My spherical rod end shifter upgrade.
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Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 101
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From: Southern Ontario Canada
My spherical rod end shifter upgrade.
I just finished the heim joint shifter mod for the 08 RG and thought I would pass along some observations.
The sperical rod ends I used were the HD part number 33871-85B. These have the same thread as the original shifter rod so I didn't have to replace that. The rod ends are a bit longer than the stock fitting, so I left the lock nut off one end and ran the thread all the way into that piece. I put the lock nut on the other end and bottomed the thread out, then locked it agianst the rod end to align the two and lock the rod in place. This gave me the same 12" eye to eye that the original piece was.
I had to get one 5/16 X 24 X1" bolt and locking nut for the front mount and one 5/16 X 24 X1 1/4" bolt for the transmission lever. When I put the rod on, I found the front piece at the shifter seemed too close to the lever. I don't know if it would bind or not, but it was very close and may rub when downshifting. There wan't enough clearance to put the rod end behind the lever as the bolt would hit the cylinder fins.
I made a sleeve to shim out the rod at the transmission lever end. A few washers would do the same thing.
When installed this kicked the rod out just enough to give me some clearance at the Toe end of the works.
It's still snowing here and the roads are white with salt so it will be a few more weeks before I can try out all the mods I did this winter.
But the days are getting longer!
The sperical rod ends I used were the HD part number 33871-85B. These have the same thread as the original shifter rod so I didn't have to replace that. The rod ends are a bit longer than the stock fitting, so I left the lock nut off one end and ran the thread all the way into that piece. I put the lock nut on the other end and bottomed the thread out, then locked it agianst the rod end to align the two and lock the rod in place. This gave me the same 12" eye to eye that the original piece was.
I had to get one 5/16 X 24 X1" bolt and locking nut for the front mount and one 5/16 X 24 X1 1/4" bolt for the transmission lever. When I put the rod on, I found the front piece at the shifter seemed too close to the lever. I don't know if it would bind or not, but it was very close and may rub when downshifting. There wan't enough clearance to put the rod end behind the lever as the bolt would hit the cylinder fins.
I made a sleeve to shim out the rod at the transmission lever end. A few washers would do the same thing.
When installed this kicked the rod out just enough to give me some clearance at the Toe end of the works.
It's still snowing here and the roads are white with salt so it will be a few more weeks before I can try out all the mods I did this winter.
But the days are getting longer!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 28,559
Likes: 3,955
From: Vermont
Looks good. Just a suggestion, get a chrome allen bolt and put it in the rear and then get a chrome acorn nut and thread the bolt in the front from the back to the front and put the chrome acorn nut on the outside. Attached is a pic of the front acorn and a the rear allen
Last edited by dawg; Feb 21, 2009 at 05:12 PM.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,458
Likes: 0
When I replaced mine, I agree that the bolt would hit the cylinder fins so I simply reversed the bolt, put it through from behind and capped it off with a nice chromed acorn nut or finial nut. No spacers required then and all lined up nicely. You may want to rethink this rube goldberg design before it causes you problems on the road. A+ for effort though..
(Sump'in just ain't right. Harley Davidson didn't need any spacers and neither should you.)
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(Sump'in just ain't right. Harley Davidson didn't need any spacers and neither should you.)
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Last edited by RODEO; Feb 21, 2009 at 05:16 PM.
Novice
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: NW Ohio
Sperical washers
If you look in race application, fabrication sources they make a spacer/heavy washer that has a tapered outside diameter which when you place the small diameter against the heim ball it allows for more rotation of the bearing before binding against the housing.
I'm in the process of doing mine now and found the shifter lever hole to be .015 larger than the 5/16 diamerer I expected to find. Very sloopy tolerancing on the manufacturing of the lever. I will wrap the bolt with .007 shim stock to remove the slope.
I ordered shoulder bolts with a low profile allen head in stainless so i could place the front heim on the jug side of the lever and not rub the jug, you should keep the rod alienment as straight as possible. You should also use bolts that have a unthreaded shoulder to keep the fit tight through the front lever and heim to eliminate slop and thread diameter wear as the unit goes through thousands of cycles over time.
I'm in the process of doing mine now and found the shifter lever hole to be .015 larger than the 5/16 diamerer I expected to find. Very sloopy tolerancing on the manufacturing of the lever. I will wrap the bolt with .007 shim stock to remove the slope.
I ordered shoulder bolts with a low profile allen head in stainless so i could place the front heim on the jug side of the lever and not rub the jug, you should keep the rod alienment as straight as possible. You should also use bolts that have a unthreaded shoulder to keep the fit tight through the front lever and heim to eliminate slop and thread diameter wear as the unit goes through thousands of cycles over time.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 659
Likes: 2
From: Lansing
the heim joint that harley sells has a wide ball component. We use heim joints all over the place on machines at work. They usually have only a small amount of room for angularity. Lots of diferent companies make these joints.
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