04 883C

This afternoon I went for a 60 mile ride, everything was fine. As I pulled off the freeway and came to a stop, things were fine. I took off, shifted and the bike just went into neutral, it will return to 1st but wont go into 2nd it's just goes into neutral.

Any suggestions???

Didn't have a happy wife driving my truck and trailer 60 miles to pick me up. LOL

 

well trannys on sportys are pirtty bullet proof so i would imagine its a clutch issue...they normaly are. try adjusting the clutch at the derby cover then on the cable and make sure your primary chain has the proper tenssion....if that doesn't work you might want to pull your primary off and start looking for teeth or brass rivits off your clutch...if you find those...time for a new one....go aftermarket

 

See when the spring plate broke in the stock clutch o nthe XL50 it would not go into N and creaped forward when the clutch was pulled all the way in. Not sure what the deal is on your bike, but start with a clutch adjustment and go from there.

 

I can go from Neutral to first and have fine clutch engagement/feel. Go back to neutral. No grinding/clunking/slipping/creeping.

If it was a clutch adjustment issue would it go into first and back to neutral fine. I had to ride it a couple miles stopping & starting in first. It just wont up shift from neutral to 2nd.
The shifter lever/linkage has easy movement.

Even with the engine off and rocking the bike and shifting by hand, I can go into 1st return to neutral. It just wont up shift to 2nd.

Just wondering if anyone had or heard of this issue so I have a heads up.

 

shifter forks bent?

 

Ran into something similar on someone elses Sportster that did the similar....
as Old Skool mentioned, check the primary chain. If it is too tight, shifting can be a bugger.
Best of luck.

 

The shifter was hitting the acorn nut on the footrest

 

Glad you came along. he has been waiting for this since 2011.