I have a 98 road king with a 80ci EFI with 36.000mi.In town cruising when in 3rd or so I here rocker clatter.Is this normal for this engine or is there an adjustment I can make to tighten her up?

 

has anything been done to the engine? ....cams, headwork?

 

What RPM range is this happening? Are you just cruising on flats or pulling up a hill? Lugging it or winding it out?

 

mostly the flats with little hills.running about 2200rpm or so.

 

Sounds like pinging from bogging it down and lugging the engine. What grade of gas do you use? Does it sound like marbles in a can?

 

I'm not sure if the engine has had any work or not.I'm the third owner.

 

I'm using high test only and HD dino oil.I don't think I'm lugging though.I would say I'm running higher than 23 maybe closer to 2500rpm.

 

Sounds more like a sewing machine

 

Most H-D riders dream of being able to say that about their bikes :-)

At certain revs and under certain conditions you will hear the rockers making a noise.....a hotter cam will accentuate this....ride some other people's bikes and make a comparison.

 

A windshield and a helmet makes it much worse. I have a quick detach windshield on my Softail Custom with some small wind deflectors below the windshield. If I take them off every thing quiets down, but then mine is not very noisey to begin with.