My 02 is starting to have trouble engaging into second gear. I'll try to upshift, and it gets caught in Neutral, and I have to upshift again. I adjusted the clutch, and the cable, and it hasn't helped. What is the significance of this symptom?

 

What fluid are you running in the tranny and in the primary? How many miles on bike? Might have to do some clutch work/changing. I doubt it is a tranny issue.

 

My first suspicion is that the clutch is dragging (not completely disengaging).

If it is adjusted properly it should not drag enough to cause problems. There is the possibility of a warped plate or a problem with the weird spring plate that harley puts in the late model clutches. You would have to remove the primary and clutch plates to check for this.

Check the linkage, especially the lever on the transmission case, make sure it is not sloppy...

Not sure about `02 models, but on earlier models the shifter pawl adjustment could give you shifting problems. Check your service manual to see if it is possible to adjust on your bike.

 

+1 what he said. Also next oil change try 75w90 gear lube in the trans. But I would try the clutch adjustment first. Then the pawl. If it's not both of those then your shift drum spring could be getting weak. If you beat on the trans a lot shifting hard, you could have a bent or worn shift fork but I doubt that.

 

i'm havin the same trouble with my 70 shovelhead. We've had the tranny out, tranny guy looked at it and said it looked fine, nothing stopping it from goin into 2nd, we took the ratchet top apart everything seems fine there, put the tranny back in got it all together and still have the same problem. Some thought it was the forks but I'm told the forks are ok. Anyone know of anything it could be??? oh, messed with adjusting the linkage and the clutch too... thanx Tabu

 

Hey , 1st put "o" weight "100 %" "synthetic" oil in trans & primary drive . then adjust the clutch to .5 to 1 inch of free travel on the clutch lever . If you don't know how to adjust the clutch . you need to remove the round cover on the primary . It will be the center nut on the clutch pack . put a allen wrench in the hole an end wrench on the nut an turn the allen wrench to add clearance to the clutch lever . If this don't work your shifting lever down inside behind the primary drive is slipping on the shaft or has to much "wear" or free travel on the shaft causing the lever not to push far enough up to shift to the next gear. just my thoughts . Duane 08 Blue Ultra # 617849 Born 8-02-07

 

45000 miles, with 75-140 tranny fluid. Its an old cop bike from one of the nations most violent communities, so I know the clutch and tranny has seen real hard times. I'll try a lighter tranny fluid first, since i've already adjusted the clutch. Hopefully that'll fix it.

 

I have same problem, but only after riding for about 1/2 hour. Also, I sometimes have a real problem finding neutral when stopped when this is happening. So stays in Neutral when I try to shift into second but hard to find Neutral when I want to. No problems on downshifting. From what I've read, given that it only happens when the bike is hot, lubrication issue?

05 Sporty