[wojo]

Has anyone experienced the heel toe shifter coming loose or falling off on the 2007 FLHX. i had mine fall off yesterday while i was on the highway coming home. didnt realize it until i got off the highway and went to downshift. totally gone. dont know where, somewhere on the road behind me. i heard this is a common problem for the 07's. just curious if anyone has had the same problem.

[ironhorse]

heard of the problem but never seen it but that brings it back to checking out the bike before you ride it or if the miles are low enough you could get the dealer to replace it if they missed the check on the pre delivery. oh yea what i heard was it loosining not falling off check your toe shifter it could be the same way I believe ya might want to check all the nuts and bolt for that matter

[cowboy]

The main shaft is most likey starting to strip out , if you have many miles on it , if not then like ironhorse said

[chucktx]

being it is an 07 model, i would aproach the dealer....if no satisfaction from them..get a new one, install it with locktite on the bolt. do this to both of them. i actually took my heel shifter off, gives more room for my big ass feet!!!! the toe and heel were the same on mine.....

[wojo]

Thanks Ironhorse and Cowboy. When it originally came loose almost a year ago i was able to get it to the dealer without it being trailered, i believe the screw came loose on that one. yesterday, i believe the shaft just slid through the hole and came out on the road somewhere. the set screw was still in place and not loosened at all. i tried to pry some info from the service rep at the dealer without being to anal, but i'm sure she could see i wasnt happy about it. she could give me any reason to why it happened. i told her i was willing to complain to someone if it would get the problem looked at quicker, but she told me that once they report certain problems more than once, then they get looked at as to finding a remedy. thanks again for the input.

[chucktx]

standard issue statment............

[wojo]

Thanks Chucktx

[cowboy]

wojo , do you do a lot of hard shifting ? if so that will cause the splines to what I call strip it realy the tops coming off , & the shifter will not hold as well , as for your service , like chuck said standerd answer if you brought it in twice thats once to many times they should find out why

[Hdtractor1]

I think they should fix it for sure.I took mine off as soon as I got it home...get in my way all the time....but if mine came off I would have them fix it...thats what a warrenty is for in my opinion .

[wojo]

the dealer didnt have a problem fixing it, especially the second time. i dont beat my bike, i ride it like it like i stole it, mostly when im on the highway, but normally i baby it. i dont shift it any harder than anyone else would. i normally use the heel and toe shifter and not just the toe shifter. when the dealer replaced the shifters this time they put on the matching shifting pieces that go with the rest of my bike, that was a bonus to getting it fixed, also they adjusted the shifters higher than they were before and i can now more easily use the toe shifter to shift instead of using both. my personal opinion is, its just a flaw that for some reason is causing me the grief that i am having. fortunately its only happened twice and i hope they added some extra heavy duty locktight on it this time. i hope it doesnt happen again, especially when im in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone signal.

[chucktx]

put a pair of vice grips in you tool pouch....in a pinch, you can use them to shift with........

[ironhorse]

ah the trusty 5" vice grip got a pair in my bag.

[cowboy]

Don't for get the tape vice have been know to pop open then your S O L

[Red Rider]

Had the same problem a few years ago on my '99 FLHR. Since it is relatively new, they should fix it. Word I got is that it was defective metal and that some of the shafts just don't cut it - not a rare enough problem if ya ask me. The replacement has held up fine. If you do it yourself it does require that you pull the shaft and replace it (and the associated bushing, etc), not overly challenging but a PITA for something that shouldn't have failed in the first place.

[RDean]

I have an 07 Ultra Classic and the heel shifter came loose on it shortly after I bought it. I checked the bolt and it seemed pretty tight so I took it back to the dealer. They really torqued down on the bolt even using a cheater! I was afraid to put that much force on it myself but they didnt hesitate. Has been tight for the last 5000 miles now.

[Sleepy]

I have an '04 Electra Glide, I've had the ball and socket joint break apart and the shifter shaft splines are wearing on the toe shifter, which I use, the heel shifter is still tight. I've seen the stripping shaft the resultant flopping lever mostly on Rubbermount Fl's. Once you start getting some slop, it's just a matter of time before the splines fail. Just watch a rubbermount FL at idle and you'll know exactly what I mean. The older shafts would have the shift lever sitting right up against the shoulder of the shaft, so it's pretty hard to get good clamping, the newer ones are machined better. Also if you look at the lever, I think it's a pretty meaty piece of metal for the small bolt to clamp it into place. I got the new shaft so when I dig the bike out of my parent's garage.[long story] and get it back I'll change it out but I may clamp the levers in a vice to tighten up the hole slightly so it's in better contact with the shaft and then tighten it up, if that doesn't work I'll drill the lever, tap it and put a set screw in it.

[fstfwd55]

Originally Posted by wojo

Has anyone experienced the heel toe shifter coming loose or falling off on the 2007 FLHX. i had mine fall off yesterday while i was on the highway coming home. didnt realize it until i got off the highway and went to downshift. totally gone. dont know where, somewhere on the road behind me. i heard this is a common problem for the 07's. just curious if anyone has had the same problem.

happened on my 99 RK...can't keep one tight...won't fall off cause it's a grooved shaft..but just lays on the floor board lookin pretty. tryd squeezin it for a long spell in my vise..no help.
oh well.

[chucktx]

Originally Posted by fstfwd55

happened on my 99 RK...can't keep one tight...won't fall off cause it's a grooved shaft..but just lays on the floor board lookin pretty. tryd squeezin it for a long spell in my vise..no help.
oh well.

make a thin soft shim from some lead, plastic...ect. wrap it around the shaft then install the shifter. or, drill both shifter and shaft and install a hardened roll pin.....3/16 should do it......

[maxpower_hd]

I took my heel shifter off too. I just didn't like it at all. I have seen them loosen and fall off before. I had to fix one of my buddies. He bought a new on. I installed it for him and used the heavy duty lock tight. It' been fine for three years now.

By the way..........zip ties hold Vice Grips closed quite nicely. And they are free from work............Did I say that out loud?

[voodoochild]

I didn't hear a thing Max....