I know the neutral rattle issue has been beaten to death as being normal, but what about a rattle from the transmission cruising at highway speeds in sixth gear and the rattle in neutral? It's loud enough it makes you want to leave it in fifth gear. I'm not lugging it and It's not the engine pinging either. That noise was cured with the air cleaner/exhaust/tuner.

So far I'm on the forth gear oil change in 3700 miles. After the previous owner had the 1K service done by the dealer , I tried Redline Heavy Shockproof which did make the trans shift better but was still noisy. Dealer said to get the Heavy Shockproof out of the trans because they have seen some bearing problems from people using it. I then put whatever the "new-improved" HD gear oil in there. Noise was worse that before. I drained that out and refilled with Redline 75/140 synthetic. Trans shifts great and is much quieter in neutral, but once the oil warms up, the noises return...although not as bad as with the HD oil. It sounds to me like the noise comes from the both sides of the trans.

This bike also has a lot of vibration compared to my last bagger. Some is the engine, the rest feels almost as if the tires are out of balance. Pulling the clutch in and letting the engine idle at freeway speeds only slightly reduces the vibration. Tires look okay. Any thoughts?

I'm going to replace the cams when I get some free time and will check the crank runout at that time. And yes, my first Harley was a shovelhead so I don't think I'm being too picky about how bad this thing vibrates! On a brighter note, this motor has no lifter or valvetrain noise hot or cold. I should probably leave the motor alone.

 

If you have a problem like that only in 6th gear you have a problem with 6th gear, either a bearing problem or an actual gear problem. Maybe a tooth chipped or something. Sounds like a tranny tear down needs to be done.

 

The dealer doesn't seem too concerned about looking at any noise or vibration this bike makes. Maybe they are waiting for the warranty to run out or for the trans to come apart.

 

At what speed do you shift into 6th gear?

 

Take it to another dealer if you think this dealer is blowing you off. Or call Mother Harley to see what they can do. I am surprised that the dealer dont jump on that warranty work, alot of dealers out there replace parts that dont even need it just to recoup the warranty $$$. Good luck man.

 

Definitely take it to another dealer or contact HD. Mine doesn't make a sound in 6th gear.

 

dealer is full of crap, redline is not the problem, it's the shitty bearings HD is using. just like the junk wheel bearings, HD needs to start using quality beraings in these things.

 

Here's the follow up on the noisy transmission:

Called the dealer and was told to bring it in "we'll take a look at it". Showed up at the dealer one week ago on Friday and after being ignored for a good five minutes (I was the only customer there), I was informed, by the not so pleasant service writer, that it probably wouldn't get looked at until the following Tuesday. Great! Guess I really didn't need the bike for the weekend.

Since I hadn't heard anything by late Wednesday, I figured I better call and see what was going on. After ten minutes on hold, and the receptionist paging the service department multiple times, they finally hang up on me.

On Friday, after one week in the shop, I call again and someone answers the phone in service. "What's going on with my bike" I asked. The service advisor claimed she "called me last Saturday" about my bike. I knew this was bull$hit......it's called Caller ID......no one from the dealership called me on either of my phones. Nothing was wrong with my bike and it was ready to go.

I go to pick up my bike and she tells me I needed to wait and talk to the shop foreman. So after waiting another fifteen minutes she finally drags the shop foreman over to tell me the noise in neutral, sixth gear and the whining from primary when cold is all normal and to just ride it. After a few minutes of him blowing smoke about how this trans will be noisy no matter what was replaced, it was getting pretty deep, so I informed him that I did wrench for 30+ years and I wasn't a complete idiot. I gave up and left.

Bottom line: the trans is noisy, too bad, HD is not going to fix it under warranty or service contract. If I don't get totally disgusted and trade it in, I'll take it apart this winter to see what's wrong with it....unless it comes apart before then.....hopefully not out on road in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thats BS, try another dealer. Sounds to me like they dont want the warranty work. You got the ESP right? On the other hand, its new, ride the **** out of it and TRY to break it, lmao.