I was thinking the same thing. Especially with the wear on the tensioner pad. Hopefully I'll have some better intel after some additional inspection this evening. I don't want to keep tearing things down further on a useless witch hunt for the source of the problem, but I don't want to assume anything, re-assemble everything only to have the noise continue/get worse.

 

Thanks for the link Mr_Taipan, any info is greatly appreciated.

I have listened to a video of the noise a loose compensator makes in a Big Twin and mine sounds exactly (probably, it's hard to tell from a video) like it. Random timing (not in time with engine rpm) and seemingly not under load.


Which made me think the compensator would be the issue..........until I discovered Sporties don't have compensators.

But I'm almost convinced it's in the primary somehow.

 

Thank God apparently you were correct sir. After getting things completely apart tonight, I was able to see a small bit of scoring on the primary cover at the point where the chain would hit if it were too loose.




All the other components seem tight and in good condition. The primary sprocket is tight, the stator is tight, the clutch basket is tight and the clutch bearings seem smooth and tight.

I'm assuming it was the chain being loose (although how it got that loose I don't know) and I'm going to replace the tensioner pad and re-assemble.

Thank you Mr_Taipan for your best wishes.

 

Cool, I hope that's it! It would seem to be the cheapest and easiest to fix of all the possible issues. Good luck.

 

Thanks man. I ordered the new tensioner (and gaskets/seals) today at my local indy (love them guys) and they should be here tomorrow so I can get it back together and on the road.

The nice thing about stuff breaking (or sounding weird) is that it's an educational moment.

What struck me about this whole situation is the issue of oiling the primary. HD service manual says one quart of oil is a full load but after taking the primary off and seeing the size of the entire primary/transmission cavity, one quart does NOT seem like enough oil for proper lubrication.

Any thoughts on that?

 

There is just enough oil for the bottom of the primary chain to splash through. The movement distributes the oil.

Make sure when you're putting it back together that you follow the factory procedures for tensioning. Too tight is just as big, if not bigger, of a problem than too little tension.

 

I stick a litre in mine (dont get quarts here), which is a tiny bit more but with no adverse effect. Dunno how much more you could put in or what could go wrong with over filling?

 

No firsthand experience, but I believe I have read that an overfilled primary can cause problems with the clutch and make it hard to find neutral. Oh...and why take a chance? Just fill it to factory spec. and you know you're at least doing what the engineers intended.

 

@Morleyz
I get the primary chain dragging in the oil and distributing it as well as the clutch, but there's also all the transmission gears. I suppose the bottom of the gears also roll through the oil and distribute it through all the transmission gears as well. It just seems like such a small amount of oil for such a large responsibility.

And I definitely follow the manual. Though I use Castrol Power RS V-Twin synthetic 20W-50 instead of HD oil.


@Mr_Taipan
A liter and a quart are literally only 5/100ths difference so I assume the bike can't tell the difference.

 

The bike will definitely know that he was using metric units. I don't expect Mr. Taipan's bike to last more than another few thousand miles.