Removal and installation of 1988 harley sportster clutch

In order to remove the clutch from your bike, you must have a special tool. You'll need H-D #34761 in order to remove the snap ring holding the clutch together.

Disconnect the battery, drain the primary, and remove the primary cover. Once you have the primary cover off, you can remove the nut from the compensator sprocket at the engine end of the primary chain.

Install the H-D 34761 or equivalent tool and compress the clutch spring. Remove the snap ring and then back off on the tool to release the pressure on the clutch spring. Once the pressure has been removed, remove the adjusting screw assembly, the outer clutch spring seats, the clutch spring, the inner clutch spring seat, and the pressure plate.

Then you can disassemble the rest of the clutch. Remove the remove the four friction plates and three drive plates. Then you can remove the spring plate and the remaining plates after that. Remove the snap ring that holds the clutch assembly onto the transmission clutch gear and remove the inner and outer clutch shells, the primary chain, and the engine sprocket as a group.

For this job, I would recommend that you purchase a service manual. It's has pictures that show you what you're dealing with and in this case, a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

Good Luck
Steve