Calgary) wrote:


Not sure why you'd care whether the clutch was centered in the opening.
Unless your primary cover has hit something, really hard, it's as lined
up as Harley wants it to be.

http://www.dudeworld.com.au/HOWTO.PRIMARY.HTML

 

wrote:


The primary is as it should be. I am just used to symmetry. Seeing
something not centered was odd.

That is just a bit different from my engine. My drain plug is in a
slightly different location.  

The service manual for my RK shows doing the fill through the clutch
inspection cover. Looking at the pictures in the link you provided, it
would be far easier to fill using the chain inspection cover and it
would eliminate having to purchase an extra gasket.

Thanks for the link.

 

| The service manual for my RK shows doing the fill through the clutch
| inspection cover. Looking at the pictures in the link you provided, it
| would be far easier to fill using the chain inspection cover and it
| would eliminate having to purchase an extra gasket.
|
| Thanks for the link.

I had/have a tie-down to the garage wall that lets me lean Stokley over to
the right instead of left.  Been doing it like that for over 20 years but
like Mark's way better.

 


Why would you lean it over to the right?

For draining and filling the transmission (and other times when I need
the bike vertical temporarily), I have a 3' long piece of 4x8 (2-2x8's
screwed together) with a 3' pipe going through one end and lever that
under the frame.  Simple and works like a charm.

For major work, it's up on the table-lift she goes!  (now that I've
had one, the last couple of years)  Then I can work on it in comfort
(without bruising ribs ;)