So a week ago, started getting some banging and rattling noise, steel on steel sound, when hitting bumps. It was coming from in front of me, as far as I could tell.
I replaced the front motor mount and it seemed to fix it. It didn't rattle/bang anymore and the old mount looked worn out when comparing it to the new.

Well, a day or two later, the banging came back. I didn't feel it in my feet anymore, but still sounded the same. Several people suggested it might be my forks, which I was dreading. Surely it wasn't the forks unless something real bad was wrong.

So I went outside the other day and just started grabbing stuff and yanking it. Grabbed the forks to check if they were loose but everything seemed fine until I grabbed the gas tank and shook it! It was loose!

It wasn't rattling after replacing the mount because I had a full tank of gas, but it started again after getting low. One crank on the bolt, and all is well again!

Moral of the story, if you got loose rattles, maybe it's the gas tank.

 

Thanks for the info!! Will keep it in mind if I start hearing rattles.

 

It pays to go over the bike now and then to check for "loose" stuff. This is not unique to Harleys!

 

Same issue a while back. Thought it was coming from the forks. Everything seemed tight, even the tank. Sat on the seat and grabbed the front of the tank on each side and it moved up and down. Would only move staight up and down. Bolt was tight, gave it a tweak, no more rattle.
I have seen a few threads with noises when hitting bumps. Most of the fixes have been tightening tank bolts.

 

My motor is rigid mounted so I'm constantly checking and tweaking stuff. No offense, but glad to see I'm not alone.

 

Another thing to check is if the kickstand is hitting the frame because the rubber bumper has moved.

 

Oh, nice. I'll remember that!

 

my shift lever has started rattling at idle but everything is tight. maybe a bushing? after i found the rattle the stress level dropped to zero. i just let it rattle doesnt seem to be hurting anything

 

Dig the green

 

Dig the green