Intro: FTF - the warranty ain't worth the paper it's written on. $ to trade up my rattler/buzzard to '08 was 3X cost to mod tranny w/F6F + dealer labor, so I capitulated (due to warranty remaining elected to let an aftermarket-friendly dealer install it, thinking maybe this will give me arguing room later on if needed). After I got it back from dealer, added the SE filter, TMax/AT and swapped out the pipes w/a set of NOS '04 stockers had on hand. Don't flame me on the pipes. Hey, seen that YouTube vid of the guy doing an insane 2 block burnout with the rear tire up in smoke on his Glide? Well, that ain't me.

F6F report: Dealer put in Redline per Baker. First impression is 50% less clunk when going into 1st from neutral. Gears snicked into place quieter. Per my request, he did not install the speedo cal unit - I'm **** w/wiring and wanted to do that myself. Rode it at dealer and after getting home as received - silky silence in 5th. CONJECTURES OVER. It's not the comp, lack of riding skills, lugging, tensioner, fluid type, or anything else, it's the 5th gear set. END OF ARGUMENTS. Late night quick blast down the interstate verified speedo reading low and loss of 6th light per Baker's warning. No relapse to buzzing in 5th when hot. No "marbles in a tin can". Flaming "Lug ****'s" be-damned, I let it drift down to 2000 r's and below and it is now performing completely normally per every other HD I've owned. I.e. back to what we all expected in the beginning before this fiasco ensued. 'Nuff said.

Next day: Installed speedo recal unit. Tough, not for novices. Installed TMax w/AT. Right away stripped the brass inserts in the plastic mounting tray. Automatically strips like breaking an icicle upon application of torque. Carb cleaner, per instructions, won't work. My advice is just purchase a tray when you buy the TMax and don't even bother attempting to remove the old ECU from the tray - just leave it attached as an assy. It's only 2 nuts to take it off the frame as a unit anyway. Feared removal of the O2 sensors was just fear. Used a commercial 22mm O2 sensor socket + U joint and 10" extension with a pull handle to break free, then used ratchet/hand to thread out. TMax sensors came pre-lubed w/anti-seize. Routing wires no issue. Muff swap-out no-brainer. I had some TMax experience, so maps & setup were completed w/no issues (advice: read the damned instructions), left off saddlebags and tie-wrapped speedo unit to bag rail so I can reach while riding. Fired her up and she immediately settled into a smooth 1000 rpm idle with that familiar ole' buttery-toned rumble of past EGlides that I love so well and is probably gone forever from new ones. My bike idled rough and shook terribly as received - an awful state of tune for a stock bike - HD should hang their heads in shame. And don't flame me w/EPA excuses - my car, truck, lawnmower, weed eater, daddy's tractor, friends jet ski, model airplane idle smoothly.

Last Evening: Waited for century temps to decline before riding. Did 50 miles w/interstate blast and around town mix. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Exhaust has that intangible "right" sound of an engine that is in good tune - hard to describe but you know it when you hear it. 50% less heat on thighs, but I'm still going to try wrapping under shields w/header tape later. Could feel bike adjusting as ride progressed. Revs more freely in all gears. Low end, midrange and top end all benefited. Much more "pass-ability" on interstate. Adjusted speedo to 58 @ 2500 in 5th and checked, yep, showed 68 @ 2500 in 6th. Will fine-tune mph today w/wife's SUV. 6th indicator functioning. Easily pulls 6th at 2000 rpm on up. 5th is now usable and I'm going to have to de-learn habit of avoiding it. Bike is now more silky and refined feeling. Settles down to a smoother idle at stoplights, rather that threatening to shake off the tour pac lid as before. Plan more tuning and playing w/TMax.

Summary: F6F cured the '07 Cruise Drive tra

 

Nice job and congratulations on your new bike!

 

Thanks for putting that together. Iwant to respond if only to keep this thread up front a little longer. Lots of us have been waiting for first hand update on F6F. As suspected, sounds like it's the fix we hope for (for whine - no big deal - as well as clatter). It's been a long time coming but I'm finally getting a good feeling that there's a fix for my Clatter King. Now then, $1000+ for F6F or $300 for IDS???? Decision, decisions. Or live with my clatter-trap and keep pissin' and moanin' about Moco. Hmmm...

 

Sounds good....I have elected to live with the factory 6 speed, mine is not that bad, and in fact witht he .650 lift cam and valvetrain noise, and exhaust, i dont notice the fifth gear whine much. Dont have the can of rocks noise. Running the DTT TCFI II, similar to the Thundermax AT and the bike runs cool, idles well, pulls in 6th from 1800 rpm without complaining and still gets 40+ mpg. I agree, HD should have done something for the owners of the 07's other than coming out with a fix that the owners have to pay for, the IDS, which is stock on 08's

 

thanks for f6f info we all needed to hear that, i got 07 with extended warranty im considering cancelling extended warranty(800bucks) and using the money for the f6f i also have thundermax and your right its great, to heck with harleys ids, thats just a bandaid, i feel you did the right thing,

 

Hey Pan

When you went with the "Baker Fix F6F" by how much did it drop the RPM's?

 

What do you mean by "verified speedo reading low'? Is this something Baker expects with their F6F fix?

 

Reply to Geezer Glide Bob: If you are refering to the 30 & 31 teeth pulleys Baker offers, the effect would be an rpm increase per mph compared to stock, not a decrease, since the resulting gear ratio would be "less tall". I elected not to go that route and stuck with the stock pulley, so I am experiencing no perceived rpm changes.

Reply to petemac: The Cruise Drive VSS speed sensor generates pulse feedback from 5th gear. I don't know if it's the helical tooth form or a different number of teeth in the Baker replacement set, but for whatever reason the speedo will read low after installing their kit [dang - I meant to count the teeth on the gears before installing, but forgot]. Baker states in the instructions if you do not install the included speedo recal box you will get speedo errors and the 6th gear indicator light will not function. This was verified on my test ride.

 

Now that sounds like a FIX, as opposed to an IDS-mask!

Nice write-up!

 

Thanks for the reports. I installed a Thundermax unit Friday, seems like the basemap was better then the custom map I had on my PCIII. I still have some bugs to work out and some learning to do on the Smarlink software.

Can I ask what the install cost youon the F6F?

I noticed with the engine being in "tune" that the 5th gear noise seems to be more then just a noise, some vibrations in the lower RPM's 2,000-2,300 range.
Anything under 75 mphand 6th gear is just useless for me now.