Sunday july 2nd I went to pull out of a parking lot and let out the clutch and the bike didn't move and just made a grinding noise, pulled the clutch back in and thought maybe I had it between gears, stepped down own the shift again let out the clutch, same thing.
Couldn't get it back into any other gear. Long story short, Monday the 3rd dropped it off at the HD Dealer and they said they would look at it maybe that day or wed at the latest. Called Friday the 7th to see how it was going and they had it tore down, said my sprocket on the primary blew apart (problem on the 92's and I probably got a bad left over sprocket) this in turn did some more damage, which in turn took out 5th gear in the tranny. This bike was not abused, I bought it from a 62 year old guy I know who bought it new, when I bought it a year ago March it had 8,800 original miles on it and was in showroom condition, now it has just under 16,000 and I don't abuse it. Has anyone heard of this happening?
Question I have is it's still not done yet 7/14, should this take this long to fix? they are not waiting for parts, thier explanation is this is a busy time of the year (no kidding!) I think they are just working on it when they have time between the easy stuff like services and tire changes etc. I'm calling this afternoon to see if it's done and will probably blow a gasket if it's not, I told them Monday 7/10 that I wanted done by the end of the week, don't want to go off the deep end if I'm asking for the impossible in reality. Here in wisconsin summer is short enough without having your bike laid up for 2-3 weeks when in should have been done in 2-3 days - 1 week.

 

Sorry I blew up! Just got a call that the bike is done, finally. Still would like to know if anyone else has heard that this is a common problem, thanks

 

If itz got **** or wheels your going to have trouble with it...Best part is, the bike doesn't talk back...All bikes have a few problems..It might behouve you to fix it yourself...Not that hard to do..and if your out of sell fone range you will be able to. That makes it even better...Phil

 

Which problem? The driveline issue or the 'stealers' taking forever to fix something? I've got a '93 FLHS and had problems twice with the drive sprocket loosening up and hitting the inner primary. Usually you get a warning because the tranny starts dripping oil.

The dealer issue is common place in my area. When I did find a dealer to take me in when I broke down 50 miles from home, it took a week to diagnose/replace a bad voltage regulator. They told me they were backed up three-four weeks and were 'fitting me in'. The service mgr told me they couldn't even look at my oil leak problem until the fall! On top of stating that they didn't like working on bikes older than 1995. I think they really want to do just the simple stuff anyway, probably because most dealers appear to have a shortage of experienced (10+ years) mechanics. And probably because it's more profitable to do an oil change or a 10K mile service, then have to tear into a motor and rebuild it.

And the independent shops are also swamped...My bike's only been in one since 6/14 getting the top end re-done after the previous independent shop let some idiot with a box of tools work on it. I do most of the routine maintenance myself, but when it comes to tearing down the motor and doing all the precision stuff necessary to make it run right...You really do need to have someone who knows their $*!#.

I'm next on the list to have my heads ported and re-done, so hopefully....hopefully, I should be back in the wind before the end of the month....

 

it's a known problem. i had to do the same thing with my 85.

 

'92flstc...59,000 miles,If the primary sprocket going south is a known problem,what are some obvious signs of impending failure or failure itself ?Mine has run like dream without any" major "mechanical work done on it.

 

You'll get a transmission oil leak which when the bike is on the sidestand will look like it's coming from the primary cover gasket. If this happens and you chose to ignore it, or instead change out the primary cover gasket, the sprocket will eventually hit the inside of the inner primary cover digging into the aluminum. Makes a really awful noise, you won't mistake it when it happens.

 

mucho thanks for the reply,s

 

if the 5th gear splines are wore replace that too or your going to do the job over. been there done that.

 

my 91 fatboy just let me down 2 weeks ago.same grinding noise and no pull!but seems to shift to all gears but nothing to the rear wheel.I have the iner & outer primary's off but don't see andy ereas where the sproket was hitting but did loose a lot of oil over the 3 thousnd mile trip!!! coldn't see were the leak was but my belt and pully along with the rest of the leftside of the bike were a mess!!! how do i check if my sproket is worn and do i need to repace any seals to stop the tranny leaks if that is what it is???