anyone done a 6 speed conversion

[carnochanm]

just curiuos if any one has done this or is thinking about doing it. i always find myself looking for another gear when cruising on the highway. is there any kit better then the another and how hard of a job would this be for the do it yourselfer. thanks in advance for any info

[ZR1Dan]

just curiuos if any one has done this or is thinking about doing it.

I did on my 2003 Road Glide.

i always find myself looking for another gear when cruising on the highway.

Me too. Add to that I had a Kuryakin dipstick come apart and destroy my 5-speed. Kury paid for the repairs, I upgraded to the HD 6-speed.

is there any kit better then the another

Don't know. I just wanted to stay with HD parts for warranty reasons.

how hard of a job would this be for the do it yourselfer.

Instructions looked to be over my skill and tool level. Requires some special tools, and grinding of the stock housing. Expensive part I didn't want to chance screwing it up.

thanks in advance for any info

Welcome. Good luck...

[berserker]

I may do eventually. I plan on keeping my bike for awhile. As things get older upgrade to better parts. Theres not alot to a bike.

But to the question at hand don't know. read over the manual see how it sounds. I don't have tranny experience, been in the top end. Just slow down. Read the instructions three times before doing it, to calm yourself. Then follow along step, by step. Don't skip or ignore something.

Easy for me to say.

[carnochanm]

Thanks for the replies. I looked in the MOCO catalog and it is about 2,000 listed for the gear set alone and it did mention you had to modify the case but a template is provided. I might have to check around to see what Baker and matbe Revtech have to offer as well just to compare

[wkohn]

Originally Posted by carnochanm

Thanks for the replies. I looked in the MOCO catalog and it is about 2,000 listed for the gear set alone and it did mention you had to modify the case but a template is provided. I might have to check around to see what Baker and matbe Revtech have to offer as well just to compare

Really check into Baker. They did it first, I believe, then everybody else copied them. Plus Baker makes every thing in a foreign country called Michigan.

[Hogzilla]

Originally Posted by carnochanm

just curiuos if any one has done this or is thinking about doing it. i always find myself looking for another gear when cruising on the highway. is there any kit better then the another and how hard of a job would this be for the do it yourselfer. thanks in advance for any info

I had one installed in my 2005 RK Custom before delivery, so it would be covered under the bike warranty instead of the much shorter (90 days I think) parts warranty. On my 01' Heritage I always felt like I needed another gear. In fact I was always trying to shift into 6th.

With the RK, there are times when I feel like I could do without it. I'm not sure if the final drive ratio is different on the touring line compared to the Heritage I had or what, but it often seems like 5th is plenty. That said, when I'm cruising at 80 mph, I do ride in 6th and I do like the lower rpms. I am sure it saves a tad on gas too, but I never check since I really don't care.

FWIW I had them install the complete SE trans instead of the gearset. I got it at 20% off retail and then sold the 5 speed on eBay for around $900. You probably won't be able to sell just the 5 speed gearset to recover any of the cost.

Would I do it again? Not sure. I may be buying a new bike later this year and we'll see at that time.

[flsts]

I installed a Revtec gear set in my 98. You will need special tools to press the main gear out of the case and replace the bearing, then reinstall them. There is also a metal sleeve on the main shaft that goes through the inner primary seal and bearing that you will need a tool to remove and replace. You can't get the shaft out of the tranny with it installed. If you decide to do this look for a gear set already installed on a new trap door with bearings and all. If you just buy the gears and shafts you will need a press to get the old shafts out and the new ones in plus new bearings there as well. You would also have to build up the gears on the shafts. Not really difficult, that is what I did, but if you make a mistake I hope you catch it before you finish assembly.

I did not have to do any case mods on my bike so I don't know what that adds to the difficulty. If I were to do it again I would look at a Baker or Jims. The Revtec parts are OK so far, but for all the work involved cost would be further down on my list. Quality and reliability first.

[glideman53]

Originally Posted by carnochanm

Thanks for the replies. I looked in the MOCO catalog and it is about 2,000 listed for the gear set alone and it did mention you had to modify the case but a template is provided. I might have to check around to see what Baker and matbe Revtech have to offer as well just to compare

Hey,
Guys i ride with have put RevTech 6 speeds in their bikes. one guy is pretty handy and has done the case mods for the rest of the guys. So far they're holding up. Me, i'd like to compare with the Baker- though i understand that Baker wants more $$$. The RevTechs were under a grand for parts ( least thats what buddy is charging, so he must have gotten a deal!)
Hope it turns out well! I'd LOVE to put a 6 speed in mine too!

[bhscpa]

I put a Baker Direct Drive 6-speed in my Ultra last winter. I'm very happy with it. Smoooooth! Also, I can get into neutral from 2nd gear with this tranny.

[ZR1Dan]

Would I do it again? Not sure. I may be buying a new bike later this year and we'll see at that time.

Agreed.

Couple of reasons. $2000+ for a 400-500 rpm change at 80 mph is a lot of buck for little bang. Secondly, if you are running a stock, or near stock motor, I would recommend against a 6-speed.

I have a stage II 95" kit with the 203 cams, S/E heads, roller rockers, Rinehart pipes, S/E air cleaner and the download. It has yet to be on a dyno, but I'm guessing 85-90 hp, and peak torque around 3200.

In 6th at 80 mph it runs fine; on a flat road... If I have a headwind or 5-6% grade, a shift to 5th is required to maintain speed at anything less than WOT. I seriously doubt a stock touring bike would pull 6th without some issues.

