shift linkage failures
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From: State of Confusion
shift linkage failures
haven't seen anything yet so that's good news...the arms are different on the M8's but the splines the same..anyway, reason I am bringing this up is because my friends and chapter members have been plagued with these on our pre M8 bikes and really hoping the aren't going to continue to be problematic...I'm not talking about the shifters themselves, rather the arms that connect to the linkage arm in the forward and rearward, both have failed...it's left plenty of us broke down in the past..I'm sure some of you have experienced this...crossing my fingers..mine failed at 5000 miles on my 2015 Rushmore Road King...no pattern or trend mileage wise...some have high miles and never had this happen...the joke around our group is just use JB Weld instead of Loctite on them
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From: poway
haven't seen anything yet so that's good news...the arms are different on the M8's but the splines the same..anyway, reason I am bringing this up is because my friends and chapter members have been plagued with these on our pre M8 bikes and really hoping the aren't going to continue to be problematic...I'm not talking about the shifters themselves, rather the arms that connect to the linkage arm in the forward and rearward, both have failed...it's left plenty of us broke down in the past..I'm sure some of you have experienced this...crossing my fingers..mine failed at 5000 miles on my 2015 Rushmore Road King...no pattern or trend mileage wise...some have high miles and never had this happen...the joke around our group is just use JB Weld instead of Loctite on them
??? Plagued with what? Is the rod breaking?
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From: State of Confusion
sorry, spaced that in the description....splines losing grip..you can't even tighten them with an allen wrench but your linkage flops around loose and you're done with being able to shift, for lack of a better description..this is not an uncommon problem
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From: MASS_hole
I've had issues with Heim joints seizing in the past.
Bought a high quality set a couple years ago and after about ten thousand miles. The front one seized.
Cleaned, lubed and is working fine now. But your problem is the pinch connector. I would try a collar to fix that.
Bought a high quality set a couple years ago and after about ten thousand miles. The front one seized.
Cleaned, lubed and is working fine now. But your problem is the pinch connector. I would try a collar to fix that.
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2010
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I havent seen any problems but those linkage pinch bolts I check them every oil change because if they ever get loose your going to change them soon. But on the M8 it looks as though you can change the rear one without taking the whole primary apart.
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From: poway
Fire your mechanic and get one that has more experience working on HDs. This is a common problem that is missed by simple maintenance.
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From: Charleston, SC
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From: State of Confusion
yeah, should be considered a 'critical fastener' on the scheduled maintenance..or Chapter has brought it up with our home dealership service manager...number of folks have looked into the 'Better Levers', they are $225 apiece tho...they claim that their lever will clamp down even on stripped splines and not come loose..and did notice that the rear one is accessible on the M8's
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From: State of Confusion
I'm a heel/toe shifter and one other friend that had his fail is too..but others that aren't have had it happen...I don't bang gears and try to be gentle as possible, don't think I'm applying any more force with my heel than I would with my toe but suppose that is possible...also was told by the out of town mechanic that fixed mine (who just so happened to be on Wayne Rainey's Superbike Championship team) that the chrome on the original lever splines flakes apart resulting in just enough loss of bite to strip...he cleaned mine good, retorqued and it was fine 15000 miles later when I traded for my 2017
Last edited by mjwebb; Nov 20, 2016 at 08:29 AM.
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From: Charleston, SC
I'm a heel/toe shifter and one other friend that had his fail is too..but others that aren't have had it happen...I don't bang gears and try to be gentle as possible...also was told by the out of town mechanic that fixed mine (who just so happened to be on Wayne Rainey's Superbike Championship team) that the chrome on the original lever splines flakes apart resulting in just enough loss of bite to strip...he cleaned mine good, retorqued and it was fine 15000 miles later when I traded for my 2017