First thing I did to my Road King was take the heel shifter off, then removed the rubber piece and used it as a spacer for the remaining toe shifter. I put the rubber piece between the case and shifter which was mounted outboard where the heel shifter had been.
A month or two ago when this was first posted, i naturally went out and looked it over, checked the installation, snugness of the bolts and everything was secure, and added it to my **** pre ride check.
After seeing the picture of the splines, and the bolt with a the gap, i put my bi focals on and a flashlight, checked it all out again and it is still secure. While a few have had issues with this it must be a reliable design etc.
I elected to keep he heel shifter, think it is cool (coming from a sportster) but like oil and air one of those things that should be looked at before a ride.
I think if it fails it would be a major issue but rare occurrence.
Mine came loose within the first week of owning my first HD. Tightened her up. Came loose again. Took it off and applied blue lock tight. Came loose again. It was time for my 1000 mile service so i asked the svc guy to look at it. It all came up roses. It's loose again.
Gotta tell y'all...not real happy with my first Harley. Two recalls and now i read the sound coming from around the primary could be loose cam tensioners. And my heel shifter will not stay tight...
my GoldWing had more power than you could shake a stick at, and wow was it smooth and powerful. To even get close to that power and torque I am lookin at a cams, HC pistons, adjustable pushrods, head work, and a new tuner. The stage one is a huge improvement over stock but the v twin is still wanting for power.
Very comfortable...but not what I was hoping for or expecting. I get it, though...I bought culture and attitude, not just a motorcycle.
Oh, and I payed more for the vibration.
I think if it fails it would be a major issue but rare occurrence.
Fully agree. If this was a widespread problem, I would not have been the first to see it. And perhaps 1 in 100 levers have the threads that just line up perfectly so it slips more easily. The reason for the post was more of a heads up to others.
I just get a kick out of those that say 'impossible' or 'you suck at PM' only to see that it's happened to others.
While I don't have the rear shifter because it fell off, I do still have the front shifter. I put the bolt in and tightened it snug. The bolt threads line up quite nicely with the lever teeth. It also does not seem to be far enough to prevent movement.
I do not believe that single thread of the bolt is enough to keep it from falling off. And, since the HD lever is made from steel, the bolt has to be able to bend steel to properly tighten the lever on the spline. The softbrake lever is made of aluminium which is much more malleable.
Here's a couple pics of the inside of the lever teeth.
Can anyone look at that single screw thread, the same depth as the splines on the shifter, and somehow think that the shifter can't slide past the "decreased" radius on the shaft? It can and does happen. Sorry SafetyMan But you will lose that wager.
SafetyMan - I sincerely enjoy your posts & the insight/experience you share ... but to prove to you that this really happened to me (and others), I have to drive my bike from Western PA to Texas so you can put it on your lift? What about the pictures I posted? Can't you see how that would be able to move on the spline? I know you adamantly say it's not possible, please explain how.
My story - my rear lever fell off with the bolt still in the lever. The front lever would slide on the spline even after the bolt was tighten. I have 8k miles on the bike.
No need, I have both a 1,500lbs table lift and 10,000lbs two post vehicle lift in my garage.
As for the shifter, I like many of the contributors to this thread have first hand knowledge that it can in fact be removed with the bolt in. I lost mine on a trip from VA to Nova Scotia two years ago. When we stopped to replace it in a dealer parking lot the 4 guys that were with me were quite surprised as was I that I could install and remove it with the bolt threaded in. The shifter relies only the clamping force of the splined surfaces to hold. Not like my old metrics where the bolt did encroach on the shaft opening and could not be removed no matter how loose until the bolt was removed.
I think maybe you need to put YOUR bike up on that lift you are apparently so proud of. Then you can drink a beer for the rest of us.
A few months ago my wife and I went up in the hills for a picnic, we both ride 2012 FLHTK’s. We found a nice spot and I pulled over and went to down shift and the toe shift lever went to the footboard. I had to take the bolts all the way out to pull the levers off the shaft. The splines on the toe lever were almost gone, apparently it was loose and I didn’t notice. My shift levers are the Billet style and I believe are aluminum. I put the toe lever in the tour pak and put the heel lever in its place. When I got home I put the OEM levers back on and ordered a new set of Billet levers and a shaft from Kutters. So when I read some of the posts I ran my own little test. I sandwiched the shift linkage end of the old shaft between a couple pieces of wood and tightened it in the vice. Took the OEM lever with the bolt loose and tried to install it on the shaft, it would not go. Not even with my small dead blow hammer. I took the bolt out and slid the shaft on the splines so there were spline beneath the bolt hole and tried to install the bolt, again it would not go. I look at the pictures and see the bolt thread and to me it does not look at all like the splines in the lever. I wish I had a set of inside mic’s to measure that space but I don’t. Now I’m not saying yours doesn’t slip on the shaft, I bet it does, there is no reason for us to make stuff up. It’s obvious that mine wouldn’t slip because the bolt got in the way. The question then becomes why is yours slipping, could it be a bad run of shafts, Lever bores or a larger diameter free hole for the bolt? I would be curious to know if you can slip it on the shaft in any orientation, and those who used blue Loctite was the bolt loose or was the lever loose on the shaft? It’s getting cold here in Utah and tomorrow may be the last good day to ride, (without heat gear). Peace out and go for a ride.
11-06-2014 | 07:26 AM
