Might be a collapsed lifter (not pumping up like it should). A bottomed out lifter that won't pump up makes a pretty loud clatter. It still sounds like a lifter ticking noise (in pitch and tone), but much louder than 'normal' lifter chatter.

If the compensator sprocket was loose enough to make a 'loud' noise, it would have enough play to be easily detectable, and the nut would most likely be visibly loose.

[quote=nathanw;8509665]Spoke w/ a mechanic friend ( not motorcycles) he was thinking that being cranked over and hard on the gas for an "extended" period may have caused the dry sump to not have oil supplied to it??
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This 'dry sumping' he is referring to is is a term that refers to an engine with an oil pan (sump) below the crankcase that doesn't have enough oil in it to meet the demand. Harley motors are dry sump engines so this term does not apply.

How many miles do you have on your bike? If it's more than 25k, have you inspected (or had someone inspect) the rear cam chain tensioner (unless yours is new enough to have the hydraulic tensioners). When the tensioner shoe wears thin, pieces can break off and block oil passages. If this happens it causes major damage.

Running less oil does not do anything to "prevent sumping issues". If you have sumping issues (oil seeping into the motor from sitting for a long period of time), it might APPEAR to be a bit low in the dipstick because of the amount of oil in the sump, but if you run it for a while the oil will pump back up to the reservoir and the level should be correct on the dipstick. You should always run it enough to get all of the oil out of the sump before you dump it for an oil change. If done correctly (including changing the filter), it should hold just short of 3 quarts (after draining the old oil) without being over-full.

If the nut isn't visibly loose, I don't think there would be a 'loud' noise. That issue starts with some extra vibration on the left side and a little bit of noise when there's no load on it.

Are you talking about shaving .030 off the collar of the nut itself? Doesn't the spacer come in different thicknesses to solve that issue?

 

Could be but the OP swears the noise is coming from the primary side.

Agree. Compensator was the first and easiest source to check. Now that the OP has elimnated the compensator, we need to move on to other possible sources.

IIRC, the OPs bike is an '09 model with hydraulic tensioner and roller chains; highly unlikely that a worn tensioner is the problem. Just no history of failures with the setup.

IIRC, the OPs bike is a Dyna; no oil tank above the crankcase so oil cannot drain into the crank case in sufficient volume to be a problem. There are other causes of sumping though that can result in too much oil in the crankcase causing sluggihs performance and over heating but that's a discussion for another post; not the OPs problem.

Agree but the OP still needs to get a torque wrench on the nut and check it.

There used to be three different thickness spacers that would accomplish the same thing. Shaving .030" off the end of the nut was the way to address loose compensator issues before the shims were available.

 

Doesn't take any money to pull the rocker covers and take a look at the rocker arms and support. Remove the spark plugs, put the trans in 5th gear and rotate the motor looking for anything unusual up top.

Pull the pushrod tubes and push rods; check for a bent pushrod.

Pull the lifters and check the rollers and check the pushrod cups for anything unusual.

Pull the cam plate and check chains, cam bearings, etc.

 

If a lifter is not pumping up, the slack can cause noise all through the valve train. You can get a chatter inside the rocker box where the rocker meets the valve stem (on the primary side of the rocker box). I agree that it should also be making SOME noise on the other side if a lifter is the problem though.

 

Any motor noise can be difficult to locate but if a lifter had collapsed, use the srewdriver to the ear method or a cheap automotive stethoscope and there will be no doubt where the noise is coming from. The OP needs to start tearing down to see what he can see; won't cost any thing except some of his spare time.

 

I might consider it if I can come up with the money for a service manual. Winter will be here soon, so it might give me something to do.

 

any luck?