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After reading this post yesterday, I went home and checked mine. Looks like it had just started to loosen up. Took off the floor board. Loosened up and removed both shifters. Loosened up and re-tightened the shaft. It did have a bit of play. Then re-attached both shifters, paying close attention to the seating on the groove...tightened everything up. No play anywhere, any more. Just another thing that will have to be checked and maintained from time to time.
I removed the heel shifter from my 05 EGC as it was justunnatural &in my way. Harley makes a decorative cap to install ($12-15) on the end of the shaft to cover the splines of the removed heel shifter. I greased the splines (to prevent corrosion) before putting the cap on. It will also keep the forward shifter from falling off if it were toloosen up. Since both shifters are identical, I'd keep the removed shifter for a spare.
Ride on.
How loose is too loose? I have a little side to side play in both my heel and toe shifter but not much. In other words I can wiggle it a bit and wiggles everything: toe and heel shifter and shifter linkage. Is it supposed to be snug tight so it doesn't move at all?
Had to bring this post back to life, I had just read this post a week before and should have taken it as fair warning, Mine started falling off going down the road yesterday and I had to hold it on with my heel. I heard this ringing sound coming from the motor, turns out it was the shifter peg bouncing around on the spline shaft. Get some loctite on them bolts quick or it will happen to you.
It happened to me earlier this week, I retightened it and kept checking it, it got loose again.. Then I took it off, cleaned it and re-torqued the heck out of it... now I just check it everyday!!! 07 Ultra.
Same problem on my 06 Ultra. Tighened the toe shifter so many times that I stripped the alen screw. Put a bolt in it wich is a harder grade. Tighened again many times. Still comes loose. Finally it stripped the splines in the shifter arm. I hammerd a screw driver in the slot to expand it and put some straightened out heavy duty staples in between the shaft and arm. Tighened it down again. Has stayed tight for 2 weeks. I have to bring my self into turning it in to the dealer to have the shaft and arm replaced. They will probably keep it for 3 days. I will let everyone know how it goes. The staples are hard spring steel and are easier to insert compared to the beer can metal mentioned in other responses. I have inserter staples or small nails in other bikes for 30 years. Works on most
My previous bike was a 1999 Road King. Always was tightening the heel shifter. However, it never fell off, just came loose a lot. Current bike is a 2008 Street Glide. Less than 2000 miles and shifter is loosening daily. Taking my eyes off the road to be sure the shifter is there is not cool. Will try the loctite before having the dealer work with it.[:@]
RE: shifter fell off going down the road!!! (Simple Fix)
Happened to me to! Went quick off the line 1st 2nd 3rd gears 4th no heal shifter took \\;2 passes to find it, but unfortunaltely \\;2 semis found it first bounced it all over the road.
John
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