As much as most guys spend on their bikes, thhis is one piece that i cant believe that a lot of guys miss. First of all, the stock rod looks like a piece of crap. second, when that joint gives way on the road, no fun trying to hand shift. bite the bullet and get the nice chrome one, cause it will happen soomeday.

 

Before I install my new linkage, has anybody greased the bolts before install? I see nothing regarding this in the instructions. Just a dab on blue loctite on the threads. Guess a little white grease or such couldn't hurt?

 

My bike is 10 years old, I noticed a month ago that the ends were starting to show corrosion, so I bought a new stock linkage (20 bucks-ish) and put the old one in my tool pouch.

 

harleys marketing strategy is brilliant. design a few weak links into the system that you need to replace. it's no wonder why the stock seats are uncomfortable, the handlebars are uncomfortable, and several other things that keep you coming back for more. and by the time you buy the new heim joints for the linkage, you're close to the price of a whole new chrome shift linkage. replacing parts does feed my addiction though. it almost seems like it's their stealth way of getting into our wallets. the linkage has been a weak point for a long time.

 

Like others i also carry a spare,such a small part that can change someones(MINE) day..Good luck to all ...Ride safe....

 

I already mentioned this months ago but I'll repeat. I upgraded to heim joints within a week after buying my bike new, as well as a nice chrome rod a friend gave me. These heim joints can be found on Ebay for about $20/pair, chrome or SS, and everyone should change them out now rather than waiting 'til they break, as they may leave you stranded. If you do run the stock joints, carry either a spare joint or some wire-ties with you at all times, as they will get you home. The heim joints should never break. A stock joint on my old RK broke 35 miles from home on a lonely backroad and I luckily had some wire-ties on-board. When I stopped for the broken shifter rod I noticed the tire had a nail in it too and was severely deflated, which I fixed with a plug and portable air pump. That was a bad day, but it could've been worse had I not been prepared!

 

Those are good rods but way overpriced. You can find nice chrome-plated custom rods with heim joints on eBay for around $50 in many styles. Or, keep the stock rod and install heim joints, which can also be found on Ebay for about $20/pair.

 

Maybe, maybe not. My last bike, a '96 RK, had its first joint break at over 100k--but others report breakage much earlier. I now change them out with heims immediately after buying a new bike.

If you keep the stock joints I would apply some grease, oil, or spray lube periodically. BTW, WD-40 is a dispersant, not a lubricant.

 

I always carry a bundle of zip ties and this is why



Difficult to get SAE rose joints in the UK so I had to conver to metric 8mm ( but Ford paid for it ). It even feels smoother shifting now.

 

Are the threads normal on both ends of the rod? That is, neither is reverse threaded like a turnbuckle would be are they? I'm just gonna do the mcmaster carr heim joints I think. Also what size hole do I need in the heim ball? Is it also 5/16 like the rod ends?