Id.Fat Bob and Sharkman73,

I appreciate the suggestions but the first thing I did was elimimate "user error" from the list of possible problems.

What we've determined is that the shifter rod lever is loose where in connects to the transmission. The bolt at the bottom is tight so it has worked loose on the transmission shaft.

My understanding is that to replace the part (and hopefully not have to replace the transmission shaft) requires removing both the inner and outer primary covers. If it has been loose so long that it has worn out the transmission shaft, the entire transmission has to be opened up. Yuck!

I'm not sure why this is happening at 11k miles but I'm not the original owner so I can't vouch for how the bike was treated before I puchased it.

Thanks again to everyone for your input.

 

Just supposing, if the original owner banged the shift lever down while down shifting there is a good chance the shift arm assy. is damaged and will be big bucks. Inner and outer primary covers come off, the right side cover to the tranny comes off and the tranny cover. When I put fwd controls on my 05 FXDL I installed the parts with the tranny in neutral, adjustment was nill. That was 6+ years ago, no problems.

 

I left the old mid mounted lever installed in the primary case and just cut off the shaft. I moved the old lever forward so that it was away from the rearmost transmission lever. While driving, it fell rearward and was interfering with the transmission lever in the back and I could hardly downshift. If the people who did your forward controls did not remove the primary case and left the old lever in there, that could be your problem.

Again . . . my symptoms were exactly the same as yours.

Ed

 

Seniorsuperglide,

Yes, that was explained to me. Step one is removing inner and outer primaries and replacing the shift rod lever. BUT, if the damage has progressed to the shift arm, they'll have to remove the right side cover. In other words, I'll be paying for a lot of labor.

CobraEd,

Interesting. The mid controls were left in place. I saw them lock down the extra mid control parts to prevent them from flopping around. Still, since they'll have to take the outer primary cover off first, I'll make sure they check what you've described.

 

Make sure that they locked it down in the forward position or it will interfere with your ability to downshift.


.

 

After reviewing some old instructions concerning the shift linkage replacement, there is a bracket that is connected to the original primary shift lever and is hooked over the left-rear crankcase bolt, loosen this bolt, slip the slotted end of the primary shift-lever bracket (P/N34639-01) over this bolt then tighten bolt 15-17 ft-lbs torque. This little bracket prevents interference during down shifting. Here's the kit number for a dealer to help research this part, 49080-03.

 

seniorsuperglide,

Thanks for looking that up. I have that part and it is in place holding the old primary shift lever in place. It is not the souce of my shifting issues.