Thicker fluid will quiet the noises and bangs but don't fix the problem. I am a dealer for Baker Drivetrain and have spoke with them in great detail about these problems.( I must say I am suprised thst no one mentioned the major power dip... feels as if you are going up hill and lagging) Anyway without draggin this out too much it all lies in how HD. cut their gears. Baker is offering a fix for this. Check out thier website and look for the "F6F" (factory six fix") I think this might help you guys understand whats going on. Good luck Happy riding!

 

http://www.bakerdrivetrain.com/dialu...oducts/F6F.htm

A few questions come to mind.

1) How much and which way does the speed senser change output of the speed signal. Would it be possible to run lower gearing, (smaller trans pulley) andno speed sensor adaptor?

2) If a person only has the "can of marbles sound"can you buy it without the 5th gears?

3) Up hill laggin? (I've heardthat the 6 speed is limiting power on the big bore bikes???)

4) Price (discount?) for HD Forum Members ?

 

Like most others I figured the aftermarket would eventually come up with a fix. But to tell the truth Iwould havea hard time justifying what it is probably going to cost to buy and install the Baker fix justto solve what appears to be a noise only problem, when you have just paid around $18,000 to $20,000 for a new bike. On mine using the heavier gear lube and installingslip onshas made the noise pretty muchgo away (okay it may be only masking the noise, but if I don't hear it what the hell). Think I will just run the hell out of the bike for the remainder of the warranty and see what happens.

 

I was told by the dealer not to change out the syn3 to something heavier if you have put more than 1000 miles on the bike with it. Any truth to that?

 

Edelmon
Are you saying 1. not to put heavier oil in until you have 1000 miles on the bike, or
2. don't put the heavier oil in if you have over 1000 Miles? The second doesn't make too much sense to me.

 

I changed to 75w90 in the tranny and Castrol GTX 20w50 in the primary at 1k. The 85w140 went in last week at about 4k as an experiment. I've made three long rides since then and can say the noises are mostly gone. There remains some noise in 5th, but none of the annoying clattering I experienced before in 5th and 6th. I also notice very smooth shifting and I never have trouble finding neutral. These observations may be partly a matter of parts breaking in, however.

 

They said "once you put over 1000 miles on the engine with Syn, you shouldn't change it to another type oil". I have heard this before with high mileage car engines, but this is neither high mileage (6500 miles) nor a car.....

TE

 

For me the problem is the noise, and if the fluid quietens the noise then it is a fix. There is no evidence that a functional problem exists in the HD 6-speed, so the fluid is not hiding a flaw that may cause a failure down the road.

 

First, the next time you talk to this person, ask him/her to provide details as to why you shouldn't change from Syn3 to a "something heavier" after 1k miles. I can think of no rational answer to this question, but I'm eager to learn if I've missed something.

My next thought is, if Syn3 is 20w50, why would you want to increase the viscosity above that level? That is the proper viscosity for HD engines, and unless you're riding in temperatures below about 40° there is no need to change from that recommendation.

 

If someone had a problem with the 6 speed , why the hell would they buy your fix ? It is under warranty of 2 years , makes no sense.