Just finished my custom with a 2002 Sportster engine. It's a blast to ride but have a couple of problems to sort out. The biggest is the tranny thing.

Very hard to shift. Can't find neutral hardly ever. Always a surprise if it can be found. When starting out in first gear, not every time but occaisionally, it starts to roll, then clangs and falls firmly into gear. I thought that it was already in first gear as it was starting to take off. Had the clutch adjusted by my HD dealer who said everything looked OK and blamed it on the custom install. It all looks pretty straight forward but the hard shifting and the sudden clanging keeps me from putting on major miles. Open to any suggestions, thanks,

 

Easiest first, check the primary chain adjustment. If you don't have a service manual, get one. Well worth the $$.

 

Got a manual, will check. Would have thought the dealer might have considered that but who knows. That would be a simple fix. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

checked primary chain and it is within spec. Any other suggestions?

 

Another silly question...do you have fluid in the primary and if so, how long since your last change? We have seen posts about a rider riding without fluid in the primary before...

 

This is a new build and I paid to have some of the work done, this hopefully was part of the bill. My shop manual describes checking trans oil for 91-94 even though the book covers up to 2003. It is a 2002 engine and the chain was damp with oil as was the primary inspection cover when removed to check chain freeplay.
What is the procedure for checking on a 2002 or where am I not looking in the manual. thanks, jim

 

1) Change the tranny fluid to Spectro or Red Line.
2) Do the clutch adjustment EXACTLY as the book tells you. Sometimes a little tweak is all it needs. (the stealer is full of $#it if they blame it on the custom install of engine in the frame)
2.1) shorten the housing
2.2) adjust in the tranny (1/4 turn past "friction" can be 1/4 turn past where it stops with very light pressure)
2.3) lengthen the housing

As for the first gear issue, from neutral into first at a stop, where it does not engage, is a problem some of us had/have and can't figure out. I think it may be the shifter drum just being at one end of the tollerances.

I have the Baker now & it shifts about the same, sometimes misses 4th but always goes into 1st.

 

did not understand #1 check tranny to spectro or red line.

 

Synthetic fluid, not the regular HD formula actually can make a difference for the gears. Others here swear by Mobil 1.
It will make things quiter but is not likely to solve the shift issue.
Go on long trips. If your tranny fails I will give you my old one. It has 123k miles & the gears look fine, which adds to the difficulty in figuring out why it would sometimes not shift into 1st. Baker trannies are ~$2k which is not worth it unless you are really pissed off at the tranny & want to drag race without having 1st fail on you.

 

Any suggestion on how to check the fluid level in the tranny on a 2002 sportster. have located the drain plug but would prefer to check level first, also, which trans fluid do you recommend. thanks,