97 fxd 32k miles.

Fresh fluids
Clutch adjusted per fsm

Having a intermittent issue with downshifts over 40 mph. She'll run up the gears fine but on a down shift it 'jams' and I need to either double clutch or use a heavier pressure on the selector to get a downshift. Thing is it only does it sometimes, no metal in the trans fluid, no brass in the primary.

Had the top open to replace a gasket, forks and shift drum looked good.

Any educated thoughts?

 

This is a longshot but maybe it will help. Don't laugh.

When I have trouble shifting, i've finally realized that the heel of my boot is interfering with the shifter.

carl

 

Thanks Carl, but no heel shifters here.

 

There is an adjuster on the left side of the tranny, it has a locknut. Pull the top off the tranny and adjust the cam so that it sits in the middle of the shifter pawl. If that makes it worse, then go left or right until you find the sweet spot.

 

Ditto on above, but make sure that trans in 3rd gear when you adjust the pawl via eccentric cam so the hooks are center'd of the two pins.

Also, spin the jam nut out a few threads, and apply either 242 loctite to the eccentric cam exposed threads at the case face, or some telfon paste, so when you re-tighen the jam nut back in after the adjustement, your don't get a oil leak.
Myself, will back the jam nut, then back the eccentric bolt out two winds, give it some 242 or teflon dope at the case face, thread it back in the two winds, then go about adjusting, to make sure I don't have a oil leak out of the threads in the end.

Also while you are there, make sure that the shifter lever bolt is tight, and you don't have movement between the lever and the spine shaft. Myself, will back the bolt out to apply 242 loctite to the allen head bolt, the reinstall it to make sure it has the two tight, and is not going to back out as well. If you find that the lever spines are pretty much toasted from the bolt being loose, then may need to replace the lever as well (with luck, spine on the tans rod is still fine, and don't have to tear the trans apart to change it.


Short of that, take a look at the shift fork tip sides and the gear grooves while the cover is off, to make sure that the trans gears are spaced correctly, the fork legs tips surfaces are not side worn out, and why the trans tips to dents are not engaging/disengaging cleanly with clean movement of the shift peg.


Worst case, have to pull the trans if the main rods spine are dented.bured to hell, and why the gears do not want to slip cleanly on the shaft.

Also, double check your clutch, since may be problems in the basket or hub bearing, and why the clutch is not disengaging cleanly to allow a clean gear disengagement/engage of the gears.

As for down shifting the trans, straight cut gears, so don't high rpm bag down on the gears. The brakes will stop you faster/better than any engine braking can every do. To go one step farther, don't shift back into first gear until you are dam near stopped, since it really easy to round off the tabs sides of the gears by trying to shift in to first when the rear tire is still spinning too fast. Worn bad enough, will not want to shift cleaning in to gears up or down, and may end up with trans jumping out of gear.

And for the love of Christ, use the clutch when shifting, since the Harley trans does not take kindly to being up or down shifted under power without clutch like is a ricer race bike with throttle blipper. It tears the hell out of the gears hence side tabs to indents as show in the above photo, as well as some nasty damage the main rod spines as well. I bring this up, since if you got the bike used, may have been the way someone was shifting the bike before, and may be time to pull the trans apart to go through it, if the pawl adjustment and clutch check, does not solve the problem.

 

After getting some paying work done, I opened up the trans top. As predicted the shifter pawl is out of adjustment. I spent some time thinking about how to get at everything without tearing the bike down too much. Decided to fab a wrench to get at the 11/16'' nut, and wing the adjuster.



With the right tools this looks like a under hour job. Otherwise a knucklebuster. With everything in place and improvised wrenches. Going to try and get it done tomorrow evening, hope I have time. Supposed to register it in my state Thursday, made a appointment and everything....otherwise it'll hold for another year on the out of state plates...

 

Took longer to make the damn tools than to do the job. Also was a good excuse to change out the o-rings on the oil spout, the bottom was squared off.

The 11/16 was needed, the 1/4 not at all. That said, the adjustment was fully out of wack. The pawl is now centered, and the trans shifts nicely on the table. I'll get out tomorrow or Thursday for a real test.

A few pics, well because...

 

Make sure the shift lever at the transmission is tight onto the shaft, tight...

 

Done and done.

 

Still trying to figure out the home made wrenches. Last time I did a pawl adjustment, with the primary still on, did so with standard wrenches.

I'm not saying its not tight between the primary and the trans, but there is room to work in there from the primary side.