I went to my local HD dealer today and took a Softail Heritage out for a 8 mile test ride . To get some extra entries into the 2020 Lowrider S Giveaway. And man the bike was so hard to shift . I have been riding more then 40 years and thought I knew how to shift by ear . But after 2 or 3 mile I found the bike I was test riding like being shift way above 3000 RPMs . But still much harder then my 88cu Deuce .
So are all M8s like this or do they just take a good 5000 miles to break in ?

 

they get better after the 1000 mile service

 

My ‘19 Heritage shifts just great. IME a heel shifter makes finding neutral MUCH easier.

 

Speaking of neutral ,I only found it twice in the whole test ride .

 

My 2019 Heritage was easy to shift through the gears. Finding neutral from a stop was not easy, even after the 1000 mile service.

 

So what about now . You must have more then a 1000 mile today ,is it any better ?

 

After 36,000 miles, neutral is still not that easy to find… The motor likes 2500 to 3500 RPM, and that is usually where I am shifting it… And no problem getting from one Gear to another

 

must be a Softail thing. I have no problems with either shifting or getting into N

 

My 2018 FLHCS Heritage (~12k miles) shifts fine. Neutral is not easy to hit, but I manage.

 

Yup took about 800 to 1000mi. before my RK settled down also, when new some mornings that first shift into gear could sound like I threw a trash can down the driveway.

No issues shifting or hitting neutral since.