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Transmission Dipstick!

DEW57

Member
Well it happened. Pulled the transmission dipstick out for a fluid change and only got half of a dipstick! Made me feel GREAT! I had a conversation last fall with the Queen about reading about that very thing in this forum and discussed cutting it off and getting one to check levels and didn't do it. Don't know exactly when but sometime in the last 3000 miles. FLHTCU has been running great. No problems, no noises or clanking.....nothing. I have the extended warranty so went to the dealer with the dipstick to discuss the situation with the owners son in the service department. I asked about the removal of getting the 2 inch piece out of the tranny housing being under warranty because of the dipstick just breaking on its own and no fault of mine. He told that it would not be covered as there was no damage and that there was 2 thought processes, 1 was to pay out of pocket to get it fixed, about 6 hours labor plus parts, or 2, ride it till it screwed up....which is not an option as the result could be fatal...WHAT ADVISE! Called Harley customer service and was told would not be covered under warranty and had a not so pleasant discussion with the rep about the worthless extended warranty. She gave me another number to call. Talked with a gent about the situation and the advise from the dealer. I was told that if there was no visual sign of man-made damage on the dipstick it would be covered and that I could take it wherever I wanted even an independent shop? It only made sense to me a $400 fix would be better than a 2 or $3K fix. Going tomorrow to call the warranty people from the shop to see what happens. Cut'em off boys and girls!
 
Problem is the clutch cable can saw it's way thru it given how much we use it and poor layout and accuracy of the casting...

Lightclutch.jpg


Original thread: http://www.hdtimeline.com/touring_models/9691-6_speed_transmission_dip_stick.html#post76537
 
There is no sign of rubbing where the break happened. The thing is a flat snap. It is so wierd. It couldn't be a more perfect break, a person could not cut it that perfect but when you look at the end there is no saw or rub marks.
 
I just checked the self help section on this one and understand that you should cut off the bottom portion of the dipstick. First time I have heard of this one. Is this for the 6 speeds or is it a design issue with the touring models? Did not know if the touring models were set up differently or not?
 
Pretty frustrating to see this happen & I don't understand why MOCO would manufacture $20K bikes that could have major tranny repair due to a $20 part. Has anyone seen a tech bulletin on this? I'm going to ask my HD dealer tomorrow when I go pick up some parts (including a new tranny dipstick).
 
I just went out to check mine and found it with a rub spot that is about 1/4 of the way through the dip stick...I am assuming that the immediate step is to cut off above where the rub is and grab an extra dipstick from the dealer. I am so grateful that you all posted this as it would have gone unnoticed until the next fluid change. If you have any other thoughts on this please advise....and again thank you for posting this. It is a sad state of affairs that this is what you can expect from a 20 thousand dollar motorcycle...this is a load of horse hockey...did an engineer design this portion of the bike or was it a preschooler.
 
Wow! I had never heard of this. I'm leaving on a 4 day trip in the morning. After reading this (and the original thread), I went to the garage and pulled my dipstick. Sure enough, there's a couple of rub marks on the middle portion. I looked into the hole with a light, and saw a huge piece of flashing, left from drilling the hole in the case, extending to the middle of the hole. I took a rattail file and did a good job of making it much smaller. It seems to be quite thin. I drained the trans, and saw all my filings floating in the oil. A trip to the "Zone" for a qt. of Mobil1 trans. fluid. and I will be ready to go again.
I put a piece of heat shrink on the top portion of the stick (it's real tight), so I can check for rub marks when I get back.
NOTE: On the touring model 6 speeds, the dip stick is not in the side cover, it's in the main case (I don't know about other 6 speeds). You can see part of the gear set through the hole. If the stick breaks, there's probability of catastrophic results if it goes into the gears instead of falling to the bottom.
I can't believe the moco's cavalier position on this defect.
Belonging to this site could be life saving. Thanks again HD talking.:small3d036:
 
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