I've recently installed a set on s&s 583 cams with their quickee pushrod kit on my 2009 fanboy. I expected some extra valve train noise after the install, but something odd happened when i had it out. I had been riding the bike around town, and started to go up a mountain when all of the sudden the valve train noise stopped. I finished riding and the bike was as quite as it was stock minus the louder exhaust note. So upon arriving home i stopped and revved the engine just to see if it would come back, and the noise came right back after i had revved it. I had no idea what it is, and i plan on checking out the pushrods tomorrow to see if anything has changed with them. Any ideas? It's not louder than any other described valve train noise, but the noise disappearing then coming back is what I'm worried about. No loss of power or anything that i can tell.

 

Maybe bad lifter or pushrod locknut came loose and readjusted?

 

I have no clue, I adjusted the pushrods and the sound is still there. I have a video of the sound. It's there, but it's hard to hear over the exhaust.

 

Here's a video of it. It's after I started revving it harder. It's harder to hear because the exhaust, but it's after I left off the throttle you can hear it.

https://youtu.be/og_3wF0AR9s

 

Sounds more like your cam chains than a lifter. I would definitely be taking it down to inspect... And for what it's worth I always replace lifters with a new cam.
I would also check for a pushrod rubbing on a tube....

 

i checked the push rods and tubes everything looked solid. Now that you mention it I remember some extra room that had a little play on the main timing chain cam. As in it would move forward and backwards. I wasn't sure if that was because it wasn't fully seated yet or not, but it's something I most definitely need to consider. I need to tear it back down and check, I should have done it when the pushrods looked fine because I had them retracted any way. Any ideas on why the cam would have more play. It's not the one with the retaining clip it's the other one that is on the left when you're looking at the oil pump.

 

Starting to sound like the inner chain tensioner is failing... It possibly even a bad chain.. is your tensioner hydraulic or spring....?

 

Oh no that's not what I wanna hear at all. The chain on visual inspection seemed perfect, but that doesn't mean it is. It's the stock spring one I haven't changed it out. There wasn't a lot of pressure on the cam tensioner as in I mean I could easily press it down with no effort.

 

An 09 Fatboy has hydraulic tensioners. If the motor is quiet at idle but valve rattle at Rs, I'd put money on the lifters being weak. Did you replace the lifters and with what brand is you did? If you didn't and you have any miles on them you might want to replace. You might also want to readjust the lifters so that they have 0.140 compression from 0 lash.

 

I'm glad you told me because I had no idea it had hydraulic tensioners lol. I've thought it was the lifters being weak too, but it's hard to say. The valve train noise comes and goes at idle and then that other sound comes and goes when it's under load but I've never heard it while it idles. I didn't change the lifters, but it's something I need to do for sure. The bike has 11k miles on it. The internals of the cam case looks fine, but looks can be deceiving. I also haven't checked since the sound started. I'm curious if the change in back pressure is what's causing the lifters to struggle.