Is a visual inspection the only way to know the tensioners are going bad? Will there be any noises associated with these things wearing down? My bike has 33,000 miles on it and just recently developed a noise when the motor is first started that goes away after about ten minutes of running. Harley mechanics blamed it on Amsoil 20/50 and said the lifter(s) is draining down do to the thin oil. Their explanation does not seem right being as I have been running the same oil for 32000 miles without the noise...

 

I'm no expert but it seems to me that if it was the lifters they would be filling up in seconds, not minutes. After changing the oil and filter you can hear lifter noise, then it disappears rather quickly.

 

A visual inspection is the only way to evaluate tensioner wear. While it is possible that the tensioners could be the source of the noise and should be checked, the tensioners are not likely the offender. On the other hand, the lifters are the "C" lifters that replaced the "B" lifter in the 2012 model year. There have been many reports of quality issues with those lifters which are made in Mexico. There have been outright failures, roller issues, etc.; the Amsoil 20/50 is not the issue. Not hearing the noise makes it very difficult to identify the source but noise on cold startup that goes away minutes after starting does indicate that the lifters are slow to pump up. If the lifters are the source of the noise, the only solution is to replace them with an aftermarket set like CompCams VThunder 850-1, the most cost effective solution at $70 to your door or a set of S&S Standards for about $130 IIRC.

Disclaiming again, not being able to hear the noise makes it impossible to identify the source of the noise as there are other potential offenders............

 

Thanks for the input. I agree with you on the lifters. Next weekend we will be tearing the bike apart to find the problem and hopefully it will be obvious once we are in there. In the mean time I have ordered new chain tensioners to be on the safe side
BTW - I was told by a Harley mechanic today that there was a bad batch of cam tensioners out there that would get stuck on occasion when cold, essentially not putting tension on the chain that would cause a "clacking" sound as I described. As the motor heats up the bad tensioner would pop out again applying tension to the chain which would cause the noise to stop. The noise would be the chain slapping against the tensioner... Sounded feasible.

 

I'd place good money to win, on what djl has mentioned if I was a betting man. Probably coming from the f/cyl also?
Scott