Villageidiot destroys a perfectly nice sportster.

don't forget
4.Left is hot, cold is right.

I was always told

“Shit rolls downhill, you can make it roll uphill but it’s expensive”

Cracked up when I saw the top of the water heater...thought... now what...from cooking classes to water heater seismic straps.....

Thanks for the laugh...ends my work day with a smile..




oh....ya shit floats down hill...you can get the shit pipe too steep so your shit don't float....

It’s a nice Sunday in SoCal, be great to see that build in action.

just got home from breakfast (thanks Sam!) and got my chain adjusted.

ill get out on this thing here in an hour or so and head down to vintage bike.

New Royal Enfield interceptor 650, diggin it.

Sorry Sam, that’s the only pic I took out there today. I really am horrible at it.

So, I’ve got about 150 miles on this thing so far, I’ve experienced some “popping” out of gear, or a hard clunk when letting the clutch out in first. Reading up on this looks like pulling the primary apart and taking the trans out is in order.

Watched a couple videos and it seems it’s possible it could be a bad circlip and or worn detent plate, but if not the dog faces on the gears could be bad. It’s very intermittent and I can’t seem to make it do it every time, but it definitely does it.

Bummer.

That sucks. Haven't experienced that issue, but that's just a sample of two XL's. That R-E is a good looking bike!

It’s a “pretty common” issue, there’s tons of info on it, etc. I figured buying a non molested one owner bike from a retired school principal was a way to not have to deal with it, but I suppose I was wrong.

If it’s just the detent plate and clip, it’s like $30 in parts, plus oil and a primary gasket, if it’s gears, it’s whatever those cost. We’ll find out soon enough I guess.

I’ll have to clean up some garage carnage and set things up so I can work. Shits a mess right now.

WTF? My trans problems wore off on you!? Hell, sorry about that.

Thanks for the pic.

Nah, I’d felt it before your trans issues arose, but I attributed it to a loose chain, and the chain was looser than it should have been after initial stretch.

Took it today and rode some, and I pop/clunked 3 times in about 30 miles, all first gear/just at the end of letting out the clutch. I’ll dig in as soon as I get a chance. Won’t be immediate.

Bummer, sorry to hear that and to have missed seeing the bike at OC Vintage.
Is starting out in second an option ? At least for the time being ?

im not too worried about it, ill get the garage cleaned up, get the bike back up on the table, and take a look.

I'm traveling at the end of this month for 5 days, but maybe ill be able to get it opened up sooner than that.

if its just the clip on the detent plate, it looks to be a relatively quick job, but if i have the primary apart, and the shift stuff out, then i might as well pull the trans out (5 more bolts) and inspect all the shift dogs on the gears.



so, reportedly, what happens is this. see that little clip in the middle of the star......





the detent plate clips onto the end of the shift drum, the shift drum has four little pins that start bottomed out in the drum, as heat cycles and torsional force of the shifter mechanism happens, the little pins can move out ever so slightly and put a load on the detent plate, and thus, the chickenshit clip used here.

clip wears, detent plate moves, first gear CLUNK when letting out clutch or hammering on it.

once it starts to get clunky it puts wear on the shift dogs on the gears, and they start to round.

im hopeful I'm going to catch this early, and only be replacing the detent plate, clip, and tapping the 4 pins back "home", but i will pull the trans (comes out from the primary side) and inspect the gears.


i dont wanna see this

Good info to file away, and hope I never have to use it! At least it's of the trap door era. Would suck to get into a newer XL transmission........what a bonehead move on H-D's part. Though I suppose its great for their service departments.

In your case, the detent plate was updated in 99, it’s got steeper ramps and a more positive shifter engagement.

Might be worth an update and a pre emptive fix before ya start wailing on it.

A little heads up on transmission stuff. If you have to pull the transmission and find damage, do this: Call Mark at R&D Motorsports in Clearwater Florida (727.447.4552), send them whatever parts they say to send. They are the best motorcycle transmission people anywhere. When they back-cut gears or do repairs, they re-heat treat the parts. They did all my drag bike work, and the transmission for my Buell XB. When I put it back together, it shifted like a late model Jap bike.

I’ve read that R&D will thread the end of the shaft where the clip goes for a nut, and it’s a positive engagement solution that won’t fail again.

Thanks for the heads up to that.

On my 98 I bought the updated shift star, then when it was apart for inspection, I put a drop of the green wicking locktite on those pins, and used an e-clip instead of the factory horseshoe clip to hold the shift star. It's been fine for going on 25,000 miles now.

I wasn't having any shifting issues prior to disassembly though.

Sorry Im feeling too lazy to sift through 64 pages to find your tire size on the mitas - I believe you are running a 17" rim right? Is it a 140? Hows chain clearance?
Im thinking tkc80 or shinko 805, those mitas are pricey!