I know it is premature but do you think the "07" Softails will get the 6speed the Dynas got this year?thx

 

Personally I wouldnt want the Dyna 6 speed. Top gear is still 1:1 and pretty useless. All that transmission means is that you have to shift one extra time through the gears to get up to speed. And with the Twin cam's wide powerband its really pretty pointless. Not to mention HD just had a recall on about 14,000 bikes because of a defect in that transmission.

If HD is going to put a 6 speed into the Softail, it had better be a 6 speed with a true OD reduction gear at the top leaving 5th at 1:1 still.

 

I am betting no. If a any model line gets the 6 speed it will likely be the touring family. I doubt that Harley will update boh the tourers and softails the same year.

 

I'll second that. I hope the softails don't get it.

 

Actually, the new 6-speed transmission is the slickest shifting and strongest transmission HD has ever put out. The helical cut gears are smooth, quiet, easy shifting and the motor spins a couple hundred RPM slower at highway speeds. The recall is for a false neutral light, hardly a "defect".. Plus there is the new easy clutch... I love it. To each his own.

 

Is that what the HD brochure told you? Sorry but helical cut gears are not as strong as straight cut traditional gears. It may be a bit quieter running, but thats the only advantage. And that advantage is worthless when your running a performance pipe anyway. The false neutral indicator was bad enough to cause injuries to people. And the "easy pull" clutch(basically just a cut spring plate and recontoured inner ramp)can be retrofitted onto any of the older models if the rider so wants. Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the new 6 speed transmission loaded into the dyna models. HD did a good job overall on the Dyna redesign, but there were alot of cost cutting measures integrated into that bike as well, and I can already see some of those measures incorperated into the transmission from the basic schematic I have of it. We will see how durable it really is in a few years. I am highly doubtful it will have the same track record as the basic 5 speed thats been perusing the HD's for a number of years now. The older 5 speed was a better match to the Twin cam. And the SE 6 speed adds a useful .86:1 true overdrive for those who do alot of highway cruising.

 

No, that's what every major motorcycle magazine, plus HD have said about the new 6-speed. Are they all liars? Are you smarter than HD's engineers? Torque carrying capacity on the new 6-speed is rated 28% higher than the old 5-speed. There are larger internal bearings, larger gears and a stiffer transmission housing. Did you notice all of that in your transmission schematic? Not only are the helical cut gears quieter, they shift a lot smoother too. BMW is just one of many other manufacturers that are using helical cut gears. Are they building junk transmissions too? The neutral light problem won't even exist in 2007. It's not a "defect" as you put it. It's a friggin neutral light.. and to listen to you, the entire tranny sucks because the neutral light was faulty on the first 14,000 made. They are fixing them and anyone who buys a 2007 model won't have to worry about it. As for the clutch, what does retro-fitting have to with anything? The new clutch is INCLUDED with the new 6-speed. That's a point in it's favor. I've got almost 3000 miles of riding time on the new 6-speed and I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you. The new transmission is great. I'm a huge fan of the new 6-speed and it's the best feature on the '06 Dynas. How many hours have you ridden one?...

 

Lets hit upon your first sentance: Motorcycle magazines get their info from HD, and HD is not the best source on what real improvements are. HD also has ALOT of advertising in those same magazines, so there is obvious "influence". Supposedly in 03' HD improved their crank bearing assembly when they ditched the Timken bearings for the new straight roller bearings. What a crock that was! The new roller bearing is now one of the big weak points in the engine. Especially if you want to up the power in the motor something significant.

The next portion reads: More HD propaganda. "Torque carrying capacity" has never been an issue in the older models, I have built engines making more that 3 times the amount of torque than a stock twin cam and the transmission has never had a problem handling it long term, and larger internal bearings don't equate to a more rugged design. The bearings could be of an inferior design(Just like that of the case bearings), only time will tell how rugged the transmission is. But HD has a known tendancy to always try and cut mfg. cost while trying to minimise the impact to quality. Sometimes the changes are OK, other times they aren't. Should we talk about the cost cutting measures HD took on the cam support plate or on the cylinder heads recently? Transmission shifting has always been pretty smooth for years on end, and never been an issue either.
Now I never said the new transmissions are junk as your obviously implying, but they have not proved a single thing in overall reliability and how durable they are being only a few months old. Specs are great, but I am wise enough to know that HD's bottom line is mfg. cost for the bike and lots of problems can rear their ugly head down the road on a new design.

If its not a defect, then why did HD recall 14,000 bikes? Why were there reports of numerous injuries from it? It may be a "friggin" neutral light, but obviosuly its a problem. I'll be replacing a few dozen in the upcoming weeks no doubt, so I'll take a closer look at the issue then.

No its not a new clutch, its a new clutch spring and a new inner ramp. Thats it. It takes less than 5 minutes to change out the inner ramp($5), and another 5 minutes to change out clutch spring($15) if someone really wanted to. And if the bikes engine is going to remain relatively stock then it may be a good thing for those with a weak handgrip. For performance, the clutch spring is not going to hold as well and is going to be replaced with a much stiffer unit. What I tell folks who inquire about this is to get the inner ramp for 5 bucks and to lay off the spring if they have mods, it by itself still reduces the clutch action and allows you to retain the stronger clutch spring which is better suited to performance mods to the engine.

Glad to hear your happy with it. Still doesnt change one thing in my perception of the new transmission. Its a 6 speed with NO overdrive which just means you got an extra gear to shift t

 

edited double post.

 

Nice how you change the subject to capacity of the old tranny and start ranting about the bearings in '03 models when I bring up FACTS about the increase in torque capacity of the new 6-speed. It doesn't mean anything man... the new tranny is stronger. Period. Doesn't matter if it needs to be, it is. Doesn't matter if the 5-speed never had probs.. the new one can carry more load. In your first post, you implied it was weak. You talked about it like it was junk. It's not. Facts are, you got no idea how long this tranny will last. And I doubt if you have any time on one.

It's just a wild guess here, but I would say that you're worried that if HD updates the 2007 softails like they did the 2006 Dynas, then your own bike will appear to be a bit dated. That's just a guess on my part, but that's the impression I get from you.

So dude.. whatever you say. It's all Harley propaganda. Every F1 car, Nascar and Indy car uses helical cut gears, but straight cut are the way to go. Gotcha.. it's all HD propaganda.