Harley Trike "HARD" to find neutral problem fixed for me!

[Ed H]

As stated above the brand you pick is your choice. I use Red Line shockproof oil in my trans, have always used this in all my bikes. No issues with shifting or finding neutral.

Why Harley uses engine oil in a trans is beyond my little brain, to me it is not sufficient to withstand the pressures of gears.

[MDO]

At the 1,000 mile service, my purchase dealer put in HD Syn 3 oil. I noticed an overall operating improvement, but was not sure whether it was from normal break-in, or the oil.

At 3,750 miles, I changed to Lucas 20W-50 full synthetic high performance motorcycle oil in all the holes & noticed a marked improvement in the shifting & finding neutral.

In a oil thread on the Freewheeler forum, several knowledgeable members convinced me to try tranny & primary specific oil at my next change, but I am concerned about the M8 problems I have heard/read about with tranny fluid migrating to the differential reservoir from the tranny & thought with the same fluid in all 3 holes, that is a problem, but not as big of 1 with a singular fluid.

I will not change till I do the 10,000 mile service & hopefully by then, HD will have a handle/fix for that.

[MikeyTX]

As stated above the brand you pick is your choice. I use Red Line shockproof oil in my trans, have always used this in all my bikes. No issues with shifting or finding neutral.

Why Harley uses engine oil in a trans is beyond my little brain, to me it is not sufficient to withstand the pressures of gears.

Cost savings on the assembly line.

[Ed H]

Thanks for all ya'lls advise on the elusive neutral problem.....(havent had a problem shifting into second)

....You know a week or so after buying the new trike from a Harley dealer in Dallas (I had never owned a motorcycle before)...anyway, I told the sales mgr. about the neutral issue I was having....................He just said it should get better with wear time use and said NOTHING about changing primary and transmission fluids to different brands or viscosities to fix problem.

Well, It did NOT get better....it took me months to finally figure it out and ultimately googling the problem.

...I now use a different dealer.

You should have bought him lunch, he can only recommend Harley stuff. If for some reason you had issues you would have had a hard time convincing Harley he told you to change.Maybe outside of other Harley ears he would advise as all are here. Just a thought.

[doughboy]

Read about MILITEC-1 ( not cheap ) use as directed in all 3 holes.

Good Day

doughboy

[OLBLU]

I just had the Redline trans fluid installed at my 1000 mile service. I could only find neutral 50% of the time on the way to the dealer.

Got it 100% of the time after the change. This is with a hydraulic clutch, so it wasn't an adjustment issue.

This fix works!

[Old Road Dog]

Bunkum.I call B.S. on all these trick lubes.For 40 years I've been using H.D. labeled juice in the tranny and primary.Belive in magic fairy dust if you want but these primaries and tranny are dinosaurs and don't require it.Theyve been designed around Formula Plus.Think you know more than the engineers that designed them? What's the name of your motor company?I'd like a tour of your facility. Instead of worrying about lubes get some more seat time under your arses.

[Jack Klarich]

Bunkum.I call B.S. on all these trick lubes.For 40 years I've been using H.D. labeled juice in the tranny and primary.Belive in magic fairy dust if you want but these primaries and tranny are dinosaurs and don't require it.Theyve been designed around Formula Plus.Think you know more than the engineers that designed them? What's the name of your motor company?I'd like a tour of your facility. Instead of worrying about lubes get some more seat time under your arses.

Dont you find it odd that some H D dealers now carry Redline and Amzoil gear lube?

I am a believer in what works best for you is your choice, Not ALL lubes are equal IMO and am glad we have choices JMO To be fair I have run most of the top lubes out there, I have found Formula + to be great in my primary, BUT I am sold on Redline in my trannies

[rhino 2]

Dont you find it odd that some H D dealers now carry Redline and Amzoil gear lube?

I am a believer in what works best for you is your choice, Not ALL lubes are equal IMO and am glad we have choices JMO To be fair I have run most of the top lubes out there, I have found Formula + to be great in my primary, BUT I am sold on Redline in my trannies

I found that since i started using Formula + that now when i take off my helmet , Low and behold, No more helmet hair........

