Having a big pair of bear paws for hands is a great bragging point and can be quite an intimidation factor when it comes to shaking hands. However, unless you're some kind of political figurehead, you probably don't spend hours constantly shaking hands with other people and therefore don't feel the fatigue associated with such actions.
Yeah, I know, where am I going with this right? Well, shaking hands is kind of like pulling in the clutch on your bike, except your hand is more parallel to the ground rather than perpendicular. And unlike shaking hands you're bound to pull your clutch lever way more often and exert more effort in doing so, especially if you have a heavy clutch. Such was the case on one of our Softails. We had recently upgraded to Barnett's new Stealth Series (blacked out) cables. Even though the new clutch cable featured Barnett's HE (high efficiency) inner wire which aids in smooth clutch pull and reduced effort, our "cleaner" (look-wise) routing method put a tight bend in the cable coming right off the clutch perch which made it a little tougher to pull in the clutch. It wasn't unbearable, but we knew it definitely could be improved with a quick installation of a Power Clutch kit we picked up from Eurocomponents.
1. Here's the Power Clutch...
1. Here's the Power Clutch we got from Eurocomponents. It's basically two ramps that from the outside look just like the stock units and fit in place of the stock ramps. The Power Clutch ($170.52) is available for 1987-later Evos and Twin Cams or 1994-later Sportsters and Buells.
2. Installation was quick...
2. Installation was quick and easy especially since the exhaust was already off. We started by loosening the clutch cable lock nut and cable adjuster. Then we drained the trans fluid and unbolted the trans cover. Next, we used snap ring pliers (not a pair of scratch awls used like chopsticks) to remove the clutch ramp retaining ring (arrow).
3. Here is a comparison of...
3. Here is a comparison of the inside of the Power Clutch ramps (A) and the stock clutch ramps. They look pretty much the same except for the difference in the orientation, angle and depth of the three ball recesses on the Power Clutch's inside ramp (arrow). The design of these recesses provide a mechanical advantage over the stock unit which help reduce the amount force it takes to pull the clutch lever in.
4. Installing the Power Clutch...
4. Installing the Power Clutch was simply a matter of sliding the outer clutch ramp into position followed by the three ramp balls, then placing the inner ramp on top, hooking in the clutch cable and reinstalling the retaining ring.
5. Once we had the clutch...
5. Once we had the clutch cover back on we poured in fresh trans fluid and followed the instructions from Eurocomponents on adjusting the clutch which consisted of turning the adjusting screw clockwise until it was lightly seated, squeezing the clutch lever two or three times, backing off the adjusting screw and repeating this two times. Then we backed off the adjusting screw only 1/8 rotation instead of the factory setting and tightened the lock nut.
6. Eurocomponents states...
6. Eurocomponents states that with a completely stock bike you'll get a 40 percent lighter clutch pull. Using our trusty fish scale (it never lies) we measured the amount of force it took to pull the clutch lever in all the way. With the stock ramps in place it took about 19 pounds of force but with the Power Clutch installed it was about 13.5 pounds, almost 30 percent difference. Not quite 40 but we attributed that to the tight bend of the clutch cable. But we were still quite happy with the results; our hands will thanks us for it especially when it comes to parade duty.