If Kuryakyn had not paid for my extra gear, I would have spent the 2K elsewhere...

Just my

Dan

[turbotc]

Originally Posted by Hogzilla

I had one installed in my 2005 RK Custom before delivery, so it would be covered under the bike warranty instead of the much shorter (90 days I think) parts warranty. On my 01' Heritage I always felt like I needed another gear. In fact I was always trying to shift into 6th.

With the RK, there are times when I feel like I could do without it. I'm not sure if the final drive ratio is different on the touring line compared to the Heritage I had or what, but it often seems like 5th is plenty. That said, when I'm cruising at 80 mph, I do ride in 6th and I do like the lower rpms. I am sure it saves a tad on gas too, but I never check since I really don't care.

Would I do it again? Not sure. I may be buying a new bike later this year and we'll see at that time.

Before you decide to go purchase a 6sp do your homework. I believe Hogzilla is trying to tell some of you something from his experience.

You want the RPM in 6th gear to at least be in the rpm sweet spot your bike will pull hard from in 5th gear without even thinking about downshifting to get it to do that. Most of you will find that to be around 3000+ rpm. What's fixing to happen is your going to loose mechanical advantage of your 5th gear stock final drive ratio when you shift into 6th. Depending on tire size and final drive ratio, at 80 mph your engine could be truning around 2900 or 3100 +/- 100-150 rpm, but now it has less mechanical advantage to aid it. Hit a grade and you may hear your exhaust note change from a rumble to a more hollow sound way to many hear now trying to run 5th gear at 2500 rpm or less. The engine has started to strain/lug an you need to downshift.

1: You need to make sure you know what your engine's rpm sweet spot is. Where it pulls hard from without straining.

2: Terrain of the area you live and ride in the most in. Do you have to downshift running 70 mph in 5th to pass or pull medium grade hills?

3: How much time do you spend riding on Insterstate Vs Two Lane roads?

4: Based on where your engine's rpm sweet spot is, terrain of area you ride the most and how much Interstate Vs Two lane riding you do, do you really have the need for a 6sp that often and do you have the power to use a 6sp with stock gearing or do you need to lower your final drive ratio to make it a more useful gear if you decide to buy one?

Find yourself a MPH/RPM calculator to calculate your 6th gear rpm at 65 t0 80 mph; make sure you know the sound your ehaust/engine makes when it starts to strain and go ride the area you live in the engine's sweet spot in 5th gear and see how much downshifting you have to do due to terrain to keep the engine from straining. This will give you some Idea if a 6th speed is going to be that useful to you when you think about the rpm you will turning in 6th at 70-80 MPH. PS: Stock Dunlop has a Dia of 25.70 and a 140X16 Metzeler has a Dia of 26.17 IIRC.

Here's where I'm coming from. I'm running a 6sp with a 124" SnS motor in a FLHT which is a heavy bike and has the aerodynamics of a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in a hurricane. Even without going to a 6sp I was advised to lower my final drive ratio. That was a little hard to upderstand with the TQ a 124 can make. I now understand it. It just so happens that my rpm sweet spot where the engine pulls hard form is 3000 rpm. In the first 3 gears I have more mechanical advantage due to transmission gear ratio's so the engine pulls hard from 2500 rpms and cruising in the 15 to 40-45 MPH speed limit ranges with power to accelerate without having to think about downshifting before hand is spot on. Without the help of the lower gearing's mechanical advantage my RPM sweet spot could be around 3200+.

Here lies the problem. At 80 MPH in 6th gear I'm truing around 3080 rpm with 28/37 & 23/51 gearing, terrain is not flat by any mean in my area of the country, but at 80 mph the engine will handle 97% of the grades without hearing the exhaust start taking on that hollow sound. Now drop down to 75 mph (5 mph over speed limit) and now that percentage of grades it handles without straining engine drops down to around 65-75% and 70 mph in 6th you had better be on flat road. Sure I could stay in 6th gear and pull more of the grades without downshifting to 5th and maintain cruise speed but I would be abusing the engine's bottom end to much IMHO.

[carnochanm]

Turbotc, thanks for the well informed info. I have the SE stage 2 kit with 203 cams and Rhinehart true duals. I do run mostly interstate as I have a 74 mile commute 1 way to work and mostly flat but mt riding wont be limited to that. I think I will spend that money on some differant goodies like maybe a tour pack and have some left over.Thanks for all replies, time to look at some other goodies now

[V-ROD 1 FL]

FWIW, I just had one installed at the dealer on my 06 Streetglide before delivery. I went the "trap door route and got to watch the install process. It isn't too hard including the grinding IF you have the gear puller for the transmission gear. (ANYBODY NEED A FL 5 SPEED WITH 0 MILES ON IT 1/2 price or less?)

The gears are the same for all 5 gears and then the 6th gear is .87 to 1.

So when you are riding around you can do the 5th gear thing as always and when you need the 6th gear gfor highway riding just push up once.

I like it especially since I played with the motor at the same time and the gear helps keep the gas mileage up. I think it will pay for itself over a 3 year period. the big thinkg is that you can cruise at 80 - 90 mph and the bike is doing about 2,200 - 2400 rpm. NEAT!!

Regards

[ZR1Dan]

the big thinkg is that you can cruise at 80 - 90 mph and the bike is doing about 2,200 - 2400 rpm. NEAT!!

Is there a big difference in final drive ratio on the 06?

I'm turning 3050 rpm at 80 mph in 6th on my 03 Road Glide???

[1potter1]

zr1dan,
06 ultra 3250 rpm @ 80 mph (flat highway)