Compensator maintenance
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 152
Likes: 11
From: NW Ohio
It was going to be a trade in. As soft as the motorcycle market is here I don't really want to try and sell it
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
Beary
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,525
Likes: 6,406
From: Honah Lee
In my opinion, if your diagnosis determine it was bad, you took it apart and saw what was bad and replaced it yourself, then you ought to know. Usually, its the fingers making the noise and it truely hurts nothing. It sure is not going to leave you setting on the side of the road. So if you did all what I have said, then, there is no coolaid. If you listened to the service guy and paid them to do it, I think the coolaid was pretty sweet.
I spent the last 30 years of my career around hundreds of NC Machines that used Belville spring packs to retain tooling powered my high horsepower drives. Rarely did we ever have spring breakage. Those cup springs can only go flat, so they are never stretched beyond the steels elastic limit.
Now if the quality of them is China poor, then maybe you have a point. I personally have only see a couple springs on here broken and in this case was a older model with the welded setup and somehow someone ripped it apart.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Oct 7, 2019 at 02:32 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,525
Likes: 6,406
From: Honah Lee
By 2004 (for sure) Harley had gone to precision part lengths to speed assembly lines. Those spacers mentioned above do not space sprocket off back side coming out from engine. The nut on the front does not stop on them either. The comp spacers and only on the SE comp with them add some pre-load to the Belville springs.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,141
Likes: 11,210
From: San Diego, CA
I'm no expert....
The shims/spacers I posted about in post #11 are for noisy comps. They put more preload on the springs, to stop some of the noise of a "sloppy" comp. I don't believe it affects the sprocket alignment, but rather wear on ramps, springs...
I suspect the shims/spacers are a band-aide for worn comps to delay the cost of a new compensator....
Last edited by hattitude; Oct 7, 2019 at 09:00 PM.
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
Only since you ask my opinion will I relate my opinion and thought. If you put enough miles on it and flog the crap out of it, then I guess yours needed it.
In my opinion, if your diagnosis determine it was bad, you took it apart and saw what was bad and replaced it yourself, then you ought to know. Usually, its the fingers making the noise and it truely hurts nothing. It sure is not going to leave you setting on the side of the road. So if you did all what I have said, then, there is no coolaid. If you listened to the service guy and paid them to do it, I think the coolaid was pretty sweet.
I spent the last 30 years of my career around hundreds of NC Machines that used Belville spring packs to retain tooling powered my high horsepower drives. Rarely did we ever have spring breakage. Those cup springs can only go flat, so they are never stretched beyond the steels elastic limit.
Now if the quality of them is China poor, then maybe you have a point. I personally have only see a couple springs on here broken and in this case was a older model with the welded setup and somehow someone ripped it apart.
In my opinion, if your diagnosis determine it was bad, you took it apart and saw what was bad and replaced it yourself, then you ought to know. Usually, its the fingers making the noise and it truely hurts nothing. It sure is not going to leave you setting on the side of the road. So if you did all what I have said, then, there is no coolaid. If you listened to the service guy and paid them to do it, I think the coolaid was pretty sweet.
I spent the last 30 years of my career around hundreds of NC Machines that used Belville spring packs to retain tooling powered my high horsepower drives. Rarely did we ever have spring breakage. Those cup springs can only go flat, so they are never stretched beyond the steels elastic limit.
Now if the quality of them is China poor, then maybe you have a point. I personally have only see a couple springs on here broken and in this case was a older model with the welded setup and somehow someone ripped it apart.
Beary
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 692
Likes: 63
From: Ontario, Canada
There is another thread about noisy comps. The consensus is babying the bikes seemed to cause noisey comps, not the ones ridden hard. I ride mine like I stole it and the original comp was replaced at over 40 000.. It wasn't even noisy, I had it apart for a clutch and noticed a lot of wear on the ramps so I replaced it at the same time. I have 20 000 trouble free miles on the new one. Lugging the motor is hard on them.