I picked up my new 2007 Classic Ultra on Tuesday (8/1). Rode it home (about
22 miles) and went right back to dealer. 5th gear sounds like a bucket
of bolts. Mechanics took it out and agreed, Harley told them to change
the Trany fluid to a heavier grade and tell me to ride it for a while
and it would get better. I have over 300 miles on it now and it is
getting worse. A tech tip stated that 1st and 5th gears are ground
differently and generate noise. I found that 1st gear whines like mad
and 5th not only whines but clatters. My buddy was 2 car lengths in
front of me and could hear it over his bike. After 300 miles I now
have a clatter in 6th as well.

When I stopped at the dealer today there was another 2007 Ultra in for
service with the same problem! Also 1 day old! I also posted this on the Google group for HD and got mixed results. 1 guy had no problems with 1000 miles on the bike and another said he had the whining but it went away after 60mph. I also found out that another dealer in the area has a customer with the exact same problem.
Anyone else having this problem? If so what is your dealer telling you.

Ron

 

Duke;
The 6 speed has to run through an extra shaft. It is not turning at a 1 to 1 when in top gear. The people that sell you this stuff never warn you about what is about to come. Once they get your money it's "Get outta' here buddie" The older 4 speeds don't make that whinning sound and most 5 speeds are pretty quiet. You better off re-gearing your bike and forgetting the over drive. If you know someone that has a quiet 6 speed, please let me know. The best thing that I can suggest is to put straight pipes on it or build a bigger engine so you can stay out in front of all your buddies and far enough so they cant hear it. Jozer

 

O' My god, I dont believe this. I was thinking of buying a 6 gear machine. i will wait till the smoke clears...Max

 

I did the 6 gear set into 5 case and have no problems.

 

Sleep;
Whoz transmission do you have? I would really like to know..Jozer

 

Whatever is stock on the Ultra. I just got back from the dealer. They've spent some time on the phone with Harley and it has become an issue across the country and seems to be restricted to the Ultra. They said they are "working on it". Time will tell.

 

My Ultra is noisy, too, in 5th and 6th. Not terrible, but noisy. I took the bike back to the dealer the second day I had it, one of the techs rode it and said, "Yep, it's kinda noisy, but go ahead and break it in, change the fluid to synthetic at 1000 and we'll see..." That's what I'm doing, I've got 500 miles on it now. It's maybe a little quieter than it was new, but it's still too noisy in my opinion.

A few factors - If you ride with no helmet or a shorty, it's a lot more obvious. If you're used to a non-fairing bike with loud pipes, ditto (I got off a Low Rider with Short Shots, I dunno what the tranny sounded like on that). If you run the rpm real low in 6th, double ditto - and that's easy to do, the bike has to be going 70 before you get at least 2400 rpm in 6th.

I think Harley is going to have to do something about it, though, the tranny is just too noisy on the highway - which is kind of a crime against nature when you're talking about an Ultra Classic. I love the bike, but I can say without hestation that Harley's going to have to fix this.

 

It occurs to me that this problem may be more obvious in Ultras because they have fairing lowers that might focus the noise more upward, toward the rider. I'm sure all the transmissions are the same, there's no reason I can think of that the Ultras would actually be noisier - maybe it's more that the noise is focused where the rider is.

If I was a real energetic guy, I'd run out there and take the lowers off and see if it changes the noise. But I'm not that energetic - or that worried about it.

 

What's a FAIRING? Jozer

 

Just for fun, I took the lowers off my '07 Ultra (took maybe 15 minutes) and took it for a ride. Without the lowers, the tranny isn't significantly louder than my '04 Low Rider. I can hear quite a bit of whirring in 5th, but it's not objectionable; almost all of the rattling is gone. 6th is plenty quiet. If I had aftermarket pipes on the bike, I don't think you could hear it at all - and that's with a shorty helmet.

Lots cooler, too. But I forgot how much wind your legs get without the lowers. Overall, I'm going to run the lowers if I go > 200 miles at a time and in the winter, but leave 'em off in the summer.