Has anybody had the splines on their heal/toe shifter wear and end up on the side of the unable to shift? I managed to "re-torque" the bolt for the shift arm and make it home. Removed linkage from lever, removed lever and found splines worn inside chrome lever, did not see concern with the shaft thru primary. I don't think I am overly agressive when shifting. Installed new lever and torqued bolt, have ridden it as usual for a while, seems ok. Anybody have any ideas on how to prevent this from happening again? This is the chrome lever on the engine/linkage side - not the floorboard side. Thank you for your advice in advance...ps looks like rain the next couple days so I will have some time to work on it.

 

I've had this issue a couple of times on my Electra Glide (05, bought new). Mine was the splines on the shaft itself though. Replaced the shaft first time, had it happen again, replaced it with after market (read "better quality!") parts, have never had a problem since. I always carry a few tools with me, beyond what's in the HD tool kit, among them a set of vice grips....rather than being stranded on the side of the road over this, I removed the foot shift and clamped a set of vice grips on....gets ya on the road again! Had a friend put the vice grips on his bike and he never bothered to replace them!

 

It happens, the splines on the shifters is softer than the splines on the shaft.

Watch eBay, you can get new take offs for around 15 bucks. I have 2 on the shelf, and 2 in my toolkit...

Comes in handy when one of the guys I ride with strips one. 5 minutes, we're back on the road....

FWIW, maybe it's just me, I don't stomp, but I've never stripped a shift lever...

 

I have an extra lever ,if anyone needs it

 

Your type of shifter problem usually is caused by aggressive use of heel shift.Riders using toe shift usually do not encounter this problem.Note: key word is usually

 

In a way, you are lucky. The arm on the shaft going into the transmission will do the same thing. Check yours now, they are not easy and quick to replace but by keeping them tight they will last for the life of your machine. These arms seem to frequently be under torqued at the factory. After reading a thread like this I caught mine being loose at about 5000 miles. After tightening, it has never loosened again. The arms are good to check yourself on every new bike you get.

 

Thanks for the input, git home after work last night and removed all the parts, filed the splines on the shaft and lever. Checked the transmission side, bolt seemed pretty tight but gave it a little extra torque. Here's to rain (time to check things like this). Don't forget RUBHER DOWN;-)