I spoke with an old indie mechanic the other day. He said I should get rid of my tapered transmission main shaft and get a splined shaft and a new clutch basket (1988 FLHTC). He said that it was a pretty easy job all things considered and that since your not reusing the old clutch you don't have to be gentle.

 

Is it giving you trouble? Are you in there anyway? That is, do you need a new clutch or transmission work? Are you planning some type of monster HP build? Otherwise, I say leave it alone. I have >80K on my tapered shaft. I replaced the clutch disks at about 70K when they were at the lower limit of acceptable wear.

 

If you need it I have a 5 speed gear set with the splined shaft.

 

The tapered shaft is a potential cause for dramas.....some go for a long time but if you are in there anyway and you have access to a mainshaft then its worth the effort in my opinion.

 

No reason to change it unless you are doing other upgrades(like changing the trans) and it is just cheaper to go that way. I was at an indy the other day, and he was working on his three stage nitrous 200hp drag bike...he was running a tapered shaft on it...judging by the number of trophies he had on the wall...seemed like it worked fine.

 

Last one I changed had spat the clutch basket when the keyway let go on a stock FXR.....he obviously wasn't using genuine H-D primary fluid

 

I have been running one on much hotter than stock motor for 20+ years, with no problems...I believe when they fail it is because the nut came loose, or they were not installed properly to begin with...I was surprised to see the one on the drag bike.

 

if it ain't broke, don't fix it. my tapered shaft has been running just fine for 29 years.

 

Tapered shaft is fine until it fails then you might as well get a new mainshaft and clutch because they are more then likely welded together after the key let's loose.

 

I ride pretty easy so, I suspect that my tapered shaft will keep on keepin on for a while. Should the day ever come to pull that transmission I will replace the main shaft for sure. The Indie guy says it's an easy job to replace it. (Yea, right!!)