Gear Position Switch Recall on 2014 - 2019 Thunder Stroke Indian Motorcycles Indian Motorcycle General Discussions >
Junior Member 20 posts Twoup Junior Member 20 posts
Twoup
Today I received a recall letter outlining a possible problem with the gear position switch for 2014 to 2019 
Indian Motorcycles (111 C.I.) Has anyone else received this letter ?
cheers . Twoup

indian-gear-position-switch-recall.jpg 
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faceonahead Senior Member 807 posts
faceonahead
Yeah it's or there, with solution not until 2020.  No big deal of you ask me, you should be able to tell where your bike is regardless of a sensor reading
2018 Dark horse Chieftain, stage 3 cams and 116BB KIT and a stack of minor mostly cosmetic mods
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Twoup Junior Member 20 posts
Twoup
Sorry Faceonahead I think this is a valid safety concern that fellow Tribe members should be aware of !!!!!!
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faceonahead Senior Member 807 posts
faceonahead
Perhaps but many a bike don't display your current gear position., I'm a believer in Ride by feel..... Agree it needs a fix, especially for new riders but Polaris have stayed not till 2020, so wet have to manage until then
2018 Dark horse Chieftain, stage 3 cams and 116BB KIT and a stack of minor mostly cosmetic mods
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V-Twin Founding Member 7,820 posts
V-Twin
Some owners have had issues with Gear Position Switch in the past.  Here is that thread for anyone interested.

https://www.indianmotorcycleforum.com.au/post/gear-position-switch-warranty-item-handballed-to-owners-to-pay-in-the-future-9958805

In that thread, I said the following on 22 December 2018 
V-Twin wrote:
A better, more logical alternative is to redesign the gear switch so dirt doesn’t get in and it does not require cleaning. That would require Polaris engineers redesigning and retesting the revised switch... looking at a lot of cost for the manufacturer.  If they can handball the cost to the customers, why give it a second thought?  🙄

It is good that their stance has shifted.

Does this mean, anyone who paid to have their gear position sensor cleaned or replaced in the past can claim refund?

I do wonder how this is a recall, yet 116ci Big Bore kit going into limp mode is not. 🤪
Melbourne, Victoria
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Twoup Junior Member 20 posts
Twoup
Hi V-Twin I received my letter today and it clearly states repair is at no cost to me , and when final repair plan is available at dealers the recall repair will be at no cost to me 
cheers. Twoup
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V-Twin Founding Member 7,820 posts
V-Twin
Twoup wrote:
Hi V-Twin I received my letter today and it clearly states repair is at no cost to me , and when final repair plan is available at dealers the recall repair will be at no cost to me...
Hey Twoup, just to clarify, my post that I quoted is from December  2018.  Back then, Polaris was trying to shift the responsibility of maintaining the gear position switch to the owners.  This recall is a responsible position for Polaris to take and I welcome it, but it was not their first choice.  Have a read of this thread and you will understand the historical context.

https://www.indianmotorcycleforum.com.au/post/gear-position-switch-warranty-item-handballed-to-owners-to-pay-in-the-future-9958805
Melbourne, Victoria
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crash Founding Member 2,565 posts
crash
Got my letter yesterday, two of them - presumably for the other one that I had.

If I am reading the letter correctly (and reading between the lines) it suggested that even if the machine is in neutral (physically) and the gear selector reads a different gear it will try and put it in gear.
They also outlined the steps required to start the machine.
To my way of thinking, if the sidestand is down and the bike is in neutral it will start.  If the bike has the sidestand down and the bike is in gear then it will not start.  Whilst it needs to be fixed - no question.  And it is important - absolutely.  I am pretty confident that it will only be an issue under very specific circumstances.

116 in limp mode - keep that in the other thread - stick to topic 🙂 😋
Ulysses #30673
IMRG #AU100394
Current: RoadMaster (ebony and ivory)
Highett Victoria Australia
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Dr.Shifty Senior Member 1,623 posts
Dr.Shifty
faceonahead wrote:
Yeah it's or there, with solution not until 2020.  No big deal of you ask me, you should be able to tell where your bike is regardless of a sensor reading


If I'm pushing the bike through a winding mountain road I appreciate the gear indicator, it's not always a matter of 'should'.

There are a couple of other situations where this sensor error causes trouble.
First is if it says neutral but it's in gear the bike will start and roll away.  This can be dangerous.
Second is when it gets the gear wrong and stops the cruise control from operating.
Cheers, Kim.

