Help on 86 tranny

[panheaddreamer58]

I am a panhead  and big twin evo guy and know nothing about sportster to start out. A guy I know  suppose to have a 86 XL1000 with a 5(?) speed tranny problems. Anyone have a diagram of tranny and possibly a tranny for sale for one? How available are parts? Thanks, Jim 

[PC_Hater]

If the bike is an 86 it has a 4 speed transmission.
And it won't be 1000cc! 883cc or possibly 1100cc.
There is no 5 speed conversion for the old bikes either.
Andrews still do parts and are generally reckoned to be better than HD. I have never used them, just what I have been told over the years.

[andyxlh]

Hello mate,
As PC-hater says, they are a 4 speed transmission to '90. What is the problem, the most common issue is 'sticking' in gear or not being able to change. This is often caused by a broken shift cam follower rather than a broken gear. the shift cam is steel and the follower is alloy; it snaps and then you are stuck.
Other problems are the bearing in the trapdoor can wallow out leading to hard shifting and gear teeth can be broken from the same and incorrect clutch adjustment. Certainly they are more problem than the '91 up 5 speeds.
Whilst you have the clutch pack out check the magnets on the back of the rotor which are known to come off, and also the splines on the end of the clutch shaft which go into the clutch pack, they can wear and allow the clutch pack to wobble all over the place!
I replaced my clutch shaft and all the bearings at 100000miles. all the gear teeth were fine. I replaced the cam follower at 20000miles with a steel one and it was fine at 100000.
They are also a bit of a pain to work on as the end play requires shimming if you replace anything on the shafts, in the same way as the ironhead sportsters do.
If it is the shift cam this can be replaced wthout shimming, but if there's a lot of miles I'd do all the transmission bearings too whilst it is out. Andrews make a full set of gears for this transmission in various ratios.
cheers
Andy
Sydney

[panheaddreamer58]

Well this is what you get into when you don't know whats going on. Trying to do this for a guy that seems to not even know what he has. He tells me now that it is a 83 xl1000 with a four speed tranny. I believe the tranny is in a box in pieces. He thinks if he can find another one he would buy it instead of fixing this one. I thought I would see the availability of parts and maybe a diagram.

[Panzer]

Pan,
I think you'll be much better off getting him to buy another tranny.
Save yourself a lot of headaches in the long run especially if you're doing it for him.
Hope he got a good deal on the sporty, then again if he doesn't know what he has, how would he know if he got a good deal anyway.
I'd think twice on the rebuild.
Just my .02

[panheaddreamer58]

 I agree, that's what I been trying to tell him. I believe that's the way he is going to go. Thanks

[andyxlh]

Hello mate
So he has the last series of ironhead transmissions. I am not 100% certain, but I am pretty sure that the post- 76 (LH shift) ironhead sportser transmissions are all pretty similar, although I think the trapdoor got beefed up late on the run. All the bits on my 86-90 transmission have 86 model year numbers so they are not the same.
I had my transmission stripped and all the bearings and 2 shafts replaced (I supplied the parts) and the transmission reinstalled for $300AU (about $200us), I then trailered the bike home and finished assembly there. That might be an idea if you have the original in bits. If he wants to keep the bike in the long term I'd replace the shafts and gears as needed and start with a fresh tranny - the ironheads don't have a great name in transmission longevity and you don't know what you are getting with a secondhand transmission.
Cheers
Andy
Sydney