I know what a compensators purpose is, but I have never experienced a failure. When a compensator goes bad, what actually happens. Does a part brake (sorry, had to do it) or does it just wear to the point of excessive noise? Does it leave you stranded or can you still ride. Does it affect running at speed or just starting.

 

subscribed. interested in the technical side of this

 

It usually does not break or leave ya stranded. It wears over time. Mostly the ramps wear. That causes less/no spring pressure on the lower ramps = slop and noise. The center bore will also wear, causing vibration. The two combined put strain on the crank, primary and starter. You will hear and feel it before it leaves ya along the road, hopefully...

 

Old Hippie,

That is the way to reply to a post! I asked 3 questions, you gave 3 succinct and knowledgable answers.

No telling me that proper maintenance is important.
No reminding me that my life is not worth a bad compensator.
No suggesting that I put in an aftermarket part.

Just the info I was seeking. Cool!

Thank you.

 

Or sometimes it does this. Dang it was loud when it was beating against the inside of the primary cover. The spring plates will come off center when compression is released and hit the primary cover. When you accelerate, the springs will be drawn back to center.

 

Wow! How long was it banging around before you opened it up and saw that?

 

I saw a stack in the dealer, and some that the spring cup was worn, and chunks of it were missing.

 

pretty good response. i talked to someone after i replaced mine and he said he has never replaced the whole thing just the spring pack. i did see some wear on the sprocket itself.

 

I was out on a ride with some guys when it let go and started banging. I limped it on home about 9 miles. It didn't break the primary cover but it sure chewed it up a lot on the inside.

 

I go inside my cover every 7k miles to inspect the Baker Attitude adjuster for proper tension and where I see the wear is on the lobes (giant spokes) of the inner hub. It's easy enough to take that area apart, when I start seeing and hearing excessive wear, out she will come.
(If you look just above the wrench behind the first sprocket, you'll see wear to the left of the 'Peak' of the sprocket. Looks like a scrape.)


This was some time ago when I removed this adjuster for the Baker. I don't have tangible data to substantiate my findings but, I found replacing the primary oil every 2k useful in prolonging premature compensator wear. I prefer Rotella T6, but it's not as important which brand as long as it gets changed regularly.
Here's a better view of the wear progressing 10k+ miles later. It still looks real good in there.\