Smooth Shift Kit Xl/buell Shiftdrum 271-5

The Baker shift kit does work as advertised- it has turned the shifting of my 2001 Buell ST3 from hopeless to acceptable. 1-2 shifts are still slow and deliberate, but more positive, and can be hurried a little more than stock. You still cant snatch 2nd while under full power, but it is vastly better. Shifting in the higher gears is significantly easier too, and 3-4 and 4-5 are smoother and take a lot less effort. The parts were well made, well packaged, and installed easily. The deletion of the spring clip to hold on the indexing cam is possibly the greatest reliability improvement over the stock arrangement- the Baker system uses an allen bolt that can be loc-tited in place. The factory spring clip is prone to failure, and when it goes the indexing cam becomes misaligned and you end up with a box full of neutrals and chaos. I have experienced a failure of this clip firsthand and it isn't pretty.My only real complaint with the shift kit is that it includes ZERO instructions, so if you don't happen to have a factory manual or aren't mechanically inclined installation may be bewildering and confusing- which is a shame as the Sporster transmission is actually pretty easy to work on. The kit installation requires the removal of the clutch and primary chain drive- which is easily done if you have the proper size sockets and something to wedge between the primary gears to immobilize them to prevent them from turning- and know that the clutch hub bolt has left handed threads. I used a little scrap of plate steel, but a chunk of 1X2 oak trim would work as well. From there on it becomes pretty self explanatory and the whole transmission pulls from the case as a unit- pretty slick. Then once you have everything cleaned and up on the bench replacing the shift drum with the Baker unit is straightforward. I discovered in my online research before purchasing the kit that it was also necessary to grind a bit off of the shifter pawl mechanism in order for it to clear the Baker index cam which is larger than the stock unit- or there is a possibility parts will collide when engaging 3rd gear. If nothing else a directed online tutorial would be a great improvement for the do-it-yourselfer.In all I think the kit was worth the price and I'm happy with the results- but a casual mechanic may find it hard to install without doing a little research. A single page of instructions would make this product a lot better.

If only Harley had done this very simple fix of a screw holding on the detent plate rather than a cheap spring clip. Owners of Sportsters suffered with this clip arrangement for 15 years.The Baker drum appears to be well made with a 1/4-20 screw firmly holding the detent plate on. I no longer have to fear the clip breaking and metal shredding through out the transmission.I installed this in a 2001 Sportster transmission as well as the new detent arm spring that they provided. The new spring appeared to be lighter than the OEM spring.The Baker drum shifts nicely through most of the gears but sometimes struggles going from 3rd to 4th with a slight delay. All downshifting is perfect. The shift pawl is properly adjusted so I assume that the weak detent arm spring is not strong enough to roll the shift drum into place.quickly. When I have time I will pull the primary cover off and put the OEM spring back on.Well worth the money not to worry about the detent retaining clip failing.