Bearing Door
OD6 bearing doors are a 1/2″ wider at the mounting flange then a stock 5-Speed door due to the 6th gear. The OD6 door comes with or without an ear. The ear door is for exhaust bracket mounting and does not fit 1993-2006 FL applications. Note the images below. The OD6 door bearings are larger providing 25% more dynamic load capacity than stock bearings used through 1998, also uses a 1/8″ bearing retainer plate instead of stock style snap rings.
OD6 Ear & No Ear Bearing Door
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OD6 Bearing Door vs. Stock
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Thickness Comparison
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Redundant Neutral System
Shift System
Our 6 Speed shift system with roller detent guarantees smooth shifts every time and our redundant neutral ensures that finding neutral is a easy chore. We mount a plunger detent on the left side pillow block and cut a plunger track into the shift drum itself. The plunger follows this track during operation (shifting) and when shifting into neutral pops into a pocket. This system lets you feel that you’re shifting into neutral. No more guessing. Shift drum features more aggressive timing on the fork groove profiles and is case hardened to 58 Rockwell for wear resistance and crisp shifts. We built our reputation on smooth shifting 6-speed transmissions; our drum designs benefit from the engineering lessons learned.
Gearset
All OD6 gearsets are made out of 8620 steel, gears are shaper cut before heat treat then precision ground with diamond coated tooling after heat treat (58-62 Rockwell ‘C’). This extra steps ensures not only a quieter gear pair, but enables much tighter backlash control. This tighter control on the gears yield a silent operation.
Ratios
The OD6 comes in a standard ‘2.94’ configuration. A way to physically tell which ratio you have is pretty common knowledge here at BAKER, but if you would like to know look at the 1st gear pair on the gearset. Our standard 2.94 1st gear will not have a notch on the 1st countershaft gear. Use the image on the far right for reference. This is very important to know if you need any replacement parts or components.

OD6 Gearset Layout
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OD6 1st Gear Ratio
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The OD6 comes in a standard, optional or R-Ratio configuration
Standard |
Ratios |
1st Gear |
2.94 |
2nd Gear |
2.21 |
3rd Gear |
1.60 |
4th Gear |
1.23 |
5th Gear |
1.00 |
6th Gear |
.86 |
OD6 Shift Forks
Shift Forks
Our billet steel forks are dipped in a hard chrome plate bath for wear resistance, also designed with oil reliefs to ensure proper lubrication and wear resistance on fork blades and shift dogs.
Available No Cost Options
- Standard Shift Drum (1-N-2-3-4-5-6)
- N1 Shift Drum (N-1-2-3-4-5-6)
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Reverse Pattern Shift Drum (6-5-4-3-2-N-1)
Complete Build Case Finish Options
Raw Finish
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Wrinkle Black Finish
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Show Polished Finish
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Add suffix to the end of the part number, ‘02’ for Polished, ‘06’ for Raw and ‘03’ for Wrinkle Black
BAKER Case vs. Aftermarket
Case Design
The BAKER Softail case design had all leak potentials in mind during the design. We added stud pads to the inside of the case so that the thread holes for the transmission studs were blind holes, NOT through holes like some aftermarket brands. Looking at the image on the right you can see the difference.
Speedo Recalibration Unit
Special Note
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Speedo recalibration unit is required for electronic speed sensor applications; PN 95E-56B.
Compare the OD6
See the difference between other transmission kits and our OD6. Click Here for a PDF file comparing our DD6 and OD6 gearset against other manufactures.
Click on the image to Compare the OD6 and DD6 gearsets

OD6 vs. DD6
Recommended Fluid / Level

Picking the right transmission fluid ensures the life and durability of your transmission, that’s why BAKER recommends a fully synthetic GL-5 rated gear weight oil of 75W-140. If a GL-5 rated gear lube is not available, these commonly carried viscosities (weights) will work 75W-90, 75W-140 and 85W-140. BAKER does not recommend the use of Syn3 (20W-50). For Bert’s article on ‘Oil & Spiders’ Click Here
- BAKER OD6 Fluid Capacity Dry: 22-24fl-oz
- BAKER OD6 Fluid Capacity Wet: 18-22fl-oz
Learn more about Spectro Performance Oils here: https://spectro-oils.com/
Installation Instructions
OD6 installation instructions with exploded views: Click Here
Installation Note:
We started providing install DVD’s with every builder’s kit starting in October 2012. At approximately 3:25 of the OD6 portion of the DVD, Bert talks about modifying the shifter pawl. This modification is related to the stock shifter pawl lever assembly (H-D PN 34972-02B) and the use of BAKER 5-6QSN & 5-6QLN shift drums. We now provide a shift drum BAKER PN 124-0D6, which supercedes the 5-6QSN, 5-6QLN Shift, 5-6QEN, 5-6QFN & 5-6QGN shift drums, that requires no shimming and works with BAKER shifter pawl 555-56C or 555-56LD (depending on year or motorcycle) which we include in kits and on all BAKER complete builder’s kits. We do not sell any kits, shift drums or transmissions that require any shifter pawl with BAKER marked on it, that needs to be ground or modified anyway. Any questions, please call us at 517-339-3835.
1st Gear Design Change
1st Gear Change Addendum-March 2012: Click Here