I can't remember the name of the baker rep that used to hang out in the drive section but he stated that one of the issues with the DD6 was that the clutch dogs were face cut at a 2 degree angle and the OD6 was at somewhere between 4 and 6 degrees. The more angle helps to hold the gear selection in gear. It can also make it a little harder to shift out of gear. With less angle on the face cut, banging the gears can round the dogs and can cause gear skip / bent shift forks.

 

Thanks Max,
From the Baker website in the technical "details" for the DD6.
"The dog teeth are backcut at a 1° angle to optimize the smooth shift possible, while standard gearsets are cut to a 4° angle."

There is no similare information in the technical details for the OD6. Not sure of the reference to "standard gearsets"; reference to OEM or other Baker gearsets. Sounds like I should not be using the Pingle shifter with the DD6 though. The instant shift feels like " banging" the gears but with the ignition off for the shift, not the same as banging the gears with the foot shifter. Also, with the VPC, power shifting can be a challenge. I hardly ever use the Pingle but if some guy pulls up next to me at a light and wants to go; I will use it to my advantage.

 

Sounds like you are opting for a 107", 3.938 x 4.375. Your stock heads are approx 85cc. Flat top pistons will put you at approx 10.3 ish:1 with 30tho head gasket. Or 10.1 ish:1 with 0.040 gasket.

Any idea what cams you want to use that work well with this build? You should know what your cam options are before hard decision on compression. Early style 99-06 gear drive cams may limit choices some. Make sure valve springs handle the lift you end up with. Your stock springs won't. Don't put the cart before the horse

A lot goes into choosing the right cams for the job

 

I suspect people that building up engines are going over 3500 once in awhile. I would hope so. Plus I suspect hard starts must also wear the tranny.

 

Yep Lots of good cams out there. Just a humble suggestion to look at. The S&S .570 in gear drive if you do the bottom end. They are not the hottest or the most torque but I just layed good hard cash on my second set of them. (After 100k miles and a bad lifter....well) They really like 10ish to 1 compression, have an almost 2 stroke hit about 3500. Wouldn't suggest for a big tourer but love it on our light bikes. Have run it as a 95 inch from the gulf coast to Red Mountain pass in Colorado 2 up with all the bags you can hang off a Standard but it's the most fun solo stripped.😉