OK, I searched the forums and there are a lot of links on compensator noise. Here's my history....maybe someone has more info.

The bike - '08 Road Glide, 96 ci, stock engine. I descibe the noise like a "clacking chicken". It occurs once the bike has warmed up and under load at the friction point. People actually turn their heads when I start to pull away from a gas pump to see what the sound is.

I had it back to the shop about four times. They misinterpreted the description between the service writer and the tech and tightened the neck bearing the first time (HA-HA! ). Then I let the tech listen to it and they retorqued the compensator nut. Then they replaced the compensator nut and some clutch/sprocket parts (of couse it's loose and causes wear). At about 13K miles HD actually replaced the motor (apparent crank problem?). I could hear it slightly right after the engine replacement. So...I figured It'd just ride it like a big dog until parts fly off. At 19K miles the noise is back pretty consistently.

Doesn't make noise on the hwy or during shifts, etc. just noticable at idle or a little above and at the friction point. A friend bought a '09 Road Glide and he recently had his compensator nut replaced. Apparently, it not particular to model year. I got lots of warranty left.

 

I had a similiar noise on my 08 dresser bought in sep 08, an early one. I had that noise for almost 2 years until i got a hd tech to hear and acknowledge it. A call to hd confirmed that some of the clutch plates were soaked in the wrong oil or not oiled at all, not sure, but it seems the friction plates stick to the steel plates and chatter in the clutch basket grooves. They changed the friction plates and i havent had the noise since. you might want to ask.

 

hope you see this.....

 

Can you isolate the source of the noise. Use a broom stick (without the broom on it). Place one end in your ear then touch it around on the engine and it will act a stethescope. It will reveal noises you have never heard before, along with what you are trying isolate.

 

You can also look into putting in the SE Compensator kit.

 

I've always thought the compensator nut connected the handlebars to the seat?

 

I wouldn't mess around if you think it's loose. If it comes off at 80 m.p.h. and your rear wheel locks you'll be wishing you had checked it. I saw a Dyna last year that had a loose compensator actually drive the whole flywheel assembly to the gearcase side. That spring works it like an impact driver. That big pinion shaft bearing came out of it's bore into the gearcase case. Needed a new right side case. That bike had less than 11,000 miles. Wouldn't have happened with Timkens.

 

Actually, if it did unscrew a few turns, you would see it drilling a hole through your primary cover. It would be making so much noise you would naturally shut your bike off. There isn't a hole lot of room between the head of the nut and the primary cover and there is at least one inch of thread for it to untwist from before it came loose completely to slam around in your primary case. On top of all that, the counter clockwise turn of the crank would cause the nut to want to retighten itself when it got to rubbing to hard against the primary cover.

 

Oldman - Send Duracell a PM he has a 08 SG and has had his bike in the shop 2 times (under warrenty) in the last 2 months for exactly what your stating. I think he ended doing what dawg suggested and it's fine now.

 

That was my choice when I started hearing noise from the front of my 2010 primary with less than 1000 miles on the clock. Here's a post I made elsewhere summing it up:
*********************************
This Year's MoCo snafu?

Not quite, this one's been lurking for a few years.

After putting a couple hundred miles on the new 2010 barge I started hearing an intermittent tapping noise coming from the front of the primary at and just above idle. After a coupla hundred thousand miles on Twin Cams I knew it wasn't just another noise. I'd been reading about compensator sprocket issues on '07 & up bikes and paying special attention to folks that have installed the Screaming Eagle Big Twin Compensator, Part # 40274-08 on Pg 496 of the 2010 P&A Catalog. The listing for this part sez:

D. SCREAMIN' EAGLE BIG TWIN COMPENSATOR

"This premium compensator has been engineered with heavier springs and increased travel to support the high-torque output associated with high compression race and large displacement engines. Designed to support up to 7 times the energy absorption capacity of the Original Equipment compensator, this unit helps protect the engine and driveline components."

