popping in and out of first gear

[canoli]

Hey guys I'm curious if anyone has tried the fix from post 51, where he attached a couple springs thru the cotter pins to help force the forks over, so the gears engage better. This seems like a great idea but that post is about 9 years old and I didn't see much talk about it in the rest of the thread.
Anyone try this fix? I'd love to hear how it went....thanks!

[BlackBikeDave]

I was/still am a bit nervous to attempt this although I would like to know as well. I have just gotten used to riding it this way....'not trusting my transmission in 1st or 2nd gear under load' or 'throttling down then increasing load'

[canoli]

Ha - you and me both BBD - lol - For me it's still just 1st gear and only happens a few times a month but I would love to fix it, esp if it's a simple matter of getting the forks to travel further by using a spring or two.

But I don't see how the forks can be "persuaded" to move further by using a spring. The way I understand it the forks travel along the shift drum b/c of the fork pins, which ride in the grooves cut in the drum. I guess there's slop in the groove/pin combo, so that a spring would eliminate that slop and force the forks to engage the gears more fully?

Do the forks travel both directions, i.e. in and out? If so I fail to see how a spring would help.

I understand the newer gears are designed better, with a larger chamfer but they are expensive. If the spring fix works I'd love to save a few hundred dollars.

[Naplesron]

I replaced my forward gear to a “newer design “ waisted money. The shift barrel from Baker was the fix. Your right about to much play in the original pin and barrel. The real fix was how Baker cut the barrel. I was being told to change gears and forks. Glad I didn’t. Was it easy, no. I’m a mechanic and have worked on everything for the last 30+ years. Can you do it, ? Not sure. Depending on your mechanical abilities. Do it, it’s so worth it!

[canoli]

So you changed your shift shaft to the Baker and it fixed the problem? But you said you bought a new "forward gear" but I'm not sure what you mean.

I'd like to install the Baker shift drum. It's obviously a superior part, I can tell just from the pictures - no more silly C-clip to fasten the detent plate.

Since I'm in the early stages of the trouble I figure the gears shouldn't be overly worn. Maybe a new shift drum will do the trick.

I am a little worried about getting everything back together properly - and adjusting the shift pawl with a #32 drill bit seems a little goofy. Maybe it's easier than it sounds in the manual. I only have weekend access to a shop and everything's gotta be cleaned up by Sunday night. I may try it. Thanks again!

[Naplesron]

I had to take it apart twice. First time, I listened to the advice I got here and used the manual to put it together exactly how it said. See even Harley was telling me, the design was changed on the first gear for exactly this reason. If you look at the pictures I showed the original gear and the updated gear. And yes there is design differences. After putting it back together I was confident it was fixed. That is till I road it. I was very discouraged. About a week went by and I came across a add for the drum from Baker. I pulled it apart again after receiving the part. I not only saw a big difference between the parts in how looked but how it was designed. Cuts in the barrel would add a champed edge. This little hook in the channel helped to hold it in gear. The biggest surprise was trying to put it in neutral, it was much easier to find. It’s now a couple years later. Still working great. I’m so glad I went in again.


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[canoli]

Figures as I'm starting to get serious about doing this the Baker drum is nowhere to be found. I emailed Baker, waiting for a reply. I did find one random site that has it for $549. Screw that. Baker only has the reverse-pattern drum on their website, which I don't want.

Oh well I'll keep looking. Hopefully Baker gets back to me soon. But I been checking their website for a year now and only the reverse-pattern drum is available.

EDIT: I got an answer from Baker this morning...

"Hi Rich,
Unfortunately we no longer offer the standard shift drum for the XL 1200."

So unless I can find it for a reasonable price that option is out.