So I did a bunch of online research prior to executing this swap and decided on the following. I am not super rich, so I didn't go with the most expensive but rather what was practical for me. I bought an Ultima Left Side Drive 6 speed transmission from an ebay dealer with a ton of positive feedback. The transmission shipped right away. I purchased new clutch plates and all required seals from J and P cycles. (Amazing customer support!), they helped me with everything I could ask or want and I am happy to use their online services to get my project done! I currently have the transmission out of my bike, parts are all ordered and waiting on them getting here to put it all back together. I have photos and will be posting them soon. I also have the service manual for a 97/98 Softail and am excited for continuing this project prior to the summer riding.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should be lookin at that doesn't just jump right out? I did get an auto chain tensioner for the primary and all new seals. I also picked up a 84/10 easy start gear set for making it easier to crank the S and S 96 evo. I am replacing the wiring and converting to a digital speedo as part of this conversion. Over all I am excited and enjoy wrenching.

 

Good luck an have at it Dude! I can only offer advice telling you to take it slow. I have also told people if you think you screwed up, you prolly did so back out of it and redo it. There ain't much worse then spending a bunch of time and money with the expectation of some good ridin only to have something take a crap on ya!! I and many others have said it's as much fun as wrenching on them and mod'ing them as it is riding them! The whole HARLEY experiance is just an awesome thing to be part of. Good luck!!

 

I'm paying attention to this one, and looking forward to the pics. I've got a 98 custom bike in a softail frame with a 96" S&S. I've got a 5 speed Harley tranny, but six speeds sounds nice...

Did you think about going to an open belt drive primary at all?

 

I put the ultima 6 speed in a 92 softail very nice for the price even came with new pulley ran redline shockproof in it

 

How do you like that Ultima tranny Hillbilly??

 

It was good no problems sold bike they come with 2yr 24000mi warranty

 

Thanks for info!

 

Sounds like you are close. The only thing I would mention be sure to follow the torque sequence for the Motor/tranny/Inner primary and check to ensure the new tranny sits flush with no need for shims. After that I don't think you should have any problems. Chaning a tranny is not hard just a lot that has to come off.

 

So I have the new Trans in the garage now, just waiting on parts to arrive before I start putting it together. I am also rewiring the motorcycle at the same time to clean it up and improve reliability. Here are pictures of the progress so far and comparison photos of the new trans and the old. All seems very similar and I am looking forward to getting it in and rideable again.

Some of the things I found were expected and others were news. I pulled the primary and found the engine doesn't have a compensator on it, called S and S, they assured me no big deal. Also learned from the tech there that target RPM for crusing with my engine should be around 2800 rpm +/- 200. So I expect no issues with that at 85 on the highway. Also found that my transmission only had one mount bolt still tight, other 4 were loose. Overall disassembly went as expected. No crazy issues, unbolt and bag parts to easily remember where they went. I have a lot of new parts coming so I have to be careful not to get confused on what goes where and I will end up with extra parts! I have to make sure they are the right parts.

Replacing the clutch is part of the plan also, not sure I need to but it is crazy not to as far as I am concerned. I am taking my trans to a local indy to swap the sprocket over. I don't have the tool and don't expect to need it again in the future.

Here are some comparisons of the transmissions side by side. They are pretty much same sized, six speed is slightly longer it looks like, but shouldn't be a problem. The shift fork is much stiffer on new trans, not sure if that means anything on the old one, but it is very tight. The new trans did come with a good spacer, but no paperwork. I did download the instructions from Ultima so I don't expect any issues.







Here are a few photos of the bike as it is disassembled in the garage. I am not the cleanest mechanic, and wasn't expected to have as much oil spillage, so don't mind all the cat litter.

 

So I reviewed my order from JP cycles I realized I ordered the 5 hole derby cover seal set and not sure it is going to work. I hope it is just the derby cover but we will see. I also see I am not going to be able to swap the Jims cover, but I dont' think I need it, I want electronic speedo and am swapping over to it, from a mechanical front drive to clean up the front end a bit. Also I noticed on my old trans the right side single bolt was cut off, not sure what I am going to do since that part is all nasty looking, cut up and not real useable. I could take the frame to someone and get a piece welded on, or just leave it and ride the **** out of it. I think that will be the plan, with checks on the tranny bolt periodically, ensuring they are still tight. Over all going to clean everything up really well this weekend and hope to start getting the trans installed and tighted up, will leave the oil tank off untill the wiring is done. After the wiring I will put the oil tank back on and run it up.