got a bit of a drama, was riding home from work happily, when to change gear and nothing happened. i went to click up and there was no click.. quickly discovered i can push the selector down a bit with my foot and then it will click up. its not centering..  the shift feels a bit sloppy. im guessing theres some sort of centering spring arrangement in the box...

anyone got any info on this, or had the drama themselves??

 

What year ? Sounds a lot like your shifter pawl spring .

www.bakerdrivetrain.com/drivetraincomponents/big-twin-racing.htm#antiOvershift

 

inside the gear box is a ball bearing , just like on a socket set ...

easy fix ..check linkage for binding first .

now it turns to shit ...you need to look inside to see if the little ball has pressed down and is not returning

now it turns to double shit ....the selecter cam is binding , this will need a trip down to the shop

hopes it's an easy fix

thanks for the tips. i intend to fix it myself. never worked on a harley box b4 but im ok on the spanners in general. its a 1990 fxst.. well thats what it started out as.

 

Hi

I thought I would PM.


The baker site is only kind of correct.


Your issue is with the return spring, or centering spring as HD call it(as a note, there is a separate pawl spring that has nothing to do with this, and a detent spring as well, also not involved).

The really big question is always....

Did you notice a clunk, or jerk, or anything that might lead you to believe that the broken part of the spring got caught in top gear(or any other gear, but typically top)????
Because if it did, the likelihood of a tooth being damaged(even if you cannot see it obviously now) in such a manner that it could crack off later, is really high.

You need to inspect the gears carefully, not only for damage on the tips, but for crack lines along the valleys.

There is a roller that locates into the detent plate to ensure positive gear selection.
But that is not even where your issue is anyhow. Nothing to do with it.

The spring breaking is a pest, as you have to move the countershaft to get the linkage out that it is mounted on.
And move really ends up meaning remove the entire trapdoor assembly.

The transmission case remains in the bike throughout.

So
Pawl spring breaks.... cannot consistently shift, feels like lever is not connected to anything upon shift attempt, but returns to centre, and feels springy.
Detent spring breaks..... wont stay in gear, hard to find gear.
Return spring breaks.... gear lever shifts, but feels soft, and does not return to centre(in one direction). Manual return enables next shift.

thanks again for the info..

i can shift up and down succesfully by manualy moving the shift back to the returned position. otherwise any shift up or down feels a bit limp and the bike remains in the same gear.