I finally got the lock tabs and other stuff to button back up my tranny and primary. I've got a quick question. I noticed my shifter lever moves pretty far from the resting point up and down. This is a 71 XLCH that I got out of a field in Wisconsin so I have no idea how far the shift lever travels on this bike. That was what was broke. I recall my old 87 sporty also had a lot of lever travel. The 71 moves as high as the points cover from the level position. I;d say total movement up and down is about 1/4 rotation.

Help....can someone tell me if this is right for an old ironhead. I don;t see an adjustment for lever travel in my manual so this must be a characteristic of the bike.

Does the shift lever travel that far? If you've got a right side shift ironhead, you know.....

ferg

 

I'ts very hard to fix a bike from long distance. You said you had the tranny out. Before you put the clutch back in did you check the shifter shaft fit. How was the pawl on the shifter shaft? Any serious wear or damage?Is the pawlcompletely seated in it's saddle. If not there are shims made for it. Is the shaft pawl saddle in good shape? Are the return springs in the shifter ratchet strong and not damaged? Does the ratchet fuction correctly? As long as the all of these components aregood then there should be no excessive shifter movement.

 

Alan,

I took the bike apart b/c the guy jumped on the shifter and dislodged the shift selector ball from the pawl. The selector shaft, pawl carrier, springs, all else actually looked great. The pawl bolt was loose though and that's why the guy was able to displace the little ball from the pawl cup. The shifter feels great now. It just seems like the travel is far....in other words, it seems like I have to really pull my toe up far to get it into 3 and 4. But I recall my Evo sportster was similar. If I could sit on someones iron head and toe the shift lever, I'd have my answer....

How far does your shift lever travel up? My lever goes up to about the points cover and down about the same travel.....seems like about a 1/4 a turn total travel....

Is this normal for an ironhead?

 

I haven't owned a Sportster since 1986 andI can't remember the last time I rode one.
But I sure remember how to work on them.
I just know if all thoe parts check out then it should be fine.