I bought my 08fxd used and it came it with fwds. The bike has the OEM inner and outer primaries with a plug over the hole in the outer primary. What do I need to do to go back to mid controls? When I see sets for sale, I never see the shift rod that comes out of the primary. Anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance and I'll be picking up a service manual before I start the work, just trying to get an idea of what's involved.

 

Besides the shifter shaft which is a one piece unit there is also a bushing that the shaft goes through and of course the linkage and shift lever. I bought a nice chrome linkage a couple of years ago(HD),mainly for looks but it also is adjustable for length which allows you to position your shift lever just the way you want it without removing it from the splined shaft. Plus of course you know the inner primary needs to be removed so you are going to need gaskets etc. It's probably best to just stop in at the parts counter and let them look up the part numbers for your bike. Here's a picture of that adjustable linkage.

 

The shaft may still be there. I see people doing that and just covering the spline. What ever you don't get used from someone just buy the replacement parts from your dealer...

 

Thanks for the info guys. I think while I'm in there I might change to a 30t pulley as well.

 

Your bike looks great. You'll love Mids.. Just get as much as you can from ebay and piece together the rest. Or on this forum, offer your forwards for trade for mids, lots of people love forwards..

What bar and risers do you have? do you have any more pics showing them better?

Thanks

 

They are some 6" risers from J&P and I had some 1.5" spacers made at work to raise them more. The bar is a 2" rise drag bar I picked up from amazon. I just took it all off tonight and put my 10" z bar back on. I like the Z bar because it's not as wide and I can control how forward or back they are.

 

I found everything needed on ebay in one auction except for the shift lever - I just used the one that was on my forwards. The bushing for the shifter shaft was still in the outer primary cover - it just had a plug in it like yours. Make sure you follow the instructions in the manual. There are gaskets and I believe some sealing bolts that need to be replaced, not reused. Make sure you don't forget the little gasket that goes in-between the cases (marked with an arrow in the photo below). While you're at it, replace the stock shift linkage with one with real heim joints - the ball joints in the stock linkage will fail sooner or later. Check the "Under 50 bucks" thread for instructions on how to fab one.