Pre-Flight Check
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 346
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From: San Diego
Pre-Flight Check
So I am out giving the bike a once over, cleaning her up and checking her out before I go on a ride. I look down at the heel/toe shifter lever and it looks like there is too much play where it connects to the arm that connects to the shifter linkage. I pull on the shifter and it goes about ˝ inch back and forth, I give it a good tug and the heel/toe shifter and shaft pull right off!!!!! Upon closer inspection I see that when I had HD put chrome shifter linkage on the bike they didn’t bother to take the set screw out first before putting the arm onto the shaft, they forced it on, then tightened it down and cross threaded the set screw. I don’t know how it held on for a trip to Sturgis and back wouldn't have been nice to have my shifter fall off at 70! I took it apart got a new set screw, cleaned up the threads and put it on CORRECTLY. I had them do a bunch of work and now I am questioning all of it. Guess two morals to this story, 1) Harley is hit or miss with the mechanics 2) Always do a good pre-flight check to the bike before going on a ride.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,464
Likes: 4
From: On. Canada
Goes to show ya....if you want it done right, ya got to do it yourself. No mechanic is going to be as diligent and careful with your bike as you are.
Glad you caught it before loosing it!
Glad you caught it before loosing it!
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 6,508
Likes: 169
From: WPB, FL
Just For The Heck Of It
Just for the heck of it, was there any residue of any kind from loctite? Blue would have left a white powdery remains. I see loads and loads of loose shaking shifter rods all the time during bike nites. Hope you used some when re-installing!
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 346
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From: San Diego
Nope, not when HD did the install but I used it when I re-did it. They totally missed the spot on the shaft where the arm is supposed to go, there is a part on the shaft with no threads that allows the set screw to tighten but as you probably know, you have to take the set screw out to let the arm go on the shaft and then put the set screw on, I had them doing a lot of stuff to the bike and I bet this was a job started before a break and then finished after.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,928
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From: Near Myrtle Beach, SC
You forgot number three...
3. Any work you can do yourself, do it. Don't trust or pay someone else for the simple stuff.
Glad you got it squared-away. It's a bad feeling when you find that they screwed-up the easy stuff. Makes you wonder about the quality of the rest of what they did...or didin't do....or did totally wrong.
3. Any work you can do yourself, do it. Don't trust or pay someone else for the simple stuff.
Glad you got it squared-away. It's a bad feeling when you find that they screwed-up the easy stuff. Makes you wonder about the quality of the rest of what they did...or didin't do....or did totally wrong.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,308
Likes: 9
my shift linkage came loose last week on a trip to california...had to run 400 miles across west texas in 4th gear to get to barnett's in el paso for repairs. it was where the linkage attaches to the shaft that comes out of transmission. that shaft has splines and a groove about half way down the shaft that locks the linkage on and it cannot come off when installed properly. jam it part way on at the factory and hit it with an impact wrench--lasted 20k. mechanic said it was not the first one they had seen. they replaced the linkage where it attaches to shaft from transmission--got me to cali. and back home. said the transmission needed to be removed from bike to fix it correctly. 2012 e.g. classic bought new and only serviced by selling dealer. maybe if they weren't playing music on the assembly line, crap like this would not happen.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 185
From: Mountain West, Big Sky Country
So I am out giving the bike a once over, cleaning her up and checking her out before I go on a ride. I look down at the heel/toe shifter lever and it looks like there is too much play where it connects to the arm that connects to the shifter linkage. I pull on the shifter and it goes about ˝ inch back and forth, I give it a good tug and the heel/toe shifter and shaft pull right off!!!!! Upon closer inspection I see that when I had HD put chrome shifter linkage on the bike they didnt bother to take the set screw out first before putting the arm onto the shaft, they forced it on, then tightened it down and cross threaded the set screw. I dont know how it held on for a trip to Sturgis and back wouldn't have been nice to have my shifter fall off at 70! I took it apart got a new set screw, cleaned up the threads and put it on CORRECTLY. I had them do a bunch of work and now I am questioning all of it. Guess two morals to this story, 1) Harley is hit or miss with the mechanics 2) Always do a good pre-flight check to the bike before going on a ride.
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2010
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From: San Diego
You forgot number three...
3. Any work you can do yourself, do it. Don't trust or pay someone else for the simple stuff.
Glad you got it squared-away. It's a bad feeling when you find that they screwed-up the easy stuff. Makes you wonder about the quality of the rest of what they did...or didin't do....or did totally wrong.
3. Any work you can do yourself, do it. Don't trust or pay someone else for the simple stuff.
Glad you got it squared-away. It's a bad feeling when you find that they screwed-up the easy stuff. Makes you wonder about the quality of the rest of what they did...or didin't do....or did totally wrong.
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Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 346
Likes: 0
From: San Diego
my shift linkage came loose last week on a trip to california...had to run 400 miles across west texas in 4th gear to get to barnett's in el paso for repairs. it was where the linkage attaches to the shaft that comes out of transmission. that shaft has splines and a groove about half way down the shaft that locks the linkage on and it cannot come off when installed properly. jam it part way on at the factory and hit it with an impact wrench--lasted 20k. mechanic said it was not the first one they had seen. they replaced the linkage where it attaches to shaft from transmission--got me to cali. and back home. said the transmission needed to be removed from bike to fix it correctly. 2012 e.g. classic bought new and only serviced by selling dealer. maybe if they weren't playing music on the assembly line, crap like this would not happen.
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 346
Likes: 0
From: San Diego
i did not have the dealer intervention you had but with an 07 road glide i had back in 08, i lost the heel toe shifter and the shifter assembly on the way home from Sturgis. Had to stop at a truck stop and make a shifter that i mounted on the shifter arm that come outs out of the transmission(think duct tape, wire and a stick). Kinda worked like a jockey shift but with the clutch on the left hand side, had to squeeze clutch with left hand and reach over and shift with right. Was not too bad once you got into 6th gear however getting there was interesting. Rode over 700 miles this way, needless to say, only stopped for gas and rode non stop until i got home. Got use to starting off in 2nd to avoid having to shift so much. When got home, dealer looked at it and replaced under warrenty since bike was still under warrenty and had never had any work done to the shifter.
