Victory Motorcycle Forum banner

Hydraulic clutch kit on a CC

19K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  BruceI  
#1 ·
Over on the ***, there is a thread about the Hydraulic clutch kit and since I just installed it and the riders over there were asking for a video of the hose routing, I did one up and posted it on Youtube.

The kit is for other bike models so the hose is too short to follow the path of the old cable. So an alternate routing is necessary.

For those interested in this kit, have a look...

http://youtu.be/0a8MVNh1jbI

Hope it helps.
 
#2 ·
I have been following that on the other forum as well. It is not something I am going to do this year but I will probably do it sooner than later. I live in a rural area so I am not working the clutch as much as others. If I had to ride my XR in a more urban environment then I would be all over it. I think Victory should have put these on the cross bikes anyway.
 
#3 · (Edited)
finally! my prayers and pleading have been answered. i was
the one who kept asking. i see jon at witchdoctors is talking
about doing one too. thank you! how do you like the new setup?
hard to ride in 8 inches of snow in nw illinois.--irv--:)

p s--i still think you guys and this forum are the best!
 
#5 ·
according to what i have heard, if you want to route it like
the cable you would need to use the vision clutch hose. its
longer, but i dont know how much.
 
#6 ·
I bought the kit that was advertised for the Cross bikes but when it came the instructions said it was for Hammers and Kingpins and Vegas', but I knew from other forum members that a different routing was necessary. I did try to follow the same routing as the old cable but it was too short. Bleeding the line was a *****. The nipple is very small and a tricky thing to work with. Gravity did most of the work. As a matter of fact when my son and I tried the "open-close" routine it got worse so just opening the bleeder and letting the fluid flow out worked better.
 
#10 ·
Yes it is however, I figure it is worth the piece of mind knowing I won't be stranded somewhere in the middle of Wyoming. $400 is relatively cheap compared to the price of the vehicle.
 
#8 ·
If you don't know air will flow up to the master cylinder cause air goes to the highest place.

Bleed the air out of the master cylinder first. Put fluid in the master cylinder and with finger over where line hooks up squeeze the lever fluid will push your finger off if it doesn't at first keep doing this till it does. Don't for get to add fluid never let master cylinder run dry.
Once the master cylinder has no air hold lever down and hook up line. Now hook up line at slave cylinder. Squeeze lever hold down and open bleeder at slave cylinder. If you need have some thing you can tie lever down while you do bleeder.
IF you open bleeder lever Has to be down. This for braks too.
Once you feel you have most of the air out go to master cylinder and just barley squeeze lever air will come out not a lot just little bubbles.
Bleeding can take a good half hour or more. Check youtube for how to bleed breaks and you'll see what to do
 
#9 ·
Yep, did most of that. Even tried a MightyVac (POS). I think most of the air was in the slave. When I stood the bike upright and bled some more fluid out it got better almost right away. BTW, how do you bleed the master with no hose attached? That sounds like a mess! It was a mess with everything hooked up already. The bleed hose doesn't want to stay on the nipple while you turn it with the wrench, trying to keep fluid off the paint, etc. My least favorite job for sure!
 
#12 ·
This isn't good news, how long did the original last? My original cable has 21,000 miles. Victory says the problem with the cable breaking is fixed, but I suppose there is a normal service life for any cable. Does anyone know what a reasonable life expectancy should be?
 
#14 · (Edited)
another stupid question. to anyone who installed the clutch kit.
do you have the 2" pullback bars and does this make a difference
on the hose length? hadnt thought about that before.--irv

update to ?--raccoon has a cc. i have a cr. his bar length would
already be longer than mine. so maybe i wouldnt need a longer hose
with my 2" pullback bars.yes? no?
 
#15 ·
I do not have pullbacks and I believe the hose would not be long enough for that. I hear there is a kit for the Vision that has a longer hose.
 
