I bought my first Harley last week. I've ridden motorcycles most of my life, but not Harleys. I love it!

The bike is an 03 anniversary edition. I've ridden it every night after work. I parked it in the garage Thursday night. Then went to ride this morning. It will not up shift past 2nd gear. It feels like its trying to catch the next gear but, never does.

Have these bikes had troubles in this area? Any advice is appreciated! I want to get back on the road.

 

Is linkage loose

 

welcome.. i had an 03 anniversary softail std. never experienced those symptoms though.. sorry i cannot help, but i am sure others will chime in soon!

 

Check the linkage, especially the shifter lever at the transmission, it can come loose on the shaft.

Let us know what you find.

 

It also may be gunked up and not going back down enough to change into third or higher. Clean it up and check for adjustment as stated.

 

Congrats on your first Harley... You say you just bought it last week and it's a 2003. Do you have any insight on it's maintenance history and if it say for a long time prior to you firing it up? If you like to wrench on your bike you should invest in a manual, and start with a complete fluid change and check everything out. It could just be gunked up. Let us know how it goes and what was the culprit.

 

Just for grins try disconnecting the shift linkage from the pedal and see if the pedal seems stiff.

Its a common problem caused by the pedal shaft getting bound up with road grime making it hard to shift normally.
Its a simple problem to fix, just pull the pedal off and clean it and the shaft it fits on.
Put it back together with a light coating of grease and you should be good to go.

If it still has the original shift linkage rod you might want to think about investing in a new one.
The ends on the factory linkage in a word, suck.
The cheapest replacement Harley makes is under $100 but is made of polished stainless steel with good Hyme ends.

The Hyme ends make shifting a lot smoother and more positive without collecting dirt the way the originals do.



This is a pic of the new polished stainless steel one installed on the bike with the original laying on the primary case next to it.
If nothing else, it looks a hell of a lot better.

 

Like some have said disconnect the linkage and ck the parts could be bound up very common on older low mileage bikes

 

If it were the linkage, or shifter, it would not shift into 2nd gear, as the 1st to 2nd shift has the longest throw. My guess is a shifter fork or drum problem.

 

I'm going to take it into have a mechanic look at it today. The linkage seems good. Everything looks very clean. It really seems like it's inside the transmission.

Praying that its not a costly fix. Kind of blew the bank roll on thepurchasee.