my 03 fatboy just had a Bellville spring wear through the compensator housing.
(it was a aftermarket item )
clanking noise followed by a broken starter idler gear.
pull the primary cover and inspect

 

Today my friend brought his bike on a trailer so we can work on it.

Got the primary cover off, chain tension shoe loose, using a 3/4" ratchet with 1 1/2" socket. Turning the Primary sprocket nut to line up the tool to hold in it place and the nut just spins loose. Didn't even need a big breaker bar to loosen it.

Got the large nut off an inspected everything. All good except the compensator spring had collapsed due to the slop. The chain tension show showed signs of uneven wear. Figure it was from the flopping due to the loose primary sprocket nut.

Replaced the compensator spring and the chain tension shoe. Used Red Loctite for the Primary sprocket nut, torqued it down.

Installing the cover was a surprise as well. Found that a previous Indy shop that PO used stripped number 1 Allen screw. Had a heli coil that failed, we replaced it as well.

Torqued all the cover screws in sequence. Then we discovered the drain plug was stripped as well. Got it snug and it's not leaking. Hopefully it won't loosen up.

He rode the bike back home and says it sounds and runs better.

All is good.

 

If the comp nut was not trimmed it is very likely to come loose again.