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Posted this in the transmission forum with no responses. 05 Night Train w/ 5 speed. I can go from 1st to 2nd gear but that is all. The shift lever won't return to its normal position. It stays up and won't let me shift into 3rd gear. Could this be the shifter spring? Any suggestions? New trans fluid last fall and its full

 

Using the search feature sometimes gets U a lot of answers..

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/prima...-into-3rd.html

Or try this one...
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...rom+2nd+to+3rd

 

Unbolt the shift lever from the shift rod a

 

Tried to reply from work, but the wifi died in the middle of my previous answer. To continue.. remove the rod from the shifter lever and check to see if the rod pulls back, if it does then the return spring is ok, twenty bucks says it's ok. Now move the shifter lever and I'll bet it does not move freely. Get a marker and mark a line with the slot on the bottom where the pinch bolt goes through. This way you'll get it back really close to where it was. Remove the pinch bolt and pull the shifter off the spline. Normally you should be able to push the shaft thought, but I'll bet there is a little rust built up in there and you'll have to knock it though. Use some sand paper to get the rust off, grease it and reinstall it. Should pretty much flop back and forth now. Install the shifer rod and you're done.

 

mxsman, you hit the nail on the head. I just got back from the guy that works on my bike and read your post. That was the first thing he checked and bingo, thats what it was. The shaft didn't move freely and was rusted over. He cleaned it off, greased it up and $10 later it was good as new. Come on Ohio Bike Week!

 

Glad it was an easy fix. So it really cost you thirty bucks (I bet you twenty). I'll bet you another twenty that it will happen again in five or six years unless you don't wash it or ride in the rain. Enjoy bike week.

 

If I would have seen your post before it was fixed, I'd send you that 20 bucks

 

Its not an uncommon problem so your not the first guy its happened to.
After mine started to stiffen up a little I pulled it apart, cleaned it up, lubed it and was back on the road, good as new in under half an hour.

I even tried adding a couple of O-rings to try keeping the water out.
But the ones I had made things a little too tight so I had to take them out until I can figure out another cheap way to keep the grease in and the water out.

 

Never seen this issue.. anyone have a pic to show where the rust is.

 

oct1949,
Look at the shifter arm and the shaft that it is attached to. Where that shaft is attached to your forward controls, it pivots inside of a place where the shaft passes through and out the other side where the linkage back to the where the tranny connects to same linkage. Good way to understand this is to disconnect the linkage from the shifter, if the shifter arm, hence the shifter shaft should be absolutely free.
If not then u need to disassemble it enough to clean and lube (I tried my trailer lithium wheelbearing grease on my FatBoy a couple of years ago and it still is working smooth as butter and this is a rain or shine work bike) it until it is free. My issue was exactly the same, prior to the aformentioned clean-up. If u were to push down toward N and then lift again and u can get 3rd and so on, opposite is true for down shifting after the first downshift, u will have to lift up a little and then u can shift down to the next lower gear. If the shaft was turning freely, it would return it to it's centered position and none of this would be needed.....