OK, on my yearly 6 day ride on day 5 I suddenly could not shift gears. At the time the bike was stuck in 2nd.

After fooling around with it I discovered the shifter prawl arn was loose at the entry point to the transmission. Between the inner primary and the transmission. The shaft would deflect as much as 30 degrees.

I also discovered that if I hold if just right, square to the transmission, I could shift fine.

Needless to say this is distressing, especially 500 miles from home. So I locked it in 5th and headed down I25 and made it home. Yes, I think I fried the clutch because starting out in 5th is very hard on clutches. (And the oil smelled burned when I drained the primary.)


So here are my questions:

• Can I get the shifter prawl out without removing the gearset?
• Is there a recomended replacement bearing? (thinking inner cam bearing as example)
• There is a little seal, I assume that bearing replacement will necessitate a seal replacement (I assume they are cheap). Is that true?
• The bike has 36K miles - given I beleive I have to take the entire transmission apart, what other low cost, frequent fails parts should I replace?
• If the bearing looks intact, how do I determine if the shaft is failing?

I am going to try and get the disassembly done this weekend and examine all the parts. I have a parts manual and a service manual - what else should I be checking on the drive train given I got 1/2 of it apart?

You comments are welcome.
...gene

 

To remove the shifter shaft you must first remove the gearset, but you may not have to go that far as long as the splines on the shifter shaft are ok.

You will need to buy or make a locking device to hold the primary in order to loosen and tighten the compensator and clutch hub nuts.

Follow the manual carefully because some of the nuts are left hand thread.

Once the primary covers are off you can get a good look at the splines and decide if you just need to replace the lever.

If you must remove the gearset you will need a special tool to remove and install the mainshaft bearing inner race.

You will also need to make or buy a socket to remove the pulley nut (1-7/8). A standard deep socket is too short, and you also need to support the socket at the end of the shaft. If you buy the tool it will include the support donut that screws onto the end of the shaft.

If you replace the shifter shaft/pawl assembly, don`t reuse the old springs, in fact, whenever I remove a gearset for any reason, I always remove the shifter shaft and replace the springs.

Replace the shifter shaft seal on the transmission case, and the starter jackshaft seal and inner primary seal on the inner primary cover.

If you remove the pulley you should replace the big seal behind the pulley, also the spacer and the quad seal that goes under the spacer.

The worst part of this job is the working height, it is tough on the knees, at least on old knees like mine, even on a jack (I bought a table lift a couple of years ago and could not believe how easy the job was when working at a normal height).

Remember to install the lever onto the shifter shaft before you install the primary cover. Make sure the lever is in the right position and the bolt is tight.

 

I followed the service manual, obtained (Thanks Smiley (SOS Colorado)) a baker tool for removing the main nut on the transmission and woe and behold, it was not the bearing.

But I had a leak and it looks like the main seal on the transmission. Once your this far that is very easy to replace and I replaced the other o-ring as well.

The shifter prawl is actually very easy to remove without removing the gear set, but requires patience. In my 2003 Road King, removing the OD spring clip and the actuating arm, and it was easy to remove.

After careful inspection and a little work with the file, I reinstalled the prawl (not easy, PITA, real PITA), [but I am a cheap SOB] It took an hour to get the centering springs to really be lined up. But still simpler than removing the gear set.

I also had issue with the throwout on the starter. It simply would not colapse appropriately. Then I got it and buttoned. (I about had a heart attack with the first push of the starter had the distinctive whiiirrrrlll) but after that it worked fine 10 times in a row.

I had a nice 50 mile ride runnig through the gears and doing hard rear brake stops. its bliss.

...gene

 

Another poinit on this is I really abused the clutch 4 times trying to get home. And when I drained the oil, all I could smell was burnt clutch.

But I took apart the clutch basket and examined the disks and while there is certainly issues, I am good for while. There is still plenty of clutch material and the steel plates are barely discolored.

Given the smell I was looking for bits and pieces. I am pleasently surprized. Go dextron!
..,gene

 

Well, I am back at this. Since this post I replaced the shift lever twice, the second time I used a chromed steel one. And yes, once this came loose, it trashed the splines on the Shifter Prawl (PN 34972-02B). Now I need to really replace it.

In speaking with a friend whom I trust, he suggested that I did not need to remove the gearset to replace the pawl. We'll see.

When the steel shift lever came loose, it damaged the splines, but I went ahead and clearenced the inner primary so I could place a locknut on the bolt holding the shift lever tight. I tightened everything very very tight, but to no avail. I believe the pieces were already damaged and this is why my repair attempt has failed. Again, We'll see.


...gene

 

Good thread. Take some pics. We love pics!