The subject of easier clutch effort comes up fairly often on the XL-List. I never thought mine was that bad. Traffic was usually a pain (literally) but I figured it was more a problem with me than the bike. After several comments about how high the clutch lever effort was on my bike from other non-Sportser owners, I started looking at other bikes. My bike had the highest clutch effort, both in pulling in and in holding, than any of the bikes I tried. The cable on my bike is in good shape, lubricated, and properly adjusted. Seems like the effort is just pretty stiff on my bike.

I finally decided after getting caught in traffic multiple times on a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains and dealing with the pain in my left hand well after the ride that it was time to do something about it. There are several choices, from aftermarket levers, aftermarket ramp assemblies, and even swapping parts from a 2004 or newer 883 (the suggestion of Smoky Mountain Harley, a pretty nicely stocked dealership and worth the visit if you're in the area).

I remembered reading about Magura selling a hydraulic clutch kit for Sportsters that was a complete kit, not pieces fitted together from various sources, and decided to investigate. The kit is pretty well described here, but the short description is that for a Sportster, it's a bolt-on swap that even comes pre-bled, and results in 40% reduction in effort. Sounds good to me! The list price for 2006 was right at $350, which was a bit steep, so I hit eBay and found one for $300 shipped. I ordered it and got it within a week.

Here is a picture of the complete contents of the kit:

Here is a picture of the handlebar clamp, clutch lever, and master cylinder:

Here is a closeup picture of the clutch lever fitting the master cylinder:

Here is a picture of the slave cylinder:

I recently installed the kit, and I am VERY happy with it! The effort to pull in the clutch is dramatically reduced, and the holding effort seems lower, too. It almost seems easier to ride faster, since the lighter clutch effort makes it seem easier to run through the gears. If you're fighting with high clutch effort and it's causing you problems, this is a good solution. I don't have experience with other systems but I can say I'd do this again.

Installation is easy, and if you can adjust the stock clutch then you're probably going to be able to install this system. The instructions in the kit are fairly clear, and it was easy enough that I wasn't sure what to photograph. In general, you put the bike on a stand and remove the clutch inspection cover. Loosen the clutch cable length adjustment in the cable and set for maximum slack. Remove the spring and captured nut in the clutch assembly. Completely loosen and remove the clutch adjustment screw and remove the nut, then remove the ball-and-ramp assembly. Once that's out, remove the clutch cable from the primary and take it off of the handlebars.

Here is a picture of the clutch parts after they're removed:

Here is a picture of the bare primary, with everything out:

The instructions then say to install the ball-and-ramp and adjusting nut, and adjust it to 1/4-1/2 round from seat. This is much tighter than the stock adjustment, but is necessary since the clutch slave cylinder is retained only by tension on the slave cylinder -- it does not attach to the primary. Too loose on this adjustment and the slave cylinder will not pull the clutch all the way in. It will also leak primary fluid! Once the slave cylinder is installed, remove the shipping sleeve inside the cylinder. Reinstall the nut, spring, gasket, and inspection cover. Route the hydraulic line appropriately and intstall the master cylinder on the handlebar in place of the old clutch lever. That's it. The whole thing took me about an hour of easy work, including putting it on the lift and stopping for photographs.

Here is a picture of the clutch lever and master cylinder assembly installed (yes, my bike was dirty when I did this, it's cleaner now):

Here is a picture of the slave cylinder installed. There were questions about if this would work with forward controls, and I think it would. The instructions show it installed with forwards, too:

Here is a closer look at the slave cylinder. Note the bleeder screw -- since the slave is not bolted securely to the primary, the bleeder screw more-or-less finds where it wants to be. You can guide it to be where you want by hose routing, but in this picture I didn't pay attention to that detail. The whole assembly is so small that it doesn't cause any grief being pointed in just about any direction, so it's only a problem with looks -- not function. Considering the bleed method they use (and that the system comes pre-bled), it shouldn't be a service problem, either. I'll redo this over the winter when I take care of some other details on the bike:

Finally, here is a look at the finished product. The "Sportster" line is still a bit long on my bike (though with different handlebars it would probably be fine) so over the winter I'll probably shorten it a bit. I took up the slack over several places to minimize the extra length in any one place, but it could be cleaner than it is. Overall, though, I'm pleased with its function and look.

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