Just read an excellent article in american iron magazine which THOROUGHLY explains everything you wanna know about the harley 6 speed tranny with the 5th gear whine etc....This article thoroughly breaks it all down and really gets into the nuts and bolts of the 6speed....Excellent pics of the gears, shift dogs, etc....comparison analysist with the S&S 6speed and the baker tranny etc....The article is VERY in depth and technicle.....If anyone wants an excellent explanation as to what the WHINE is all about, i highly recommend the august edition of american iron magazine to those who have a 6 speed and are interested in why it was designed the way it was , and what the harley engineers took into consideration when designing and building it....This article is pretty long , but very detailed...

 

And what did they have to say about the 5th gear whine?

 

Blackbird, its about a 4 page article.....VERY technical....Basically the jest of it is that the whine is caused during time when the LOAD on the tranny is not sufficient enough at i believe about 2000 rpm in 5th gear The 1st and 5th gears are cut different than the others .....Thus allowing some free play and side loads on the tranny shaft due to the MASS of rotating gears.....Once the RPM is brung up higher the noise subsides....The writer of the article thinks the whine is not a problem to worry about short term.....But thinks that long term it could start causing problems..There is an S&S aftermarket kit that is now available that will rectify the problem for folks whom are irritated by it or concerned about problems later on that may develop as the mileage on the bike gets higher.....The writer has ALOT of very good things to say about the tranny....Its an article that really needs to be read through a few times to get a GOOD grasp on it....I read the article while waiting for our jets to land....Will definetely read it again when i get time....[ the magazine belonged to a coworker ]......It has quite a few comparison pics of the gears from the 5 speed, 6speed, etc...helical cut vs straight cut gears etc....

 

5th gear straight cut, I'd expect it to whine, compared to a helical cut gear. But it doesn't push any side load, which I assume they didn't want acting on that side of the gearbox. Not a concern on mine...

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll pick a copy of this up.

 

2000 RPM, close to lugging the motor. Easy fix, go fast and keep the RPMs up, no wonder i never hear it

 

I read the same article. Got these points from it:

Gears all facing the same direction creating massive side load and clutch walking.
Too many gears spinning at same time.
5th gear didn't need to be straight cut.
Basically the fix is the Baker F6F.
Author assumes there will be problems in the future as they wear and tear...

lp

 

the question should be,,,,, what the fock was wrong with the 06 tranny????????????
Id trade in a NY min.!!!!!!!

 

I do not slow down long enought for you to hear me whine about my harley unless your at the daily grind at night.

 

Way too many people lug their motors and don't even know it. You honestly should not be running at 2000 rpm and lower in any gear other than first. The sweet spot is 2500-3500 believe it or not. I tend to cruise right around the 2800-3000 rpm mark on my 06 SG, just like I did with my 88 FXRS. I never understood the desire to keep the rpms so low.