Linkage?

[eighty80]

It has been said that on the Harley Touring bikes the shifter linkage is a weak spot and the rod should be changed to better joints?

Is this also true for the Tri-glide or did they improve it on the 2012?

If it's true,... anybody got any part numbers?

TIA eighty80.

[oldtimer]

It has been said that on the Harley Touring bikes the shifter linkage is a weak spot and the rod should be changed to better joints?

Is this also true for the Tri-glide or did they improve it on the 2012?

If it's true,... anybody got any part numbers?

TIA eighty80.

I too would love to hear thoughts about this from those who actually have experience with it, not just read about it. I have had a bunch of Harleys and have never given even a thought to this or had a single problem.

I wonder now if I have just been lucky or if this is one of those internet things that takes on a life of it's own.

[pigbike]

I never heard of this problem either. I have had a few Harleys, and we had a fleet of agency bikes, that had the snot ran out of them. Never heard of a shift rod problem.

[ssw1]

The biggest problem is that it's ugly. More chrome!

[JohnC]

Each end of the stock shift linkage consists of a simple ball joint held together with plastic / rubber. If a rider has a heavy foot when shifting, this plastic / rubber wears excessively and prematurely until there is not enough to hold the ball joint together and the parts separate.

To address this problem, most manufacturers, including HD, produce replacement shift linkages using heim joints at each end. Heim joints are more durable and less prone to the wear problems that ball joints have.

Heim joints can be purchased just about anywhere and can be installed on your stock shift linkages, replacing the existing ball joints. The shift linkage uses a standard 5/16-24 thread.

Or you can do like most chromaholics (such as me) and just replace the whole linkage with something more attractive.



(click on picture for full-size image)

[eighty80]

Thank-you JohnC! That's the info I was looking for. Don't care about the chrome, but it does look nice.!!

[Trent]

I too heard about the possible failure of the linkage and thought it was too ugly anyway. Replaced with a stronger, nicer looking link and the old one is lying in the bottom of the tourpac in case it is needed for an emergency repair. My heel shifter, which I never used and removed also, is in my left lower fairing glove box for an emergency toe shifter replacement if needed. I have heard that those break off sometimes also.

[screwball]

Had a riding buddy that lost his linkage. Then I saw him 'trying to find neutral' and figured out why his linkage had failed. STOMPING doesn't help a bit.

[pigbike]

The biggest problem is that it's ugly. More chrome!

Yes ugly is the word. Don't think it would of broke the HD bank to put a chrome one on there so it would match the rest of the chrome.

[Gorilla]

Only saw one fail on all the HD I've been around. We took a couple of tie wraps for a temp fix to get it home. Worked like a charm for over 400 miles. Would of gone longer but we were home by then.

[msocko3]

It has been said that on the Harley Touring bikes the shifter linkage is a weak spot and the rod should be changed to better joints?

Is this also true for the Tri-glide or did they improve it on the 2012?

If it's true,... anybody got any part numbers?

TIA eighty80.

One of the 1st things I replace is this linkage, I don't have a heavy foot but feel it looks better and is pretty bullet proof when done. I've seen them fail, one of our group who went to SD in 08 had his come apart in Colorado and the nearest HD dealer was 150 miles away. I lent him my bike to run to Home Depot to get some zip ties. As luck would have it the guy at the gas station we stopped at knew a guy who had a spare linkage. The guy brought it out and gave it to the guy for nothing. The guy only had around 20,000 miles on his bike and he isn't a stomper when he shifts.

Sure there are a lot of them out there that don't fail, I just don't want to be one of them. HD has several to choose from in the P&A book or you can look on their web site.