From Woodrising (no, nobody else has heard of it either)
Rides a Springfield Dark Horse
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Twoup Junior Member 20 posts
Twoup
Thanks Dr Shifty for explaining this in more detail. I have not always been sitting on my 
RMCLASSIC when I have started up, I would hate it to take off without me 😢 and what trouble I would be in if the Wife was already sitting on the pillion seat !! Cheers Twoup
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MalR Junior Member 20 posts
MalR

I have had on my bike many times were I get  - -  for position, always thought the switch was over sensitive, for this reason and the plain fact as stated above, I will also have the clutch in any time I start my bike, who knows, perhaps the lever has been bumped while parked, no one knows

For above, no the position switch will not cause the bike to change gears, it is simply an indication of what gear you are in.  When it shows N it should be in Neutral which seems is not always the case.

Read on one of the Facebook pages someone getting upset that no one signed the letter which was quite funny

End of the day, we know the issue, Polaris has now acknowledged the issue, are working on fixing it once and for all, that is what matters, meanwhile be more careful when you think you are in Neutral as you really should be anyway
Melbourne - Victoria
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BigTone Administrator 1,638 posts
BigTone
My Indian RM seems to display the correct gear all the time but this reminds me about the HD I hired in LA a couple of weeks ago. 
I hired an Electra  Glide Ultra from Eagle rider and the actual gear display only showed when it felt like it. 
You really appreciate your own bike when you hire a HD. Good power but terrible suspension,  shocking gear box, resonable handling,  but no heated seats or hand grips which I'm used to and no tyre pressure display. 
Still had fun though. 
Cheers,
Tony
St. Kilda  Victoria
IMRG: 20380071
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Biggles Junior Member 49 posts
Biggles
Yeah got mine also getting my headlight circuit replaced. It has cut out on me once already. 
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aupc Junior Member 13 posts
aupc
Received the letter last week and followed the instructions and my bike was all good. 2019 Chieftain 
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DAVO Full Member 311 posts
DAVO
I only got one recall letter for my RM, none for my 14 Vintage, I already knew about the recall, it’s on the US site.
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Kellydog2 Junior Member 17 posts
Kellydog2
Received my letter midweek.  Hit the panic button because help (dealer) is 2000km away. Followed instructions and all seems ok.  But will plan the roadtrip to Perth in 2020 for a full checkup.
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kmoulds Full Member 303 posts
kmoulds
When I had my new battery and early 32K service I also have this dealt with.

I have never had any false or misleading gear position experience.

Cheers Kym - Sydney - NSW
2016 custom painted red & black Indian Springfield
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Dr.Shifty Senior Member 1,623 posts
Dr.Shifty
Here's a bit of lateral thinking about the gear sensor issue.

The sensor operates through a set of resistors with a different ohm value for each gear position. The difference between each position is 30 to 40 ohms, except 5th to 6th which is 70. These get added to the base resistor of 3,010 ohms. The difference in resistance between each position is only about 1%. When we change gears the VCM says, OK, there's a change upwards/downwards of 1%, I'll pass that on to the dash display.

The TS111 bikes are known to develop problems if the battery terminals are not tight, or if the ground wire is not tight to the frame. It only takes a slight difference in those connections for the VCM to complain. So there's a part of my mind that wonders if that 1% resistance change is not great enough to allow for a slight problem in another connection.

Imagine if those resistance values changed by 300 ohms instead of 30, then the difference would be 10% and less likely to be misread if there's a poor connection in the system.

Gear Position resistors.jpg 
Cheers, Kim.

From Woodrising (no, nobody else has heard of it either)
Rides a Springfield Dark Horse
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Croc Senior Member 570 posts
Croc
Hey Doc, what's up?  Interesting take on the gear shifting, I wonder if there isn't some manufacturing/production issue that precluded them doing something like that in the first place?

(oh, and after reading this link I'm changing my mind about your "Shifty" moniker.... maybe Dr SHIFTING????  ðŸ˜‰ )
I'm Not Completely Useless . .
I Can Be Used As A Bad Example!

Kwinana W.A.

Ulysses   #48275
IMRG      #100932
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Dr.Shifty Senior Member 1,623 posts
Dr.Shifty
Croc wrote:

(oh, and after reading this link I'm changing my mind about your "Shifty" moniker.... maybe Dr SHIFTING????  Ã°Å¸Ëœâ€° )


🙂 You were closer the first time.
Cheers, Kim.

From Woodrising (no, nobody else has heard of it either)
Rides a Springfield Dark Horse
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