this forum looks like a ghost town but i'll give it a shot. i have an 05 fatboy 5 speed. this issue i am having just started.

at times it works fine i can upshift and downshift with the heel toe no problem after shifting the peg returns to where it should be and i can shift again. but sometimes i'll be down shifting and the peg stays down, it doesn't return and i can't shift again. if the shifter sticks down i can tap it with my heel to return it and shift again.

i really have no clue where to look for this since it's so intermittent. could it be the centering pin inside the shift assembly? any ideas? i hate problems like this that no one else ever has and you can never get fully fixed.

 

My '05 did the same thing. The shaft that the 2 shifter pegs connects to is getting bound up internally. It's the small tube section between the 2 outer pegs, and the inner peg that goes to trans. An HD tech said to take and drill a small hole low in the steel, tap it, and install a grease fitting. I haven't done mine yet, but its on the list of things to do! Good luck

 

I would remove the shift linkage at the tranny shift arm then check the foot shifter for free movement.
Sometimes the bushings in the case need to be lubed.

 

id like to hear an answer on that issue since my 1980 flh shovel just started doin the same thing

 

It is common, it is what 05 fatboyghost said it was, I had the same issue. I just sprayed mine with some silicone spray. I lube it every year when I do my service, never had the problem again.

 

thanks for the replies, i'm trying to picture the area fatboyghost is talking about, i think i know, but if any of you guys feel like helping me out with a picture that would be awesome.

 

Lubricate the shaft that the shift lever is connected to.

 

to expand on the issue it isn't like the shifter is stuck, it's loose when it's down and takes little effort to flick it back to the return position so i can shift again. it's almost flopping around, i suppose it still could be the shaft at the case sticking causing the peddle to flop around.

anyway this weekend she's getting filled in all three holes and some more tlc, i'll pull the primary cover off and see if i can see anything obvious.

 

sounds like the detent spring broke,can you feel the spring action when moving the shifter in neutral? its a all too common prob.trans guts will have to be removed & check the final drive & C/S gear as the piece that breaks usually falls down right into the,messing up the teeth on both

 

i was thinking a broken return spring but it works fine 95% of the time. i assume if it were a broken spring it would just not work ever.