first post ticking noise

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Nov 3, 2011 | 11:26 PM

blackbear

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Tourer

Joined: Oct 2010

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first post ticking noise

Hi guys ,this is my first post and I have a question about my '93 wideglide It has around 6,000 original miles on it and I'm getting this light ticking sound when fully warmed up .I hear the ticking only when I'm at a stop idling and it sounds like it coming from the front cylinder .I used a screwdriver as a stethoscope to see if I could locate it within the engine and I couldn't hear anything out of the normal.It runs great other than a little stumble when going 10mph or less in first and the idle rpms seem to increase as it gets warm. any help would be great .thanks

Nov 4, 2011 | 11:30 PM

hatchetman

Road Warrior

Joined: Nov 2008

Posts: 1,595

Likes: 8

From: Vancouver Island British Colombia Canada

Welcome to the forum! Some valve train noise is normal infact some bikes are quite loud!
If your mileage is that low, you should have warranty coverage & you might be getting close to a break in servicing.
If it begins to get worse, Get it to a shop but until than, keep it in the wind!
Hatch.

Nov 5, 2011 | 08:36 AM

big cahuna

Grand HDF Member

Joined: Mar 2007

Posts: 4,920

Likes: 264

From: Deep in the heart of New Jersey

I doubt there's any warranty left on that ride. I cant believe that oil has been changed that much with that low mileage, so there's something to start with. I would stay with regular oil if you want a quieter top end. And run a bottle or two of Seafoam thru the carb. It has to be gummed up from sitting for all those years. I surprised it will start at all with that low mileage. Putting some miles on her, and running a few tanks of gas thru her, to burn off any crud in the fuel tank will help it run better.,,

Nov 5, 2011 | 09:22 AM

gsxrboy96

Road Warrior

Joined: Oct 2009

Posts: 1,251

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sounds to me like the bike is on the verge on blowing up, i really hate to see any fellow harley riders stuck on a ticking time bomb, so with that said, id take it off your hands for a fair amount with those miles!

, seriously tho, most air cooled motors have some sort of valve train noise, when i got off sport bikes and climbed aboard a vtwin, i thought, holy ****, this things gonna blow up....lol, try changing the oil, i use a 50w valvoline race because it still has zinc in it, also, do a little research, those have the bad cam bearings in them, youll want to change that in some down time, as far as the stumble, pull the carb apart, clean the bowl and slow jet and i bet it straightens up. good luck, hope that helps ...chad.

Nov 5, 2011 | 12:15 PM

RidemyEVO

Stellar HDF Member

Joined: Apr 2009

Posts: 3,039

Likes: 11

From: Northern Ontario

The rockers in mine will do a tap dance once in a while. I think all you can do is put some shims in and make sure the rockers seats look ok.

Nov 5, 2011 | 09:35 PM

blackbear

Thread Starter

Tourer

Joined: Oct 2010

Posts: 310

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Thanks for the replys.I changed all the fluids and cleaned the tappet screen when I got it .It had about 5,000 miles now it has around 6,100 since then.I also changed the seals and accelerator pump in the carb at the same time as the fluids. I didn't know the valve train was supposed to be somewhat noisy as this is my first harley.I noticed the carb got hacked up from someone before me cause the used a cuttoff wheel to get at the air/fuel mix screw and cut the boss down pretty good not leaving much room for the screw to be moved out with out it falling out so figure that thing has a date with the scrap pile.I may end up pulling the cam chest apart so I can change out the ina bearing to a torrington and the breather to a steel one. I might as well change out lifters while I'm there cause I've heard they can fail pretty early.So any recomendations on a cam,lifters and a carb.I plan on keeping the crank and cylinders stock and like to keep the power in the low rpm range for better cruising .Thanks

Nov 6, 2011 | 01:55 AM

TwiZted Biker

Club Member

Joined: Mar 2009

Posts: 66,102

Likes: 51,363

From: Niles Canyon Ca.

Welcome to the hood man .

It's an early evo welcome the normal front lifter tic for a stocker . All OEM will do that it's normal . Get under your skin too much the standard fix is a set of Jims or S&S lifters and adjustable pushrods . With those you can tweak them a hair to quiet them down . You get the noise from the cam , lifter and rocker arms design the front is a hair father away and when the motor warms the hair gets a bit larger that's all .