Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I've been having a slight issue with clutch drag on my 2001 VN800 Classic, but it's only been when it's cold. If I start it while it's in gear it'll pull forward just a bit, not so much that I can't stop it and only for a moment, and as far I can tell it doesn't creep while sitting still, at least, not while I'm sitting on it. When it's parked in gear and not running, and I try to roll it with the clutch pulled in, it doesn't roll freely, there's some resistance, and that's with the clutch lever pulled in all the way.

I went out today and bought some digital calipers, and adjusted the freeplay to the recommended 2-3mm, but that doesn't seem to have corrected the issue.

Again, it's only when it's cold. After it's warmed up a bit, there's no clutch drag at all either while starting it or while rolling it in gear. I'm wondering if it's just a cold-bike issue (my wife's Shadow doesn't have any clutch drag, even when cold, but that's a Honda...), or if I need to let the cable out further at either the midpoint adjuster or at the clutch itself before setting the lever freeplay.

Any thoughts?

Yup, it's just the cold oil creating the same effect as a torque converter in an automatic car. The cold oil is thick and wants to move everything at the same speed, so it tries to pull all parts of the clutch along at the same speed.
You'll notice when you change the oil that the effect lessens as well.