#16 ·
so .... what the heck am I not getting right? To start off with I converted my 2002 V92C to a hydraulic clutch ... it was like plug-n-play. So here is the problem on my 2011 XC. I ordered new clutch res, brake hose (Vision), slave and all the bits and pieces. Install was quick and painless. Bled the system. Went for a test ride and shifting to 3rd it began to slip. Returned home and into the garage. I started measuring between the to bikes and found the XC had no free pin at the clutch arm. I ended up having to unscrew the anchor from the slave and shim it almost a 1/4". All parts are OEM from partspitstop.com. I haven't removed the slaves for a side by side comparison yet ... any thoughts?
 
#17 ·
Installed a Witch Doctors kit on my 2013 XCT. 2 inch pull back and all. Jon has the hose running down the left side of the frame vs the right side.
No Issues with install, or operation. Bleeding the system, use the normal methode then use a clamp or tape to squeeze the level and hold it. Let rest overnight. Most of the air will be removed from the system.
 
#18 ·
Why don't you buy the kit for the vision? You will have enough line and you can hide the extra under the gas tank if you have any. If you change bars you'll still have enough
 
#19 ·
doesnt the vision come with a hyd. clutch as standard. i don
think there is a kit for it.
 
#22 ·
There is no free play adjustment. It is fully automatic. As long as the system is bled properly it should work just fine. However, keep in mind that because there is no adjustment, there is only one way to get the lever closer to the grip and that is to pull the pushrod from the master and cut its length down. I did so and it works fine. I removed almost 3/16". That helped a lot for my little hands.
 
#25 ·
No, the fairing does not have to be removed. I did remove the headlight in order to see where the hose was going through and to help guide it.
 
#28 ·
Well it happened. Clutch cable on my 12 XCT broke today. 37,000 miles. Late Friday afternoon and I was supposed to leave on a road trip Sunday. Call dealer (over 2 hours away) no cable in stock. Ask about hydraulic conversion, of course told it isn't available for XC. Got out the Royal Star Venture which needs a rear tire. My Yamaha dealer has a tire and will mount on the wheel Saturday morning. 103,000 miles on the Yamaha, wish the Victory would have been so dependable. I suppose my fault for not lubing the cable properly. Love those no maintenance hydraulic clutches. Sort of rethinking the move to Victory.
 
#33 · (Edited)
The Vegas/King pin/Jackpot hydraulic clutch from Victory fits the cross bikes. Like has been posted you just need to run the hydraulic line from the clutch master cylinder down the left side of the frame to the slave cylinder.

Why Victory is so hard headed about this and continues to say to this day that they have no hydraulic clutch kit for the cross bikes is beyond me.

This is an easy install and the biggest key is to make sure before you bleed the system that the slave cylinder rod is in the pulled out position. If you install the slave cylinder in its bracket which is the same bracket that holds the clutch cable by the way and attach the slave cylinder rod to the clutch arm on the primary cover the rod will be in the correct position to bleed the system. I think some have tried to bleed the system before hooking up the slave cylinder rod with the clutch arm and that results in the slave cylinder rod being in the closed position and will not work when they finally hook up the slave cylinder rod to the clutch arm on the primary cover. They scratch their heads wondering why when they pull in the clutch lever nothing happens. It is all because the failed to make sure the slave cylinder rod was in the out or open position.

It took me all of thirty minutes to install and bleed the system on my bike from start the project to ready to test ride. I have had the hydraulic clutch on my Cross Country Tour for 25,000 miles now. When I brought the bike home from the dealer brand new the first thing I did was install the Victory hydraulic clutch and it has worked flawless since. The only thing I have done is replace the hydraulic fluid once so that it remains fresh. That also takes all of about 5 minutes from beginning to end.
 
#34 ·
Looking for a thread with instructions to replace the clutch cable on a XCT. I know I should go hydraulic, but ordered the cable and have picked it up. Am I correct in assuming I can install the cable without removing the tank? Anyone out there with experience in replacing the clutch cable on a XCT that can comment?

Does Harley have hydraulic clutch?
Does Indian? Will Indian have a Tour model soon?
Sure glad I have my RSV to ride while I wait for Victory parts. Have lost confidence in the Victory. Maybe I'll recover, maybe I'll move on. Did have a good trip home to S.D. on my RSV which now has 104,000 miles.