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Well this isn't pretty, traveling on the Parkway, shifted from 5th to 6th and lost all power. It was like I was in neutral. Got the bike off the road and onto the shoulder, no forward gears at all so I had to push it off the parkway (no trailers allowed on the parkway) and then trailer it home.
Got it home and pulled the primary cover to find the ramp for the primary was broken in three places. They say this is not normal on a stock engine but surfing the web I've come across quite a few. There seems to be many aftermarket compensators on the market as well because of this.
But I did order the stock piece again because it seems either too involved or really expensive to change to something different. I would love to get the aftermarket ramp but this is already costing $450 and I just don't have another $350 for it.
The repair is pretty straight forward but I do have a question, do you think I should replace the chain tensioner?(see pic)
And needless to say I'm pretty disappointed that my 2020, 114 M8 with only 12k miles on it needs this in the first place.
This is why I replaced this **** as soon as possible.
CycleRama one for 360$ from FuelMoto.
Sorry to hear about the bike man, right in the middle of summer too.
I hope you can get back on the road soon and it's not too costly to repair.
Thanks, I'll have the parts tomorrow. Less than a week without it. I do all my own wrenching so no labor but the parts alone are adding up to over $450. That's why I would love to but cant go for the upgraded ramp at this time. Maybe next fluid change.
@Monteman1971 that is not a cheap fix. If someone had a dealer install a new one....$$$ x2 for sure.
Bike still under factory warranty? wondering what the local Dealer would have to say about that broken part.
It's four months out of warranty. I called the dealer and sent pics and they claimed there was nothing they can do for me. He did say he was glad I was fixing it myself because it's an easy $1000 repair.
Once I have it all back together and all my receipts in hand, I'm going to contact Harley Customer Service directly and see what they'll do for me.
Thanks, I'll have the parts tomorrow. Less than a week without it. I do all my own wrenching so no labor but the parts alone are adding up to over $450. That's why I would love to but cant go for the upgraded ramp at this time. Maybe next fluid change.
Steve
I wouldnt trust an OE one, and wont ever again.
I'd find the place to sacrifice or reservation to get an aftermarket ramp in there asap.
BTW Steve(Monte), I would highly recommend you DO NOT put that primary back together until you've pulled EVERYTHING off and you check the stator, clutch assembly, and literally anything that's inside of that primary case. I would pull both the inner and outer primary housings off, and clean every last thing in there and make sure there's not a speck of stray metal.
There's chunks missing from that compensator ramp. If it were me, none of that goes back together until the whole damn thing is cleaned out and cleared.
I'd even consider taking the opportunity to replace the clutch pack too.
If you don't clean out everything, you're looking at possibly having metal chunks shred **** in there, and having to do a primary repair all over again.
This **** is exactly why I have a "shove it up your ***" attitude towards people who tell me "you shouldn't replace perfectly good parts that didn't break" when it comes to the comp ramp.
360$ could save me 10s of hours of aggravating work, and hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
I simply wouldn't be putting that primary back together with an OEM ramp and a deep clean.
When I did my comp ramp swap, I got a new compensator bolt, cleaned it and put brand new fresh red Loctite on it, and a new thrust washer. Just to make sure everything was new and done right.
For me it's one of those "Do it Right or Do it Again" situations.
And I can't afford to do it again.
BTW Steve(Monte), I would highly recommend you DO NOT put that primary back together until you've pulled EVERYTHING off and you check the stator, clutch assembly, and literally anything that's inside of that primary case. I would pull both the inner and outer primary housings off, and clean every last thing in there and make sure there's not a speck of stray metal.
There's chunks missing from that compensator ramp. If it were me, none of that goes back together until the whole damn thing is cleaned out and cleared.
I'd even consider taking the opportunity to replace the clutch pack too.
If you don't clean out everything, you're looking at possibly having metal chunks shred **** in there, and having to do a primary repair all over again.
This **** is exactly why I have a "shove it up your ***" attitude towards people who tell me "you shouldn't replace perfectly good parts that didn't break" when it comes to the comp ramp.
360$ could save me 10s of hours of aggravating work, and hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
I simply wouldn't be putting that primary back together with an OEM ramp and a deep clean.
When I did my comp ramp swap, I got a new compensator bolt, cleaned it and put brand new fresh red Loctite on it, and a new thrust washer. Just to make sure everything was new and done right.
For me it's one of those "Do it Right or Do it Again" situations.
And I can't afford to do it again.
I'm on it, had everything apart to clean out all the metal and the new compensator comes with a new bolt. Can't afford the aftermarket ramp at this time but I'll get it with in the next two fluid changes (I change all fluids annually).
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Broken Compensator Ramp
