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Can't shift into gear

H

Hornet

Member
Got on the bike this morning, stomped it into first and heard a snap. The green neutral light went out but I wasn't in gear. Released the clutch lever and didn't move. Shifted up to 2nd gear, still nothing.
Shut off the bike and moved the gear shifter by hand to inspect and everything on the outside seems to be intact and moving the way it should, so it seems I screwed up something on the inside.
Give it to me straight - what did I break....and what will it cost to fix? I'll brace myself for the bad news while I wait for responses.
 
Hornet said:
Got on the bike this morning, stomped it into first and heard a snap. The green neutral light went out but I wasn't in gear. Released the clutch lever and didn't move. Shifted up to 2nd gear, still nothing.
Shut off the bike and moved the gear shifter by hand to inspect and everything on the outside seems to be intact and moving the way it should, so it seems I screwed up something on the inside.
Give it to me straight - what did I break....and what will it cost to fix? I'll brace myself for the bad news while I wait for responses.
Click to expand...


YOU BROKE THE GIRLS HEART!!!!!! Will cost you about two dozen ROSES and a LIGHTER FOOT!!!!!!

BOY the first thing is SHE IS MAD AT YOU!!!...... STOMPED IT INTO FIRST...... WOW, I can feel HER PAIN!!!

I usually use a FIRM but GENTAL movement and mine works fine..

IS the rear belt BROKEN?

Is the changing of gears making any contact? YOU should be able to feel n hear if it is changing gears! or is it NOT?

Do you FEEL any movement of the gears when you use the shifter by hand with motor OFF?(goes with above)

Does the green neutral light come back on (where it should) AND-OR does the shifting STOP from 2ond to first(no more beyond) OR can you just KEEP the shifter going in any direction? umpteen times?

JUST A FEW ?

signed....BUBBIE
 
Hornet said:
Got on the bike this morning, stomped it into first and heard a snap. The green neutral light went out but I wasn't in gear. Released the clutch lever and didn't move. Shifted up to 2nd gear, still nothing.
Shut off the bike and moved the gear shifter by hand to inspect and everything on the outside seems to be intact and moving the way it should, so it seems I screwed up something on the inside.
Give it to me straight - what did I break....and what will it cost to fix? I'll brace myself for the bad news while I wait for responses.
Click to expand...

On my Dyna, I once had the dog ears on the clutch pack assy (actually p/n 72 below) that hold the diaphram spring on shear off. This immediately released the pressure on the disks and I could NOT get any drive out of the tranny. I had to shut the engine off and coast to the nearest parking lot before primary chain slung stuff around too much inside the primary.

CLUTCH - 1991 Harley Davidson FXDB-S


Your clutch pack assy is WAY stouter than my Dyna's so I would be shocked if you have this same problem, besides you have not mentioned that your clutch lever does not have any resistance to it, right?

CLUTCH - 2006 Harley Davidson Softail Night Train FXSTBI


What does happen when you pull the clutch lever? Any resistance? Take off the derby cover and pull in the clutch lever. Can you see the clutch throwing out? If yes, then it sounds like all that stuff is OK, and the problem is inside the tranny, unless it is the EXACT problem I just had with my UC - the drive pulley completely shearing off the mainshaft. But there is LOTS of racket when that happened. Let us know what you have found so far.

TQ
 
Okay, maybe "stomped" was an exaggeration.

The tension on the clutch lever felt normal.......neutral light went off & on as it should, though I only went into first and second.....and I'm pretty sure it felt as though the gears were changing but I'll double check that when I get home.

Hadn't considered the broken belt. Is that likely to happen from a standstill?

TQ, thanks for the diagram. I'm not too adventurous when it comes to taking things apart but if the derby cover can come off without junk spilling out I'll take a look inside and see if I can identify anything wrong.

Okay, recap: I'm checking the belt, feel the gears change all the way to 5th, and venturing inside the derby cover for a visual inspection.
Anything else?
(edit) and it's 80 degrees & sunny today!

TQuentin1 said:
unless it is the EXACT problem I just had with my UC - the drive pulley completely shearing off the mainshaft. But there is LOTS of racket when that happened. Let us know what you have found so far.

TQ
Click to expand...

Nope, no racket or noise. Just no go.
Crossing fingers for broken belt.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The belt is easy to tell. Just roll the bike a few feet and if the belt is broken, it will just come off. You will also hear if the drive pulley has sheared on the mainshaft (I doubt this is it). I don't think it is the belt either because the drive pulley would have spooled the belt off if it was broken.

The look in the derby cover to see if the clutch is throwing out when you squeeze the lever is to eliminate all that stuff from the suspect column.

TQ
 
IT'S THE BELT! I thought for sure it couldn't be because I rolled it back about 15 feet into the garage and didn't notice anything. Got home, tugged on it and it came right out!
Phew.

Okay. Now how do I replace a belt?
 
It gets involved. You better be handy and have some tools.


Just curious. How many miles did you get out of it.
 
Hoople said:
It gets involved. You better be handy and have some tools.


Just curious. How many miles did you get out of it.
Click to expand...

I only have 6,600 miles and the finger of blame wants to point to someone right now. There's no wear on the belt, just a clean break. I just had two new tires put on last week. Any chance something was done wrong during the install that would cause the belt to snap? Improper tension or something?
 
It's possible you could have picked up a stone. If it was tension, it would have to be way way out. You would have heard it if it was that tight.

Maybe some others could come up with a reason. This is my 1st belt bike so not a lot of experience..
 
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