Hey everyone, I'm currently searching for a Dyna to tinker with over winter. I keep finding bikes near me but they all have forward controls. I want the full Dyna Bro experience so I need mids.

I'm trying to search/research this but I'm coming up empty mainly because I seemingly can't navigate the search function here, and I probably don't know the proper terminology..

I know swapping to mids can be pretty involved, removing the primary cover, chains, swapping primary covers in some cases, etc.. All of the videos I've watched show bikes being torn down to make this happen.

However, I occasionally find older bikes with what appears to be the shaft sticking out of the primary, like this:




Can someone explain to me what exactly that is on the primary? Would swapping this particular bike from forwards to mids be less complicated, as the parts appear to already be in place? It looks like a cap to me, but I have no idea.


Thanks everyone!

 

Yes , it`s a cap
Yes it` will be an e z swap because
It`s the shift shaft used before the bike was converted to forwards

 

Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks!

 

It certainly would make the forward to mid control conversion a piece of cake. If you had all the parts, it would take an hour tops. Most of that would be spent on installing the mid brake pedal assembly with the shorter brake pushrod.... just a bunch of bolts washers, and a retaining ring...

When I was looking for a 2016 Low Rider a couple years ago, I was surprised how many bikes with forward controls still had the mid shift lever still installed through the primary. I thought it was a pretty lazy way to do things, and disregarded a couple bikes like that thinking it was a sign of shoddy mechanical practices.

Then I looked at a Low Rider at a local, non-HD, V-Twin dealership. When I pointed it out, he told me that about 60% of the Dyna bikes they get, with forward controls, still have that mid shift lever installed. He said it was a popular way of installing forward controls, "in case they wanted to switch back"...


You should be able to find one that fits your requirements, that still has that mid shift lever still installed.

 

Yes, as mentioned, remove the cap and the rest should be an easy bolt on job.

 

Just my opinion, but it always bugs me when I see the shift lever left behind like that. I get it, it's way easier and cheaper but to me it's a half-*** job. The lever that sits behind the primary and connects to the tranny is a different height for mids vs forwards which my OCD could not tolerate anyway so the primary has to come off. When I got my '17 FXDB I swapped it to forwards immediately and did it the "right way". A very short time later my idea of what I wanted the bike to be changed so I moved to reduced reach forwards and finally after discovering the further forward mids on the Low Rider S moved to those and I love them. The benefit of just getting in there and doing the job right is that I learned my bike in and out from the get-go. My primary has been opened so many times that it has never had a scheduled oil change, it's practically always brand new.

 

To each his own.

 

This thread came in handy, picking up a '99 Low Rider next week with forwards installed, has the mid control shift shaft capped and ready to swap back. Owner has all the original parts as a bonus!

 

Yeah, that's the way I looked at it.

Having an unused part just laying behind the primary, possibly rattling and/or zip tied to something (I saw one like that) , would cause my OCD to keep me awake at night....

I could see leaving it for a month or so, if you weren't sure you'd like the forward controls.... but if I decided I liked the forward controls, it would have to be removed...



Both my '78 and then '80 FXS Low Riders came with mid controls and highway pegs. Almost immediately, I would always use the highway pegs for my feet. I would shift with the back heel portion of my left boot, and rear brake with the heel of my right boot. I never used the mid pegs. After 2 years on the '78 and 2 years on the '80, I switched the '80 to forward pegs & controls...never looked back.

 

Don't make us wait till then, post up a pic or two, it sounds great and we're dying to see it, congrats