I've got an 84 FXST with a badly leaking tranny. I'm a beginner at working on Harleys, though a decent mechanic experienced with brit bikes. When looking for parts, or replacement trannys (I see 5 speed conversions that are appealing), this bike is never listed. Is it the same tranny as an 1984 shovel head? Or is it a unique box, due to mounting considerations. What are the cross reference parts and trannys that I should be looking for. I see many year ranges of cross overs, 36-80, 80-84, all big v-twins, and so on, but figure that this bike may have it's own unique fitment. Any help?

 

I have a Baker 6 speed in a 4 speed case in mine...it was not listed as fitting a Softail, but I figured I could make it work. I had to shorten mounting studs so they would not hit the shocks, get creative with the starter brace mounting, and knock a dent on the backside of my exhaust, because the tranny was wider than the stock one. the worst part is you have to remove one of the shocks to change the oil in the trans. Piece of cake.

 

Sorry to highjack this thread for a moment but . . . There is no need to R&R the shock to drain the oil. Go to any boating store like West Marine or BOATUS and get what is called a "Topsider" Essentially it's a gas can with a hand vacuum pump on it. It is what is used on boat engines. Because the engine in a boat sits right on the Hull Stringers it is usually impossible to get to the drain plug. So you suck the oil out through the dip stick tube with this thing. Very Cool and usually about $50-$60! Suggest that you do the same through the Transmission fill port assuming that it isn't completely blocked by the gear set.