HELP-- fourth gear GONE??!

triggerfish · #1 4th January 2008

Strange problem started today after a 2 hour 300 km highway trip avg speed 140 - 180 kmph. Shifting from third to fourth gets me into "neutral" and another shift gets me into fifth... same coming down from fifth-- 5th into N, shift again into 3rd...

She's a 2003 883R converted to 1200 with the SE piston kit. SE AC, SE 2 into 1 pipe, Mikuni 42 carb, SE 6800 rpm ignition, SE 40k volt coil, 29 tooth sprocket, fork brace, drag bars, oil cooler (I live in the desert). No cam or head mods yet.

Bought her in Sept second-hand from a dealer with 5000km on her and put 4000km more on since then with no problems-- my first Harley. Put her through the 5000km service again last month just to be safe; don't know how thorough a check they gave her, but they didn't report any problems

There is some noise from the top end. Dealer guess is tappet or valve noise. It's a distinct but soft metallic rubbing/throbbing/knocking sound with each stroke. I run 98 octane fuel and synch 3 oil. She does tend to use oil, but no leaks are apparent except some seepage in the "dish" behind the back jug the dealer said was from the starter (or something-- but not serious). No clouds of smoke out the pipe either, no drip marks in the morning. After a hard ride a little oil boils out around the bottom jug gaskets, but not enough to leave residue.

All the other gears work perfectly, it's like fourth just disappeared and left another N in it's place.

I'm dropping a new cam in on Sunday-- a bolt-in (.431 I think) so I guess we'll find out what's wrong then. But I was hoping to get an opinion from the forum too... or at least some smart/tough questions to ask the dealer.

BTW, I've been browsing, reading, searching through the forum since last May, but this is my first post. I really respect the knowledge you guys represent and your discussions have been a factor in every step of my decision to get this bike (and the XB12STT I bought yesterday), how I ride her and her present and future mods... so thanks!

Phillthy · #2 4th January 2008

Welcome to the fourm. Sorry I can't help you. Sounds like a cool bike though. Good luck with it.

triggerfish · #3 4th January 2008

She's a truly amazing bike... Rode ninjas 15 years ago and was bracing myself for lack of adrenaline-- but she supplies as much as I need.

Might be relevant-- I cracked the shift lever while trying to adjust it and must admit to manhandling the whole adjustment / jerry-rigged repair job; perhaps I fk'd up the cog/teeth...? Anyway, she's back to the dealer Sunday for the new cam & fwd ctrls so I'm sure they'll figure out what's wrong. Meanwhile I'll be on the streets with the xb12stt.

Phillthy · #4 5th January 2008

I'm jealous! Only have the one bike and it's in bits in the shed awaiting HD to make a call on the crank. Then have to get the parts and put it back together. Probably will take another two months before I'm back on the black stuff. Been 1 month already and pissing me off looking at it in bits, but at least I'm spraying it while it's down.

Nick R. · #5 5th January 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggerfish

Might be relevant-- I cracked the shift lever while trying to adjust it and must admit to manhandling the whole adjustment / jerry-rigged repair job; perhaps I fk'd up the cog/teeth...? Anyway, she's back to the dealer Sunday for the new cam & fwd ctrls so I'm sure they'll figure out what's wrong. Meanwhile I'll be on the streets with the xb12stt.

While doing this were you trying to shift with the bike not moving? Sounds like you broke one of the shifting forks. Sorry

gronk62 · #6 6th January 2008

My Buell X1 had the same problem. I was riding one day and accelerating in 4th when it just "let go". I thought it had jumped into some kind of false neutral but it turns out the dogs on fourth gear disintegrated.
The dealership that fixed it (under warranty) said that they'd seen a few Sportster tranny's do the same thing (FYI, the Buell X1 used a hotrodded XL1200 motor)

You are lucky its happened on a 2003 model as they are the last of the Sportster engine that use a trapdoor to access the tranny. Relatively simple to work on, unlike the 2004+ XL engines that don't have a trapdoor and require a complete engine tear down to access the tranny. Very time consuming and expensive if you gotta pay someone to do it.

In my opinion the removal of this simple and effective trapdoor system is one of the single most mind numbingly stupid things the MoCo has ever done. Absolutely retarded!

FSZEKE302 · #7 6th January 2008

I also suspect you have broken a shift fork. Hope thats all. Those Trans were very robust actually.

As For Gronks' comment on the trapdoor:

Quote:

Originally Posted by gronko

In my opinion the removal of this simple and effective trapdoor system is one of the single most mind numbingly stupid things the MoCo has ever done. Absolutely retarded!

This single change has kept me on my Rigid Mount. I also cannot believe they made a stupid decision like that to save a few bucks.