| Author | Message | ||
     Jetjock |
Has anyone else had a similar problem? Last Saturday I picked up my new Ulysses. At 28 miles new Ulysses gearbox wouldn't shift. Gear lever very stiff, doesn't snap back when moved like normal, instead moves stiffly to new position & stays there. Initially, failure to shift was intermittent, usually failed to downshift; but, got worse with additional miles & failed to shift up or down (often not a problem between 4th & 5th or 1st & 2nd -- if you can get to those gears). Enough "fiddling" with the gear lever can sometimes achieve a shift, sometimes not. Currently back at dealer for trouble shooting/transmission teardown. When I left they had readjusted the clutch & rechecked the fluid levels with no improvement. It looked like they would have to remove the engine & transmission to find the problem as it is inside the inaccessible case. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Spring has sprung!  Sounds like the shifter pawl assembly came loose... hopefully nothing more serious. They can fix that easily without splitting the cases. | ||
| Jetjock |
Thanks, sounds good; but, apparently wasn't the problem. Everything works OK & looks OK visually until they start to torque down the cover. I left it with the shop as they were tearing down another new Uly to scavange parts to see what might be the problem outside splitting the case -- haven't heard from them yet. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Hmm. That shifter shaft is on a metal bracket, perhaps that shaft or bracket is bent. I have heard of that happening on an unlucky drop or lowside. Must have been something weird, let us know what you hear, I am curious now. | ||
| Jetjock |
It has been freezing & snowing here & I've been down with a bug so haven't pestered the dealer, nor have I heard from them saying they fixed it. When I left the bike it seemed like it had to be something from assembly: a bent shaft or bracket, a misaligned/misfitted bushing/bearing or maybe a misdrilled cover? Nothing visible without serious measuring. Hard to believe on a brand new bike that showed no evidence of being injured before delivery (except a chipped right passenger handhold -- I don't see a connection) I'll let you know the solution when it is discovered. | ||
| Shaiss |
This sounds similar to the issue I have with my tranny. I had a complete rebuild and now I have the same problem as you Jetjock. Checkout this video I posted of my bike, and let me know if you have the same issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1oX0E43tF4 | ||
| Jetjock |
Yes, this looks like the same or a similar problem I have on the brand new bike. You have to manually recenter the shift lever (it doesn't spring back like it should) after each shift; but, even then it sometimes (not always) won't change to the next gear. Do you you know what caused your problem? Have you gotten it fixed? The shop took the cover off & said it worked fine until they torqued the cover back on. They then substituted some parts from another new Uly & still had problems when they torqued the cover down. They repeated this & changed more parts, called me & told me it was fixed. I rode it far enough down the parking lot for it to stick in gear on the 3rd shift. I gave it back to them. They called today & left a message they have it fixed. It may be a day or 2 before I can pick it up. I don't know what they did or how well it worked yet. | ||
| Justin_case |
Sounds like a bent shift shaft. | ||
| Jetjock |
Well, size does matter. I went to the Harley shop last night to pick up my reportedly fixed Uly. I was elated to discover it obviously was fixed. The shifter felt normal the minute I touched it. They had ruled out bent/misdrilled, etc parts, not by careful measurement, but, by swapping them with parts from another new Uly & still had the problem when they torqued down the case. The shifter shaft has a machined collar that fits against the inside of the outer case (keeps oil in & dirt out where the shaft goes through the cover). They machined .0001 (yes, maybe the thickness of cheap tin foil) off the outer side of the collar & put it back together. Ta Da! That was all it took to relieve the friction between the shift lever & the case & allow everything to work great. I took the long way home, shifted many times & each time was a wonderful feeling - just like things should be. No oil escaped from the hole either. Summary - you need a little clearance between the shift shaft collar & the outer case & it's a clearance you can't see.   | ||
| Blake |
Excellent news. I hope the factory folks see this. Just one comment. I suspect the amount machined off was closer to 0.001", which would be closer to the thickness of aluminum foil. | ||
| Jetjock |
They said 1 ten thousandths & emphasized it with awe & amazement & repeated it after I questioned them. I wasn't there to mic it (and never thought to mic tin foil either); but, knew he took enough because it worked like it should. I hope to talk to the machinist some day. They were on the phone with the factory from the start & throughout the operation. The timing may have been coincidence; but, I was told a Buell Warranty guy was there one day. New owner last fall for previously non Buell HD only store, this is the first Buell sold here. | ||
| Jetjock |
Correction/Update: Blake, your & my suspicions were correct. I finally found the time to track down the machinist the HD shop used. He said he took about .004 off vs the .0001 the shop insisted on. It now shifts great; but, I notice a tiny bit of oil sneaking out -- I don't think its enough to be a problem, just looks a little messy after riding many miles in the dirt. | ||
| Blake |
Thanks for the update JJ. |
