Stupid question but...have you carefully checked your belt to see if there are one or more cogs that have sheared or partially sheared off allowing it to jump once in a while?

 

I have a 2000 sporty 1200 i just adjusted the clutch the adjustment screw spring was broke i was all happy thought i solved the problem i put 50 miles on it trying to get it to slip and nothin then today taking off at a light it did it slightly,if anyone has some kinda answer that would be great

 

Its not the primary fluid or the primary chain I just finished servicing my 02 883 and adjusted the primary chain and the old SYN3 fluid still looked new after 5K.
It slipped one time in first gear after the clutch engaged when the bike was cold and about 3 times in the past when it was cold also so this sounds like a built in feature for this tranny to me.
Will be interested to see what the gurus come up with for the fix keep us posted.

 

I know its been about 5 years but would like to know what the solution was???? I have the same issue.

 

It's probably the dogs on the gear have worn down. As they become rounded, they can jump out of gear until they catch at the next dog. This is a known issue in those bikes (seems to be around the late-90's up to '03). The fix is to replace the gears that have worn in the transmission. The new unit is revised.

My bike does the exact same thing, and that is the problem. I'm just putting off the fix until I feel like dropping the time and money. It won't damage anything likely, just a minor inconvenience.

 

I had the same exact problem with my 96 XL 883. The dogs were slightly worn so the mechanic didn't suspect that they were the problem. HD suggested replacing first gear and all of its dependencies anyway. That fixed it.

 

Firstly l know nothing but l had the same problem, I thought about the action and have stopped applying and gearing down any action to 1st gear, I only using second when slowing then 1st or neutral as required after stopping and it has stopped slipping??????
This on a 2003 883 sporty

 

Seems like an issue with the 00-03's mine has the same issue with the transmission, I am going to buy a second hand one that work then strip the old one and upgrade it so when I put it back it doesn't do it again.

 

2003 xl1200 custom : I had all the dogs on 1st gear main shaft break off. I was riding and shifted to 4th gear and it was indicating neutral. I pulled the tranny and replaced the main shaft first gear and 2 shifter forks that had some wear on them just to do it while I was in there. The other gears looked fine with no excessive wear. Bike is still slipping and surging in 1st gear only. Makes it a stupid bike when you have stop and go traffic. I saw a mod where someone uses steel springs to pull the shifter forks together and they swear it worked. This slipping makes me want to push this sporty off a cliff....did anyone here resolve the issue?

 

hi mine does this also ,going to look at the tranz tomorrow. I believe that it is worn dogs on the gear.ill let you know.