I'm an old hot rod guy. Been wrenching on drag race cars, everything from air cooled VWs to 500 inch mopars for more than 40 years. The Harleys, although I've followed with some interest in previous years, I didn't get one of my own till about four years ago.

So, the compensator, although I understand the concept, is still a bit of a mystery.

My Deluxe is a pleasure ride, and just a cruiser. I don't ride with my hair on fire like some do. Still, it makes a bit of compensator noise sometimes. It seems to be quieter if I run the gears out a little more, and noisier on short shifts when just putting around. The primary oil has been clean, so I've learned to not worry too much about it. "The Nature of the Beast" I reckon.

So the question...
Is there an advantage to any of the high performance compensators such as SE or Baker that would be of benefit? While I've seen some trouble posts on both, I'd imagine that compared to the overall numbers of units in use, the percentages may be fairly low.

 

I don't know if I would call either of them "high performance" and I don't have any experience with the Baker unit, but the "advantage", if you want to call it that, with the SE in my case, no more chain slapping sounds, clunking, and hard starts/kickbacks. The overall vibrations (the annoying kind) in the bike have been drastically reduced. When I removed the old one, it looked ok but had signs of wear and the springs looked gummed up and nasty.

 

You don't mention the mileage but the compensator in your bike should not have any issues.. Comps in early TCs are pretty stout.. I've worn them out at about 50 K with a high compression motor tho.. I replace with the one from Drag as it's cheaper the OEM. Only other comp that I know of for early TCs is the BDL and I wouldn't run it..

 

You comp (07-09) is toast.. Belleville spring should not be up like it is.. You are likely to a the cover split a part. Also the splines on for the sliding cam are trashed (arrow)..

 

To OP,
If you suspect an issue pull the comp off and inspect.. Common failure for early comps are Belleville spring broken..

 

Thanks Max
The bike is an '06 Deluxe with a shade under 60K miles. This was something I was going to look at this coming winter. I like to gather parts for projects ahead of time before I dive in.

Without getting into it, I don't really know if it's an issue or not. It makes a little noise and that might just be the way it is. But I gotta say, it is one of the goofiest contraptions I've ever seen to couple a motor to a trans.

My goal here is to see if there is an improvement to be made over the OEM pieces

 

It would b nice to have a crystal ball that identifies all the parts you need to replace.. I wish there was one.. It would surely help to have all the parts needed on hand.. I hate boxing things up..

Not sure if there is anything wrong with yours. Loose primary chain? The early TC comp has been around since the early EVO days (84/85) and has worked pretty well all the way up until they stopped using it in 2006.. They are not as smooth as the later ones but they sure as heck last a bit longer.. Failures for them are rare.

There really wasn't any demand to replace them until the 6 speed comps came out. Those are the ones that didn't last especially if the motor was pumped up some. I'm on my 4th comp on my 07 EGC. They were lasting about 25 to 30K, I've got 80K on it now and suspect that the latest version will do better. Still it knocks a bit on cold starts.

The early ones still do a fairly good job of damping the drive train pulses.. I've got an 02 RKC that has 72000 on it and it still seems to be working fine. Primary came apart at about 50K to replace the rear pulley and it looked fine then.. It's been a high compression 95 since about 20K.. They do work pretty well as I've owned 2 evos without compensators (belt drive primaries) and you could/can really feel the power pulses on those motors when rolling the throttle on..

It's definitely worth taking a look if you have other upgrades planned.. Make sure the comp nut is tight.. Check the chain, crank run-out, look at the comp. With luck all you need is some gaskets..

 

Thanks again Max. You're probably right that there's nothing wrong with it. These bikes just make noises that aren't there in other things. I've spent my life listening for out of the ordinary sounds out of my drag car, and it has saved me from worse failures on many occasions.

Plenty of downtime during the winter, so I'll take you're advice and hold off buying anything and just have myself a look-see first, and proceed from there.

I appreciate the advice!

 

Check your primary chain tension. A loose primary can contribute to a jerky ride at lower rpm'. By the nature of its design, the comp will rattle at lower rpm' too. I keep my twin cam wound up a liitle and try to avoid low rpm/lugging; easier on the comp and a little smother ride.

 

Thanks for the advice. I did check it through the inspection port a little while back, and it seemed pretty snug then. The ride isn't jerky (yet). But the rattle you describe is the same as what my experience has been. And yeah, it is noticeably less "rattley" when I wind it out a bit more.

Much appreciated!