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2005 883 Custom Tranny question

1K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Cobus 
#1 ·
Hi All
I have a 2005 883 Custom, and it's got the dreaded 1st gear slipping issue. Problem seems to be the availability of these gears for this model. On eBay I can find complete 2006 gear sets, but I know they are different to the 2005. Can the full set from a 2006 (Gears, shafts, shift forks, shift drum etc.) be built into a 2005 casing to "upgrade it to the helical gears and the stronger shift drum?
 
#3 ·
Agreed, they are, but I got this one off someone who didn't give it the care it should have. I got it at a great price, and I've had a good 3 years awesome riding out of it and done cosmetic mods myself. The first gear dogs eventually wear, and in my case the pin on the shift fork that sits in the shift drum slot broke. We've repaired both the drum and the fork and dressed the dogs on the gears, but first gear engagement is still marginal. I've read up on this issue, and although not common, it does happen, I just had the luck of getting one of them :confused:. There're actually a couple of threads on here where guys have a similar issue. The symptoms start off with first not engaging enough to pull away, and eventually it won't stay in first at all or worse. Like I said, I've repaired the shift drum and made a hardened tool steel engagement pin, but I can't do much about the worn gear dogs.
From what I can find on the www, the 2004, 2005 stock gears are either very pricey, or unavailable and I run on a very tight budget, I can get 2nd hand 2006 full gear sets in excellent condition for less than I can buy one new 2004/2005 1st/3rd gear, hence the query, will it fit?
Oh, the newer shift drum is also steel where it matters, the one I have is aluminum...
 
#4 ·
OK so what I'm hearing is you got a trans out of a different bike and installed it in yours. I hear ya.
The shift drum is what's happening. The drum pins have a specific measurement. The pins all have to stick out of the drum an equal distance. The spec for that is in the MoCo service manual.
 
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#7 ·
Thank you for the reply.
You're hearing incorrectly, I am wanting to do that, I have NOT done it yet, I am only asking if someone knows if the two gear cases (2005/2006) are similar enough that it is possible.
The two gear sets are radically different, and I would have to change all the gears/shafts/shift drum etc to the newer, this I am aware of, I am also very familiar with the functioning/tolerances etc. of gearboxes. Again, read my original question. Is it possible to strip the guts from a 2006 sportster and install the guts into a 2005 gear case.
I am also very aware of what is happening in my current setup, in that the dogs that link the first and third gear are worn so do not stay engaged under power, there is nothing wrong with the shift drum or the shift fork or any of the other components surrounding this, I have personally verified this.
The reason for the question is that I can buy all the guts for a 2006 model, including shift drum, both sets of shafts with all the gears and shift forks/drum for much the same as I can buy the two worn gears from my 2005 model. I am however not going to buy the newer set if I cannot verify if it will be possible to do this.
 
#5 ·
You almost got it, I want to replace ALL the gears, shafts, shift drum, forks etc, it won't work any other way. The two gear sets and shift drum/forks are too different from each other, the 2005 is still straight cut gears, the 2006+ helical, the forks are also different, so the one wont work on the other, but the casing is similar, I haven't bought it yet, I want to know if someone knows if this idea will work. So, strip out the original gear set and shift drum and forks and replace with the newer version, i.e. replace it as a set, not individual parts.
 
#8 ·
ps: GEARS don't much "SLIP" (unless they are completely " STRIPPED "
I assume you are indicating that your transmission SLIPS out of 1st GEAR ???
I am aware of the gears not slipping, and you assume correctly, but that is not my question, as I have already done all the checks internally, i.e. stripped the box to verify what's wrong, see my answer to Schmidty.
 
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