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[NE-Tacoma06Fatboy]

is this normal.  The shifter is really stiff when I shift and it is a real loud clunk.   Goes into gear ok but just wanted to make sure this is normal.

[hd-dude]

The HD gearbox is not known for its smoothness

A couple of things to check...

Do you have syn3 in the tranny? If so dump it and go with Amsoil 75/140 syn gear lube or Redline Heavy Duty Shockproof.

The primary chain tension also affects the sound of the tranny when shifting from neutral into gear, pull the inspection cover and check your chain tension.

[EAGLE1]

yea, a heel shifter would  have helped as well, mine was very hard to shift at first, but after you rack up some miles it will loosen up a bit. I had syn3 put back in at the 1k, but Im going with the Redline shockproof at 5k. It will run cooler and quieter with Gear lube.

[size=18]EAGLE1[/size]

[Taildraggerdave]

The clunk is normal.  I have used Redline Shockproof Heavy for the last 5K miles and I like it a lot.  Definitely quieted the trans down.  It still makes noise but not nearly as much.  Syn3 is not a gear oil.  It is a motor oil.

[The Mysterious Q!]

I changed out my tranny fluid to the shockproof it shifts fine and I find netral easy but it still is a bit clunky.I guess its part of the package with a HD tranny.

[grc]

Tacoma,

H-D transmissions, at least the conventional 4 and 5 speeds, are notorious for the clunk.  If you were to look at the engagement dogs of the lower 3 gears, you would notice a lot of slop in the fit.  This is done to make sure the dogs engage rather than hit and bounce off (missed shift).  There is a large speed difference between the engaging parts, and unlike an automotive manual trans there are no synchronizer rings to help match the gear speeds during a shift.  In other words, that's pretty much the nature of the beast.

As for the effort, that can be caused by tightness in the trans itself (three of the gears slide on splines on the shaft to actually shift gears), and by clutch drag.  If the clutch is still trying to drive the trans while you are trying to shift, the force against the shift dogs and the splines adds significantly to the effort required to slide the gear to the next position.  That's why trying to shift without pulling the clutch or chopping the throttle is pretty much impossible.  Also, when it does finally release and slide, it adds to the clunk issue.

My bike was extremely difficult to shift into 3rd gear when I bought it.  After bleeding the hydraulic clutch, it got slightly better.  Changing from SYN3 to Redline at 1000 miles made another improvement. After a few thousand miles the trans itself loosened up and it got a little better still.  Still not as smooth or quiet as I'd prefer, but much better than when new.

Jerry

[NE-Tacoma06Fatboy]

thanks all.  Good to know this is normal.  I did not remember my 03 being so clunky.

[PoorUrbanHdBiker]

Short and sweet my friend
Get rid of the Syn3 right away and switch to Redline Shockproof heavy and adjust the clutch properly. For the heck might want to verify the auto primary chain adjuster is working properly when the inspection cover is open.
End of problem. The trans is spinning when the clutch is pulled in. Heavier oil and properly adjusted clutch eliminates this. An overly tight chain same problem.