I changed the oil in my primary today, and I found 3 small chips of steel attached to the magnet on the drain plug. Last time I changed my primary.... about 4k ago this spring, there was 1 chip on the magnet which was about the same size as the smallest one in this pic. The chips look to be broken off and are not uniform in shape (not like pieces of a roller from a needle bearing).

I have read where metal shavings are somewhat common on the primary magnet, but I am unsure as to what is an "ok" sized shaving or chip. Are these chips anything to be concerned about, or are these considered normal wear ? The bike is running fine, no noises, no abnormal clunks, etc... if I didn't find the chips, I wouldn't suspect that something may be wrong with the primary.

The bike is a 2010 Ultra Limited, 96ci with 7,000 miles. Formula + is what was in the primary.

Thanks for any help.

 

Probably best to go have a look inside your primary and investigate. I know that a lot of the pre 2014 SE type compensators get chewed up, take a look at the bottom left spoke of my compensator wheel:




I will add that I never had the long metal pieces like yours, just smaller chips and such.

 

Usually these chips are off the ring gear that the starter engages into. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.