Oh man, that sucks! Do people think there may be a defect in the bolt hole placement, or something like that? You'd hope that even with a loose bolt, its being there would prevent it from sliding off the shift spline. Damn.

Do people here know if most or all aftermarket levers are better than the default stock ones? I was looking at some blacked out parts, but if all harley levers have this issue, I might just go with a different brand to be safe.

Ever since I took my MSF course, I've checked my controls to see if they're loose before riding. My instructor said he had to ride 50 miles in 2nd gear (sport bike) because his shifter fell off. He drilled it into us to check every lever and hand control for loose hardware every time we ride, and it's mostly stuck with me. Wouldn't help if the controls got loose while actually riding like most of these people said, though.

 

I tried to get my heal shift portion off but it is on so tight I can't get it loose. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or the factory is now putting them on so they won't come loose.

 

That's the main reason HD engineers put 2 on your bike knowing you might loose one some day.I always kept both on my bike and only once lost one lucky had another to keep me going.

 

I saw a thread somewhere and the explanation one guy offered was that the gap that is cut in the lever is not big enough, so you can actually get the bolt tight, but the lever has not tightened on the shaft. That is, even when the gap closes, the hole is still too big to grab the shaft enough. The solution was to make the gap bigger so that it squeezes more when you tighten the bolt. But that might not explain why the bolts on some bikes are coming loose and falling completely out.

 

I bought a Softbrake front lever. It's aluminum not hardened steel so it's a bit more malleable and will hold better without needing locktight.

 

Happened to me a week after I bought the '09 new. Saw it hit the freeway in my rearview mirror almost taking out a car's windshield. I always do a check and tightening before long trips, or at least I use too. I'm bikeless but working on a deal ...

 

If something doesn't fall off your bike then your not riding a Harley.

 

If my heel shifter came off I'd be stranded....

 

drill it, tap it , install set screw.

 

If your bike is under warranty complain, the moco will replace