A few weeks ago at about 33,000 miles the shifter shaft on my 2015 Limited stripped, not the splines the toe shift attaches to, the other end. Fixed on warranty, dealer in Elko NV said he had seen a few. Yesterday I'm at the dealer near Zion and a guy hobbles in on a 2015 RG, same problem. Dealer says he sees 4-5 a week. What? I am one of the guys who thinks Harley uses great quality parts but this doesn't make sense to me, and is a huge safety issue. Take it from me, going to downshift to make a pass or engine brake for a curve and you suddenly have no control of your transmission isn't a great feeling. I think HD needs to source a better part and get a recall going. Other experiences or insights?

 

I think it's time for a recall before someone gets hurt or worse.

 

Wasn't there a service bulletin issued recently regarding torque specifications?

 

yes @ 6500 miles

 

Not yet. I check it occasionally to make sure it's tight and it always is.

The day I bought the bike, I took the pinch bolts out of the levers on both ends and put a drop of loctite on each, then put 'em back in as tightly as I could without stripping something.

So far, so good.

 

Yup my stripped last year on 2014 Limited with about 16000 miles on bike. On a rode trip coming back from the Ozarks. Nearby dealer in Kentucky would not do it for a couple of days so I just bought the damn shaft and replaced it myself at the front of the Best Western.

 

Right around 7500 miles just outside of Lordsburg NM on I-10, not fun. And I checked the torque on the fastener before leaving on that trip, threw the torque wrench on it and it went click immediately.

What I found was the bolt threads had been flat spotted right in the middle of the fastener where it sets in the valley. This allows the threads to work themselves over the splines and damaging them in the process as the gear shift lever works itself sideways.

My best guess is that the bolt is being over torqued at the plant, causing the threads in the center portion of the bolt to be pulled against the valley floor and flattening them, then over time the through vibration and use the lever begins working itself sideways allowing threads to side over splines.

 

My heel shifter dropped coming off an exit on our road trip a couple of days ago. At first I had no idea what happened...just heard a metal clanking sound and started hoping nothing happened to the engine. Parked a t a gas station and went to put the bike in neutral and no heel shifter! Sound I heard must've been when it hit the bike as it was falling. Found it in the grass and thankful it was not the front shifter!

Glad it did not come off as I was going down I40 in the Western NC mountains...

 

Mine was replaced at 12,000miles.
2015gas.

 

2015sgs