04 Sportster 883 gearbox Clunk.

[BlackEagleS]

this site - Synthetic Oil - and its slightly unscientific test may be of interest - although the clunk into gear only slightly annoys me i would prefer it to be a bit less so im changing to synthetic when i can be bothered to pick up a spanner and do it. since he is doing the test on a heratige i guess it has 3 (engine, primary and transmission) seperate oils needed but since i have a sportster which i think has a combined primary and transmission i guess i will have to think about the type of oil i use in it!!!

[HOG maniac]

Make sure whatever oil you use in the Gearbox is suitable for wet clutch application.

I use Comma Semi synthetic gearbox oil and it still clunks so don't use that one.

If you find a good one let me know.

[naxos]

Been riding my new Sportster for six weeks now...............Harley put in redesigned gearboxes two years ago.........God knows what the old ones were like! Mines a bitch! Crash....smash....clunk.....grind! Will it bed in? We shall see..........another thing........about the suspension.......can I have some please? lol My pride n joy is about as comfy as sittin' on a broken breezeblock! Some guys say that this softens up in time? Hope so.......my CG125 feels like a Bentley compared to the XL. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE my 883........no bike is perfect,but a little comfort would not come amiss.

[BlackEagleS]

hi hog.... if you are using Comma Semi synthetic gearbox oil i guess its the 75w-90 one so it fall in line with the recommended (my many other than harley) harley alternative.
i have seen some 'performance' websites in the usa suggesting the same grade but calling it extreme pressure. thats all well and good but i seem to recall that the amount of ep additive depends on if the grears are designed for ep or straight sea or something in the middle and the wrong one can eventually damage the bearings. MotorShack V-Twin (Sportster) Gear/Chaincase does not say ep and recommends this type of oil for sportsters and AMSOIL SVG SEVERE GEAR LUBE say use extreme pressure but i notice the bottle says sae and not ep so perhaps the amount of ep additatives is tailored for the combined primary/gearbox.
anyway im going to give either amsoil or similar a try at 75w-90 (i wonder if this thicker oil prevents the clutch parting easily when declutched and that makes the 'clunk' as the gears engage) and if its no better revert to amsoil or similar 20w-50 since its the oil grade recommend for the sportster.
oh and its the first time ive seen your bike (on another thread) and what a great bike it is expecially as you have done the hard work yourself - a real credit.

[Tim]

What i've learnt with my 883 Sportster is that you up grade the shocks and pipes immediatley. I have progressive shocks and they are 100% better.....

[Shifty]

Originally Posted by HOG maniac

Oh and the speedo also steams up all the time.

That's about the only thing that really annoys me about mine.

Now I'm just glad it's not just mine that does it

[ST]

Hi Again Guys, The problem that BigBoar and myself seem to have is not the 'clunk' (I have had a few sporties and they all had the 'clunk') this problem is when it goes into first it engages then as you move off it sort of engages again, I have never had a sportie do this before, I have asked around but with no luck, then I saw BigBoar's post, Any ideas ? ? ST.

[BlackEagleS]

st and bigboar - there are quite a number of guys on this site with more harley knowledge than me but my 2p worth is:

if you accept that if all was well then you would put your foot on the gear lever assembly which moves the gear shift assembly which engaged the shift drum pins which rotates the shift drum moving the shift forks along the cutaways in the drum and the gears move into place - simple! so...

both bikes are not that old, are they high mileage with possible wear on the 1st gear tooth?
does this happen every time 1st gear is selected? - or could it be a maladjusted/sticking clutch assembly?
what happens it you select 1st gear and keep your foot on the gear pedal as you pull away - does it still do it or is there any movement felt in the gear lever assembly?
is there wear in the ratchet arms of the gear shift shaft, the shift drum pins, the shift forks or even the shift drum itself? - it only partially engages the gear but the 'play' is taken up and the gear engages as you pull away
only other thing that occurs to me is the possibility that a bush has 'picked up' on the shaft preventing the shift drum rotating fully into place - but difficult to judge
what grade of oil are you using?
i have no doubt there are plenty of other 'possibilities' which i cant even imagine but this is my 2p - good luck

[HOG maniac]

I think basically its someting you have to accept as its the way harley intended it to be.

I would miss mine if it was smooth.

[Chris L]

Tim, I like your handlebars.....what a Sporty should have..