[MDO]

Bunkum.I call B.S. on all these trick lubes.For 40 years I've been using H.D. labeled juice in the tranny and primary.Belive in magic fairy dust if you want but these primaries and tranny are dinosaurs and don't require it.Theyve been designed around Formula Plus.Think you know more than the engineers that designed them? What's the name of your motor company?I'd like a tour of your facility. Instead of worrying about lubes get some more seat time under your arses.

You better tour the HD Kansas City facility quick, as their closing it and opening up one in Taiwan.

Jack is correct in the fact that 75% of dealers are carrying things other that HD lubes now and most all service people will tell you that yes, Formula + will work, but there are many products that will work better.

[pioneer11]

I found that since i started using Formula + that now when i take off my helmet , Low and behold, No more helmet hair........

Dang, I guess I wasted that short haircut this afternoon.

[520fd]

Well here's my story. Once upon a time. Wait, wrong story. I purchased my 17 Tri-Glide at Black Hills HD. At the Sturgis Rally last August. Rode around the hills for a couple days before we had to leave. I'm assuming that when you get a new trike, they put in break in oil in the trike. When I was riding home, the shifting was like it never had any oil in the transmision. Banged like crazy. I've had 17 Harley's over the years, so I know how to shift. Also had a 2011 Tri-Glide. It didn't have the shifting issues of the 17. Got home with a little over 1200 miles. So it was time for the 1000 Mile check. Had them put Syn 3 in the oil in the Engine and Primary. Put Bel Ray in the Trans. I've got about 8000 miles on it now. Shifted great when it's cold. But as it warms up, It gets to banging again. I'm going to change the fluid's before going to Sturgis this year, to all Syn3, since they have been having issues with fluid's transferring from the tranny into the primary. Maybe when they get the transfer issue fixed, I will switch to some different fluid's.

Jerry

[vito]

Well here's my story. Once upon a time. Wait, wrong story. I purchased my 17 Tri-Glide at Black Hills HD. At the Sturgis Rally last August. Rode around the hills for a couple days before we had to leave. I'm assuming that when you get a new trike, they put in break in oil in the trike. When I was riding home, the shifting was like it never had any oil in the transmision. Banged like crazy. I've had 17 Harley's over the years, so I know how to shift. Also had a 2011 Tri-Glide. It didn't have the shifting issues of the 17. Got home with a little over 1200 miles. So it was time for the 1000 Mile check. Had them put Syn 3 in the oil in the Engine and Primary. Put Bel Ray in the Trans. I've got about 8000 miles on it now. Shifted great when it's cold. But as it warms up, It gets to banging again. I'm going to change the fluid's before going to Sturgis this year, to all Syn3, since they have been having issues with fluid's transferring from the tranny into the primary. Maybe when they get the transfer issue fixed, I will switch to some different fluid's.

Jerry

My experience has luckily been just the opposite. I keep H-D synthetic everywhere. The tranny clunked a lot when new and I could only find neutral using the heel shifter. However, it began improving at about 5000 miles and now, with only 8500 miles I can usually find neutral with my toe and the clunk is quieter. Most of my riding is in traffic so my clutch gets a workout.

I suspect that both problems are more related to dragging clutch plates than to the tranny itself. Eg, there may be a tiny bubble in the clutch hydraulic line that keeps the clutch from fully disengaging. Or it could be something on the plates. Try locking the brakes while letting the clutch out to burn it off. Note that this will overheat the clutch and make it drag worse until it cools off so don't expect immediate results.

I had a similar problem on my 1990 FLH. The clutch would get hot in traffic and lock up, forcing me to pull over until it cooled. H-D replaced it with a "parade" clutch that worked fine and has gone 150,000 miles without a whimper. Does H-D have a "parade clutch" for the new bikes?

Hope some of this helps. Some problems may be due to a loose nut in the seat too.