Anyone else have a first gear whine on downshift,,,,2014 Ultra FLHTCU

 

First gear whine all the time.No answer why

 

same here. figured it was normal, never thought to ask about it

 

Yup - same here

After a while I am now using it to ensure I am in first when down shifting thru to a stop

AFAIK this is normal

 

Yep, odd huh

 

its the helical cut gears that are your 1st gear. That's why they whine

 

Same here. It's not as bad as some others I've had, so it doesn't bother me.

 

Yep. My FLHXS also has the first gear whine. Dealer says its normal. The dealer also said it was normal to have problems shifting into first. (Just let the clutch out a little).

 

I love the sound of it, completely normal and yes its the way the gear is cut

 

It's the opposite. First gear is straight cut (spur), the rest are helical*. Helical gears are quieter than straight cut but impart side loading (lateral thrust) on the shafts. Spur gears are capable of greater loads like moving a heavy motorcycle from a dead stop.

*Some years of HD transmissions have a spur gear for 5th. HD changed that when customers complained about the noise.