Another minor problem....

My shifter lever that connects to the shifter rod has lots of side-to-side play. It easily rocks sideways enough to touch the inner primary. I've been looking for a part number for that piece that connects to the transmission shaft but can't find it. (It is for an 86 FLST) Does anyone have a part number for it? And how easy is it to replace? Do I need to pull the primary to get to it?

 

Inner primary has to come off to get it off. Part# 33715-85A

That's not unusual and something that really should be checked regularly. They are prone to working loose and ocassionally the splines in the lever will wear, sometimes to the point of striping the male splines on the shaft which requires the gear set to be removed to replace.

On a brighter note, they will most often tighten up if they've not been run too long in the loose condition which is very evident by being sloppy and difficult to shift and hard to find neutral.

I would suggest you first remove the pinch bolt and inspect it and the threads in the lever (hard to see down in there but do best you can) If the bolt is at all compromised, replace it and torque it back to 25 ft/lb. It's a 5/16 SAE x 1"

 

I'm not sure how the softtail is different than the FLHT, but I have had issues with that thing over the years as well. On the FLHT, there is a thin little piece of brass webbing bushing inside the hole at the front of the inner primary that wears out, causing the shaft through the primary to vibrate around, making the interface at the inside where the lever arm connects loosen up. You can replace the brass bushing thing with another piece of shiite and be there again in another year or two. I made a bushing from Delrin that runs the whole length of the hole in the inner primary. It supports the shaft very well and doesn't need lube, being Delrin.

 

Thanks T150...I was having a heck of a time finding that in my parts breakdown...the picture is not to scale so it didn't even look like the right piece at the time I was looking.

That is a bummer to pull the primary for replacement but I was kinda suspecting that. It is too bad somebody didn't design a 2-piece clamp in the aftermarket to avoid pulling the primary (or maybe it just wouldn't work that way). I'll take a look to see if mine could be tightened but it has been that way for awhile so I am not very optimistic.

 

Dr.Hess...looks like we were posting at the same time...I'll take a closer look at mine and see if it is similar in design to your FLHT. I am looking for something I could do to get by until the next time I pull the primary, if possible. I'm preferring not to pull it right now unless there really is no other choice.

 

If you install the new arm, The placement of that arm rests at 11 o'clock on the shaft shaft. Hopefully the lesser of two evils prevails and it's not your shift shaft spline.

 

I know the crappy bushings The good Doctor is speaking of. I've only replaced mine once as well as the shaft and it was still sloppy so I used a spring washer to keep it from rattling. Really like the idea of a 1-piece all the way thru.

And maybe Mr1986 will correct me if I'm mistaken, but the Softtails didn't mount the front lever/shaft assembly to the inner. They have a separate plate which is bolted to and under the kickstand mount. The inner linkage lever is made to the thru shaft (1-piece). On the other FLs, the front lever will come right off by pulling the pinch bolt and withdrawing the shaft, foot levers still mounted. Last one I did was a 91 Heritage. Got so bad the linkage lever was hitting the front jug... no that was a striped bolt bottom of the kickstand... behind a motel in Wyoming.

And I may have read the first post wrong, but you were talking about the lever that mounts directly to the transmission Mr1986? That's the part number I gave you anyway... hope tightening it works you.

 

I guess I was lucky this time around!...I loosened and then retightened the allen and it took out 90% of the slop....there is still a small amount of play in it but I am hoping it will last until next time I pull the primary and I'll replace it then....

T150, you were understanding correctly, it is the piece that mounts directly to the transmission that I tightened....and you are right about how it is mounted on the softtails too...it is on a separate plate and that part seems pretty easy to get to if needed. It sounds like you've seen your share of bike carnage on them road

 

This is just another of HD better ideas. One son on an older dana replaced his twice
and the second time tack welded the pot metal to the tran. shaft.
My other son just replaced his on a 01 RK, the second time and replaced the tran
shaft. (along with the tran return spring at 50K) Just good pot metal...Tenn.Vol.

 

Had the same problem, replaced the arm with a steel one. If it comes loose again I was thinking maybe filing a small keyway in the shaft, If I screw up the shaft, what am I out?