M8 metallic noise when opening throttle
 

Hey all,

Hope you can help me shed some light on this mysterious noise I've been hearing... I have a 2019 Ultra with the 114 engine (slightly upgraded), and whenever I'm giving it some throttle I can hear a sharp metallic kind of noise just at the beginning of giving it some throttle. Always happens just once, through all the gears, whenever I'm accelerating either like shifting up and getting back on the throttle or just going at a steady pace in any gear and turning the throttle. I haven't really noticed it before, but today I heard it very distinct as I was getting on the highway and decided to see if I could replicate it. Sure enough, almost every single time I turn the throttle somewhat rapidly she goes "k-tink!" and then nothing more happens. She runs great, I haven't been able to make the noise happen repeatedly under acceleration so I don't think it's got to do with lugging or pinging... If I'm in sixth doing 100, I can replicate the sound just by pulling the throttle maybe half way or even less. It sounds kinda mechanical, one time when I heard it I thought my front wheel had thrown a small pebble up on the engine or something... Anyone got any ideas what this might be?

Cheers

hmm..racking my brain but nothing valuable to recommend..maybe just check all over something loose..and while you're waiting for better responses here's a little humor that hopefully gives a chuckle..it's an oldie but a goldie :icon_beerchug:

Pilots Vs Maintenance Engineers

After every flight, pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet” which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce the problem on the ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: #2 Propeller seeping prop fluid
S: #2 Propeller seepage normal – #1 #3 and #4 propellers lack normal seepage

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to a more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what they’re for

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you’re right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics

I occasionally get the same noise on my '19 Ultra, it's done it since it was new. I believe it is pinging but the knock sensor pulls some timing immediately so you only hear one ping. I may get a tuner some day to adjust the timing but I'm not too worried about since it is an occasional relatively minor ping.

Although...

Thanks for the input! You may be right, I hadn't really considered things like knock sensors since all of my previous harleys have been carburated... New to this modern injection stuff lol.
Thing is though, the bike is supposedly properly tuned up by a reputable shop, it's been on the dyno, it has the dynojet powervision on it and everything... Somehow I feel pinging should be unlikely at this stage... Maybe I need to try higher grade fuel and see if that helps... Although the dealer I bought it from didn't inform me about any special octane requirements...

I dunno, maybe I'm just being paranoid but I feel like one audible tick every time I twist the throttle is something that shouldn't occur... But I dunno, maybe it really is minor and wouldn't even lead to any damage over time? How serious is a ping like this every now and then?

It is pinging. Who did your tune? They all ping a bit.

Järvsö motors, I'm in Sweden so probably not gonna tell you much but they have a pretty good reputation around here so I hope it's not due to any fault of theirs... But allright, even if it is pinging a little bit of pinging is nothing to worry about? They all do it despite being tuned up and even if it happens every time I give her some throttle beyond slow cruising it's normal and nothing to worry about? I'm just worried about hurting something whenever I hear that damn noise...

Pinging is not normal.
I use premium gas like it says in my owners manual, in the US that is 91 or higher octane. How the bike is tuned and riding habits can also contribute to pinging. It's not good.

I'm currently running at minimum 95 octane, some gas stations have 98 maybe need to try that...

I don't know how the octane ratings in US compare to Sweden so cannot comment.

I could be wrong but I think US91 equals Europe 95 and US93=EU98...