by sportsterpaul » Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:06 pm
Dude, we feel for you-- all of us have had a miserable experience like this with the bikes we love.
If the big bearing in the back of the clutch basket is loose or trashed, the primary chain will tilt the basket under load and the clutch will drag. So not only the trap-door bearing, but the clutch bearing is important. It might be time to find a junk primary and cut the top open, so you can see what is happening when you pull the lever.
I once used my '79 to tow a 1948 Dodge with seized rear brakes across the parking lot in my shop. The landlord was going to the tow the Dodge. I got it moved, but I broke 2 steels, and dented the trapdoor bearing, and the little bearing the release mechanism presses on also got ruined. I fixed those obvious things but the clutch still dragged. That is when I learned to plop each steel on a piece of glass. If it rocks or makes a hollow sound when you tap on the steel, its not flat. When you plop a flat one down, it makes a dull thunk you soon recognize.
So, the things have to not move-- not the clutch basket, not the clutch hub and gear. And plates have to be flat, and the bearing good. The mechanism has to push in far enough and the center springs have to be rotated and messed with until the plate gets pushed in evenly. Its not enough that there are the two factory springs, you rotate those springs relative to each other until they apply even pressure to the plate. Its all a lot of hassle, and makes you long for the old dry clutch.
There is always one outlier like your job that makes life miserable, but you will have a story for the campfire, and beer, lots of beer.