AIM Corporation Mamba Reverse Gear Installed

1. The '09 Electra Glide... 

   

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1. The '09 Electra Glide with the Reverse Gear.

While making the rounds at the 2009 Cincinnati V-Twin Expo, we bumped into Hiro Tamura from AIM Corporation who enlightened us about the company's new Mamba Reverse Gear ($1,595-$1,795) for Harley-Davidsons.

We've all been in situations where backing a heavy motorcycle up a slope can be somewhat of a daunting task, and baggers these days can get pretty heavy when they're loaded down with gear or you have a passenger on the back. And what if you have bad knees or you're legs don't seem to work the way they used to? We had a '09 Electra Glide that we wanted to give the Reverse treatment.

AIM Corp, located in Huntington Beach, California, is known for its performance clutch components. The Mamba is available for six-speed transmissions in a Monoblock style (used for this install) for '07-09 big twins, including '06 Dyna. Also available for five-and-six speed transmissions is a two-piece Reverse Gear for '87-later big twins (except '06 Dyna). The Mamba is clutch operated and does not use an electrical motor, and it installs into your stock transmission. In normal transmission operation when the trans is in gear the mainshaft spins clockwise and the countershaft spins counter-clockwise. With the Reverse Gear, according to Hiro, both the mainshaft and countershaft spin clockwise when the idler gear (inside AIM's trans cover) is activated by the AIM shift lever, engaging the counter gear and making it rotate clockwise, causing the bike to go in Reverse.

We headed over to Westminster Harley-Davidson in Westminster, California to install the Mamba on the E-Glide and after the install we tested to see just how well it worked. Log on to www.hotbikeweb.com for a video demonstration of how it performs.

2. The Reverse Gear includes...        read full caption 2. The Reverse Gear includes the new trans side cover and gasket, the reverse shift lever, main gear, counter gear, lock pins, break-off keys, the provided main gear tool, drill bits, and all necessary mounting hardware and threadlocker.	3. Harley-Davidson Service...        read full caption 3. Harley-Davidson Service Technician Jason Klements started by removing the seat, disconnecting the battery, and draining the transmission oil. He also needed to remove the heat shield at the collector so that he could get to the tranny's side cover.	4. Next, Jason removed the...        read full caption 4. Next, Jason removed the trans side cover and took out the oil slinger assembly (arrow). Then both mainshaft and countershaft nuts were loosened and removed.
5. Both shafts' threads were...        read full caption 5. Both shafts' threads were cleaned and Jason installed the AIM main gear to the mainshaft with green threadlocker using the supplied tool and, torqued it to 148 lb-ft. The heavy torque spec and green threadlocker will keep the main gear in place.	6. Drilling time! Jason taped...        read full caption 6. Drilling time! Jason taped off the exposed areas to keep the metal shavings out. Then he drilled two holes (about 1-inch deep) with the supplied drill bit into the mainshaft from the surface of the AIM main gear in order to fit	7. ...these locking pins...        read full caption 7. ...these locking pins (arrow). The locking pins keep the main gear from coming loose from the mainshaft when using the Reverse Gear.
8. After both lock pins were...        read full caption 8. After both lock pins were tightened to 8 lb-ft, Jason installed the counter boss nut onto the countershaft with green threadlocker and tightened it to 148 lb-ft.	9. Then the counter gear...        read full caption 9. Then the counter gear was installed onto the counter boss nut and fit with the two provided break off keys (arrows) after aligning the grooves on the counter gear with the counter boss (shown here, the top key is already installed). With red threadlocker, Jason installed the bolt and washer to the counter boss nut and tightened it. The biggest safety feature of the Reverse Gear is the break-off keys. These brass keys are put in place to prevent damage to vital transmission components when the Reverse Gear is misused due to excessive load (i.e a reverse burnout).	10. Jason installed the new...        read full caption 10. Jason installed the new oil slinger rod into the main gear. It's basically the same as stock, but the umbrella assembly at the end has been removed to fit the Reverse Gear assembly.
11. Once the new oil slinger...        read full caption 11. Once the new oil slinger was installed, Jason was ready to mount the AIM trans cover in place but he needed to install the stock ball and ramp and retaining clip (arrow) from the stock trans cover into the new AIM Reverse Gear trans cover.	12. Once that was done, the...        read full caption 12. Once that was done, the clutch cable was attached to the AIM trans cover. Then, with the supplied gasket, the new cover was bolted in place and the shift lever was installed.	13. Everything was just about...        read full caption 13. Everything was just about finished; Jason just needed to adjust the clutch, fill the trans back up with fluid, reattach the heat shield, and reconnect the battery. Here's a shot of the finished version of the AIM Mamba Reverse Gear. We had shop tech, Jason give it a little demo, which you can see at www.hotbikeweb.com.