How To Install Harley Shift Linkage

Yesterday, the shift linkage on my Electra Glide broke. I was lucky to have discovered this in my garage.

The best I could effigy is that it actually failed somewhere on a ride last Thursday, but managed to stay on until I got home.

The linkage itself didn't break, it was the piece that connects the linkage to the front end shift lever. This piece uses a "ball and gage" joint, allowing the linkage to movement forward and backward equally you operate the heel-toe shifter. Afterwards so much usage, the ball wears downward, and eventually slips out of the cuff.

Shift Linkage Harley Davidson Broken

Harley Shift Linkage

I've read from others on various Harley-Davidson forums that this happens all the time. My shift linkage was the original linkage on the bike, and lasted for 47,000 miles. That'southward pretty good actually. Many others have reported a broken shift linkage in the 15K to 20K mile range.

So I went to Quaid Harley-Davidson in Temecula to see what I could practise to repair it. I thought all I needed is a new "ball" to replace the quondam one. Turns out they don't sell that. They can only sell you a whole new shift linkage, with all new hardware.

It wasn't besides bad, it only toll me $20.00.

Harley custom shift linkage I also looked at the "custom" shift linkages they sell. These adhere to the shift-levers using a "heim joint", which appears to me as being more reliable and less likely to fail. Except the basic model was priced at $87.00. Screw that.

I figure I'll try to become myself another 47,000 miles on this stock replacement.

So I took it dwelling house, and put it on.

As I looked at the former broken linkage in my hands, all I could think about was how Harley designed this linkage to neglect. In their parts department, the custom shift linkages are highly visible to whatsoever client walking in. If you didn't know meliorate, you'd call back that those were the stock pieces. They were hoping

~~suckers~~

Harley owners would come across those instead and pay more than iv-times college than what they needed to pay.

As far as the Motor Company is concerned, each motorcycle they sell is a piggy bank, their piggy bank that is. That motorcycle is designed to collect money for them. It might brand only a few hundred dollars a twelvemonth, or information technology might make tens of thousands. But it will make money guaranteed.

It's similar how they say most video game consoles. The companies that brand them lose money on the consoles themselves, only earn all the profits on game cartridges, and accessories.

Simply perhaps mayhap I screwed myself over for having bought another stock shift linkage that volition somewhen fail. If this new shift linkage fails on me in only 20K miles or less, I'll figure out a way jury-rig the thing to stay on.