I've read alot of posts about the gear swaps...some good,some bad...some even say the factory 6 speeds in a 07 and 08 harley are noisy and junk...so what is a person to believe...????...you are going to have some people that have better luck than others,some expect perfection...some dont care at all if it runs...My question is this.....(FORGET THE BAKER TRANSMISSION...WE ALL KNOW ITS THE BEST...BETTER THAN JIM'S..,HARLEY.which I think is Jim's...,ULTIMA,REVTECH...ETC.AND SO ON....)...Is the Ultima Gear set any worse than the factory trans gears as far as noise and dependability...!!!....I just cant seem to make up my mind as what to do....I talked directly to Baker and they told me their OD-6 is loud when riding down the road because of the straight-cut gear design...well all of them have staight cut ..except the DD-6 by Baker...it has both...so,can anyone with the direct experiance of running these gears help me out as far as the noise answer...is it any worse than the harley OD-6..,the Baker OD-6..The Jim's OD-6,the factory 07-08 harley 6 speed...etc...please help...Thanks in advance..Tony

 

Ultima is not known for quality parts, be it their engines or transmissions. I've played with alot of Ultima products, not a fan of em, never would buy anything of theirs for myself either.

Baker makes a good quality transmission, but I wouldnt classify their OD6 transmission any better than Jims version(or the SE OD6 which is made by JIMS) of what is a very similiar designed tranny. Transmissions with straightcut gears are the way to go as they by design are more efficient and transferring power to the rear wheel since there is no side loading pressures from helical gears, they may be by nature a bit noisier, but HELLO! We're riding Harley's here which people find normally noisy due to most people adding aftermarket pipes etc. on.

 

I installed a Ultima gear set recently. The bike has been driven about 2000 miles. So far, I am more than happy with the mod. Also, all this talk about Baker, note that Baker gets its gears from the same factory in Korea as all the rest ie; Jim, Revtech, etc. Baker makes its own gear box in the USA but the gears come from Korea. The only issue with the Ultima is the neutral light comes on in 4th gear. I understand there is a simple fix for this but so far have not received a answer as to how to fix it. Don't get me wrong, Bakers has a great reputation for good reason I suppose but to spend thousands more for a gear set seems foolish IMHO.

The real question is; is it worth the money to install a six speed setup. In my opinion it is questionable. I had installed a 33 tooth second gear pulley ( factor is 32 tooth). I got almost the same results with that change as I did installing the six speed gear set. The total cost was just couple of hundred dollars. The cost to purchase and install the six speed gear set is near $ 1,400. If I had it to do over again I would saved my money and kept the 33 tooth pulley. Anyway, that's my experience with six speeds.

 

I put an Ultima 6 sp OD gear set in my 2000 FLHTPI. Actually purchased an entire tranny (it was for a softail) and installed the gear set into my stock HD tranny case. The cost for the entire Ultima tranny was only $50 more than the gear set builders kit, and you get the 2 year 20K warranty only with the whole tranny. I have not had any problems with the tranny so far )about 10K miles so far since install and getting the bike back on the road this fall. As far as the neutral light, mine comes on in neutral only. I remember when I 1st installed the gearset, the NL did come on in only 4th gear; I can't remember the exact fix I came up with, but it had to do with switching to a different style NL pick up, maybe from a softail, I don't recall, but it fixed the problem. Don't quote me, but I recall having to cap off one wire from the original NL pick up. Probably not much help for you, but maybe so.

 

Baker does not buy their gears from Korea, at least not from what I was told by the owner of Baker in Daytona at Bike Week. I actually met the guy that owned the company that supplied them with their gears and he was not Korean. Not sure where you got this information from. I'm not saying that gears have to be made in America for them to be good, but this information about Baker using the same supplier for the gears, which is what makes the transmission, as Revtech and Ultima is not true.

 

The information came from Ultima. I should have qualified my statement since I just repeated what I was told. Forgive the error but I still have some reservations that ALL of Baker parts are all make in the USA. If that is true and all part are made here, they should say so in their advertisements.

 

Anybody have any experience with Crusher or Prowler? I see them on Ebay and they are the mid point between the Revtech/ Ultima and Baker/ Jims.

 

i have a brand new.. 6 spd. Right side drive Ultima Tran.. on my chopper.. and a $1.98 spring broke within 3 weeks.. the "shifter return spring"... or.. the Spring part# (OEM 34083-79).. broke.!!! and i had to split the case and replace it.. "only 3 weeks old"...!! SUCKED!!! AND.. it started leaking oil.. the first day i put oil in it.. on both sides..!! so when i opened the cases i noticed cheap bearings.. cheap seals..ETC.. so i removed all the bearings.. pressed in new ones.. put new main drive shaft seals..use the same races.. i ordered and installed... harley 2 lip seals on main shaft and what do you know??..>> NO LEAKS<<! i actualy like the trans now.... but it took a lot of work... a $1.98 spring... like $80.oo in bearings.. another $30.oo+ for seals from the east coast.. and a lot of time... THANKS ULTIMA!` ┌∩┐(●_●)┌∩┐

 

Mark from Baker here. Just to clear the air our gears are made by Insco a manufacturing company in Groton, MA. Are all of our components made in the U.S.A? 99% of them are, there are certain bearings that we need that are not manufactured anywhere in this country. We invite anyone who was ever thinking about opening there own business to start a bearing manufacturing company. Straight cut gears are noisier than helical but they are also stronger. 07 and up transmissions are cruise drive six speeds and our DD6 and OD6 are not compatible with these. Our DD7 is the direct replacement for the cruise drive. We invite you to please try the Ultima first so you have a comparison basis, and when your ready for the best we will be here waiting.

P.S. you called Ultima and someone answered the phone?

 

>>P.S. you called Ultima and someone answered the phone?<<

Baker transmissions are great no doubt but until you start offering a blue collar version for say a $1000 or so I'm priced out of the equation.

As for Ultima answering the phone, it's actually Midwest that you call, and I have that phone number and someone does always answer. Also I can't imagine how many of us are on the road that maybe wouldn't be if not for Ultima.

And you were doing fine until that last line. It's always good competitive business practice to never knock the other guy. Especially since you have so many posters that will do it for you. LOL!