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Big twin Trans Arm issue: Loose

19K views 23 replies 21 participants last post by  tommytailspin 
#1 ·
Highly overlooked service tip, that could cost you big labor dollars and time down.

You all know you have a shifter, with a piece of linkage that leads to the trans. Move shifter pedal = moves linkage = moves shift lever on trans.



Now.... grab that trans shifter lever (on the trans) and see if it's loose. Not front to rear as much as side to side. Check for both.

The shifter arm is a soft, cast metal. There's a 1/4" allen head bolt that holds it tight, like your shifter peg that your foot operates. If it comes loose enough, long enough, it's eventually strip out the teeth, leading to an inner primary removeal to replace it.

Using a 1/4" allen socket and a 3" extension on a 3/8" wrench, snug the allen bolt and all the play is gone/ Mine was super loose. 1995 bike with 37K. Food for thought....

 
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#4 ·
very good tip. i had to take inner primary off to change mine last winter.

i check it at every oil change now
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the tip. I will be checking that as soon as I get home from work. :thumbsup
 
#7 ·
I finally remembered to check this today. The seal is leaking and there is a lot of play. HD shop will repair under warranty on the 23rd of September.
I assume it has been loose for a while, it is pretty worn. I just went over 14000 miles.

Thank you again Dave, I could have ended up stuck on the side of the road somewhere.

If I am in PA I will try to find you and buy the beer.
 
#9 ·
Thank you for this tip. I just bought a running fixer upper and these are the very kinds of things to be checked out before hiting the road so as not to be stranded on the side of it.
 
#14 ·
:thumbsuplove the tips you get from just reading through these posts. just bought my first Harley so all the tips are good. got a 3 year warranty and 2 years pre paid maintenance. so its all good , but i like to check on stuff myself.
 
#18 ·
Funny. Talked to a guy just the other day who had that problem happen to him on a road trip. Bet he wished he'd read this thread...
 
#20 ·
Look down between the inner primary and trans to locate the shift shaft. Move the foot shifter while observing the shift shaft. If the shift linkage moves a bit without turning the shift shaft it's loose.
You can try re-tightening the pinch bolt, it'll take a good hard turn to tighten it. You'll need a long Allen driver to reach the bolt.
 
#22 ·
What's the problem ?
When that arm is loose on the shift shaft the splines wear down then the arm slips on the shaft and the trans doesn't shift correctly.
 
#23 ·
I just bought a 12 FLHTK and on the second day of riding it I noticed a lot of play in the shifter. Don't ask why I did not notice it when I looked at the bike. Too excited I guess to think straight. Any way mine was about to fall off it was so loose. I had to remove the inner primary and luckily the splines were not worn too bad. I put a Baker lever on, post to be more better. It tightened up and will be checked often I can assure you.
 
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