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85 - 96 gear set swap

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bagrman

Member
Hi I have seen some cheaper tranies out of say a 96 evos, with low miles, the old one clucks hard, shifts hard and leaks so if I'm going in and upgrade could be in line. Question is can the gear set from a 96 touring model be put into an 85 box from an FLT? IF not where is the cut off on the date?

Thanks
Chris
 
You can buy a 6 speed polished ultima tranny for about 550 bucks i,ve got about 35000 miles on mine with no problems
 
Swapping out the tranny is easy, the gearset is pretty much a plug and play job, but transmissions `90 and later have a splined main shaft.

To swap to a later tranny, you would also have to replace the clutch, because your clutch is configured to go on a tapered shaft.

To keep the same primary gear ratio and starter ring gear ratio, use a clutch setup from `90-`93.

You can also use a later model clutch but the primary gearing ratio changed a little, also the starter ring gear/pinion gear ratio changed.

I just went through this job on my `89. Replaced gearset with a one made in `99.
 
HI

Did your 89 have it's clutch cable come from the top or bottom? Did you reuse the old trap door, and just leave everything hanging off of it and stick it in? I found a builders kit from Ultima that looks to have everything but the case. My thought is that this would save from stripping out the case and save wear and tear on taking seals out, even if they could be saved. Just wanting to catch and hang ups before I start.

Latr
Chris
 
The `99 gearset I used came already installed on the trapdoor, however, it was from a bagger and my bike is a softail. I had to remove the gearshafts from the trapdoor so I could drill it for a drain plug.

Older softails did not have a drain plug in the bottom of the tranny case, they drain from a plug in the trapdoor.

I could have put the new gearset onto my old trap door, but the `99 uses larger bearings in the trapdoor and I liked the idea of the bigger bearings.

One thing to make sure you do is to use all the same year stuff, don`t mix and match gears from different years, there have been changes made along the way.

If you get a gearset with low mileage your trapdoor bearings should be ok.

You should replace the big ball bearing on the left side of the transmission case, also the needle bearing on the left side of the case that supports the countershaft.

You will probably be replacing the main drive gear, it will come with the gearset (hopefully). Suggest new needle bearings (2) in the main drive gear.

My clutch cable goes into the clutch mechanism cover on the lower front of the cover.

Have you decided what you are going to do as far as the clutch is concerned?
 
I checked on the clutch in eBay and there was one in there for 90-93 for $149 so that seemed the way to go there. The 85 has it's clutch arm over the top of the trans. so if I go with the new style gear set then a new cable to reach the bottom of the cover might be needed as I don't know if the old cover I have will work on the newer trap door.

I would be replacing everything in the trans as I don't want to go back in to fix anything latr. Right now it's a toss up between and low mile later one and an ultima 6 spd. All of the ultimas seem to be for a softtail style bike. is the gearing different from the touring style bikes? Being a 6 speed I suppose it doesn't matter.

Latr
Chris
 
Well the game is on. I located a 90 tranny that is a fresh rebuild from Baker, taken to a 6 spd, so I think I have a good donor to work with. Now all I need is a clutch hub and I'll be pulling it apart. Thanks for the advice.

Latr
Chris
 
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