I'm with ya. I'm doing the same thing - throwing money at it to try and get the issue resolved. Honestly, though I think nothing short of a full engine/drivetrain blueprint process is going to fix it....

 

Well from what I have been reading some people think the new Harley 6 speed is an overdrive like the Baker units, It's not.
It is just another gear, combine that with longer stroke & these bikes should be wound up a little more before shifting, Hell I am not looking for a false 6th gear in my FXST EVO until I hit 85 mph.

 

It's not even really another gear. It's merely the result of the gear which otherwise is driven from the countershaft (and which has the belt drive sprocket on it, outboard) getting locked to the mainshaft instead of rotating freely on it. When in 6th you lose two sets of gear mesh (to the countershaft and back again) in the flow of power. It's not even a 1:1, it's just 1. You reduce from the crank to the transmission main, then from that to the rear wheel.

Haven't ever looked at HD stuff until recently. Perhaps that's the way 5th gear worked before, and 4th in the generation before that?

 

Somebody please explain why they need to be revved higher?

Way I understand it (not taking into consideration con-rod length and all that) if an engine design has its displacement increased by a larger bore, all things equal it will tend to make more power better at higher rpm and if the displacement comes about by a longer stroke the torque curve (all things being equal) would tend to shift down. Is that backwards? If not, then wouldn't it be better to say these 96"ers like higher revs for some other reason than increased stroke (cams/timing, etc.)?

 

Point well made.

Using small block vs big block reasoning, a stroked small block(increased rod length/crank throw)will produce an engine that produces more torque at lower RPM's.That is the primice of the big block, long stroke and increased displacement produced gobbs of torque and jumbo HP.

If the 96 is and has a longer stroke it would,in theory,produce more low end torque at a simular reduction in RPM, hence a longflat torque curve. Gearing on the other hand is the problem with the 96ci engines and compensators. These bikes are geared to high to effectively utilize the inhearent benifits of the increased stroke. This is where Baker will capitalize. Another problem is that HD failed to utilize the increased tensioncompensator spring (103ci)on the shaft/sproket due to the speculated and apparenttorque increase.These should notbe end-user add-ons to correct the chatter and lugging. The products are there for the appropriate fixes, but for 20k I would like them to be responsible. This is a dead argument inHD's reasoning, accept it and go on.Yes,it runs and makes noise, just ride it until it breaks and then fix it yourselfrightout of your own pocket. The factory two year coveragewill be history.

Personally, I noticed the gear whine and the chattering- Oh well. After I put pipes on it ... not so much. The Muncie made it in every gear, but I wouldn't expect most people to understand that.

For the guys who hate the chatter and whine, lug the motor, hammer it hard in inappropriate gears, use cheap gas, run it till it over heats,try to trash the motor so you can fight the dealer for a rebuild. Do whatever you want, but you will get the same thing in the end. Bottom line- put pipes on it and shift laterrather than earlier.

Flog if you wish, my ex made me damm near bullet proof.

 

I traded in my 2005 FLHTCI with 60k miles for a 2007 FLHTCUI last Friday. I just took a 400mi trip this weekend. The 5th gear whine doesn't bother me, but I do get the chatter from 2000-2500rpm. This was not luggin on the 2005 and it does seem odd.

 

Try putting Redline Shockproof in your tranny and it may make the chattering a thing of the past. Lots of folks, including me, have seen a reduction or complete elimination of the chatter noise with Shockproof...

 

Thanks, man. Working on engines ain't my livelihood but I was pretty sure I understood it right anyway. I've been about making a couple of bald spots scratchin' my head with all this "it's a stroker so it likes to be revved" talk going on around here.

Changing the primary reduction a bit ain't going to help nothing because the tranny already shifts every 500 rpm (for me) as it is. I figure throw a few more gearsets in the box, put a split output on it, a couple of stacks and a turbo, and we can complete the "shift it like a semi" sensation going on.

A little lower in the lower gears and a little higher in the higher ones, but near as I can tell I typically run it between 2 and 2.5 k on average. Spend much time near 3 k and it feels more like riding a Honda to me. Why would I want to do that?