So I have an 07 FLHRS and while driving home tonight, downshifted to first gear and all of a sudden a whine and rattle sound started.Sounds like it's coming from the Transmission.. . I raised the bike and tried shifting through the gears and it does it in all the gears but doesn't do it in Neutral. The bike has been shop maintained and up to date on service... a little over 19000 kms on it. this isn't a slight whine and rattle, this is something bad sounding. . Any suggestions? I did do a search and saw stuff about a minor whine but this is not sounding like they suggest.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

Bearing probably. IPB maybe or if you are certain it's coming from tranny, then bearing there.

 

Upon further investigation it appears the noise is coming from the main case... The chain and tensioner look OK... I'm not liking where this is going.

 

Check your compensator. It might have worked loose.
Is the noise from the front of the primary?
Take the cover off and look.

 

Do you feel a thump on the case just above the shifter?

 

+1 on the compensator; very common problem and simple fix if caught before bad juju happens. '07 was the first year for the "new and improved" compensator that has now been upgraded twice and a special "kit" has been added to the parts list to address the "fretting" problem resulting from lack of lubrication. You need to pull the compensator and inspect and if "fretting" has occurred, replace it with the latest upgraded part and the kit or a better option may be to replace the compensator and install the Compensaver; an aftermarket cure.

http://www.compensaver.com/

If you do a Google search, you will see that there is a long history of compensator problems and failures that started with the new compensator in '07.

 

So we found the issue this was rattling on the front drive gear.. It ate the belt but now the sound is gone... Question is, is this from my bike or from the road?

 

Looks like the tab from the rear ex.pipe bracket,JMO

 

Looks like you are correct. Spoke with the local dealer and was told this was not the first time he's seen this happen and it could have been catastrophic should it have fallen half an inch to either side and landed on the bottom of the sprocket instead of the top. Seems like a poor design if these brackets are breaking off...Thanks for the input and help!