The prevailing wisdom on numerous technical forums is that the SE compensator isn't 7 times stronger than OEM, the OEM compensator is actually a 7 times weaker piece of junk than it should be. Once again our friends at the MoFoMoCo appear to be trying to shave the fat off production costs and getting deep into the meat. They did it with the lower ends some years ago by going with cast vs forged components, they did it with the cams going to "assembled" cams that have shown instances of lobe twisting, they did it
changing metal components to plastic from one end of the bike to the other..... it appears they've decided they only need to manufacture a motorcycle with parts that last until the warranty expires. :::shrug::::: Then again, who didn't already know that?

My selling dealer's Service Manager didn't seem overly impressed with my primary tapping, just kinda shrugged and said he didn't know what it was but didn't think it was anything to worry about. The tech that did the 1k (actually a fluid change because he didn't do anything else on the 1k checklist) thought it might just be the automatic adjuster making adjusting-type noises.

I already knew this shop was sub-standard, I had a less than satisfactory experience with 'em before. I can buy bikes right there and that's where the relationship ends. Only reason I let 'em do the 1k is cuz it was free. The cheap bastich in me was seduced by free fluids and a filter.

The dealer equidistant in the opposite direction has a superb shop and great Parts Dept, I just can't seem to see eye to eye with the Sales Manager although I've been trying to buy a bike there for over 10 years. So I buy where I can do it right and on occasion I need service or parts I take it to the shop that does good work and treats me right without ever trying to give me a snow job. Kinda hate to stick them with warranty work since the MoCo craps all over the dealers with their "book" reimbursements... but they handle me cheerfully and I've never had to take anything back a second time.

So I take the sled to the good dealer... the lady Service Manager rides an FXR and knows her way around motorcycles. No mere "Service Writers" here. She gets one of the old-timers out of the back and goes out to give a listen. They both hear the same thing and almost simultaneously say "that's gotta come apart!" I sez "I'm betting on the compensator" although it's pretty tough to pinpoint where noises are coming from with so many moving parts flying around. Tech sez he's heard it before, some of the compensators have been coming out-of-tolerance and the MoCo fix is to shim it with an additional washer. I sez if it IS the compensator I'd want to stick the SE replacement in there. Tech sez that'd be an excellent move... the OEM part is a piece of crap. I already kinda figured that.

So I drop the barge off today. Tech Services authorizes a pull-apart for a look-see. SM gives me a call and sez the compensator is way out of spec and is wobbling all over the place. They figured they'd give me a call before trying to get the authorization from Tech Services for a fix. I tell 'em that a band-aid-fix shim isn't gonna cut it with me. Tell the warranty drones that I want a new compensator and I'll pay the difference in upgrading to the SE job.

Good news, Tech authorizes an OEM replacement compensator sprocket assembly.
Bad news, the SE upgrade is in short supply because everyone with problems is puttin' 'em in. They're back-ordered without even an expect-shipment date. The resourceful Service Manager found 2 of 'em in all of Ohio and Pennsylvania and a dealer that'd part with one and it's getting shipped overnight.

The other wrinkle is there's more installation ramifications to the SE compensator than the OEM part. For the SE upgrade the inner primary has to come off as it takes a different stator cover. And unbelieveably, there isn't enough clearance from the front of the inner primary case to remove the rotor without pulling the inner primary! I'd seen this on the tech forums.... most guys were clearancing the front of the case with a grinder. Kinda tough to expect a MoCo-authorized tech to resort to grinding on things I s'pose.

Bottom line is the SE compensator is about a $130 upgrade. The additional labor over and above what the OEM replacement would be takes it up to around 200 bucks. So I basically get a warranty repair on a 1400 mile, 3 week old barge to replace a piece-of-junk component that never should've been in there in the first place for $200 out of pocket. Since I'm not changing pipes n breathers and adding doo-dads I guess this is my version of the Harley Tax. :::shrug:::: In my mind there's no sense in taking a freebie replacement of a substandard part to leave it in there lurking. Small price for some piece of mind, I s'pose.

For them that's wondering about what's in the left side of their sled, these weak-assed compensators have an -06 part number and went in '06 Dynas and all '07 & up big twins. If you've had no problems, good for you. If you experience some unusual noise coming from the primary I'd recommend getting the POS outta there and sticking in the SE job. I've seen some reports of catastrophic failures where the compensator came totally unglued and trashed the entire primary and clutch pack. YMMV.
****************************************

TL