My heritage is noisy in 5th, but its acceptable. 6th it goes away.

 

Whatever you do, don't run syn3 in the tranny (engine either for that matter). That syn3 crap will really make your tranny scream.

Run gear oil. Its made for the transmission.

My tranny has almost 10,000 on it (06 SG), I had harley put syn3 in at 1000 miles and think it was a big mistake.

I now run Mobile1 75W-90 in the tranny, and it is much quieter now. Does whine a little in first gear on the downshift.

DD

 

I have an 2006 FXDI. and I have been very pleased with both the Engine and Transmission. Both are quiet and the power through the transmission is out of this world. I have had quite a few Harleys through the years, and this is the best one yet. I have been pleased with all my Harley's, but do notice a great improvement with each new model. I had my hearing tested, and they said my hearing was ultra sensitive. ( Lower than normal tones, everything in the normal tonal range, and above normal range. Yes I can hear the ground rumble and Navy's ULF transmissions, and Electronics stores the electronics components schreeching. So I can hear! Just remember in the end it is a Motorcycle, not an electric scooter. Even those Whir.

 

I purchased an 06 Dyna earlier this summer and I did notice some trans noise when new, when I read the posts in this thread I thought the noise people were describing on the new 07 Ultra's was greatly exaggerated, that was until I test drove one this evening for a 20 mile ride , the dealer has this 07 with 6600 miles on so it is well broken in and any wear in noise would be long gone, I currently have an 07 on order that I traded my 05 Ultra on. After driving the 07 this evening I'm not sure I want one. the 5th gear trans noise is terrible, you would think even straight cut gears would quiet down under load but the sound you hear reminds me of a kid with playing cards in his bicycle spokes. I thought the bike was gutless, handled very loose compared to my 05(yes it did have a brand new rear tire). The heat off of the engine was ridiculous, I could feel it on my ankles within the 1st mile or so even with the fairing lowers open and 70 degree weather, the pipes were colored from one end to the other under the shields and inside the ends of the mufflers (new commanding exhaust note my ***)it was rusty without even a hint of any burned fuel. Oh and I forgot to mention the whiring siren like sound when downshifting from high speed that sounded like it was coming from the primary and the slight surging at cruise speed much like my Dyna had before SERT tuning. I am actually going to ride my 05 to the dealer again tomorrow to ride them both on the same road to see just how much difference there is. At this point I am seriously thinking about keeping my 05, if they are all like this ,I will not trade down. I know I can make the engine better but I'm not so sure about the trans. Oh, one good thing, It has a better radio than my 05 and you will need it to cover up the trans noise.

 

This whole 07 tranny issues are pure BS.The factory didnt do any long term testing on these things or they rushed the whole thing thru.Eating dipsticks,whining,odd audile noises,poor castings that leak,whats next?The factory is still clueless on the causes.I seriously hope they have to change everyone thus built.The dealerships need to be stacked with models they have already sold.ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.This tranny has made me sorry I bought the bike.

 

There is a duplicate thread under touring models and in case some did not see my reply there, I'm reposting it here. Just hit 1000 on the bike and it is as bad as ever. Finally got a chance to do some real highway riding in 6th gear at speeds of 65-85. My sixth gear sucks royally. Very noisy and a vibaration that leaves ya tired after 30 or 40 miles. I love Harleys but I hate this f(%($) bike. Here is my repost.
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A rep at the MoCo in Milwaukee called me to discuss this problem. They admit the problem exists and I'm NOT talking about the whine in the Tranny. That whine is because 1st and 5th gears are cut gears and interface differently producing the whine. That I can live with. The clatter I can not. They said it is NOT the tranny but they don't know exactly what it is yet. They can produce the noise on any FL model. I asked how and got a laugh, won't tell me because then everyone will do it. The tranny on all 07's are the same including the Softails that don't seem to have the problem. As I understand it they can swap tranny's and the noise stays with the bike not the tranny. At this point I can't disprove their findings so I will believe them until there is some facts to prove them wrong. Hopefully they speak the truth.

I asked what it could be, what is different about the FL's than the others. The oil pan is larger, the exhaust is all new with new routings such as the cross member over the starter, the Softails have the 96B engine with a balanced flywheel (because the engine is not mounted on rubber) and something else I can't remember. None of which seem like they would be the cause, at least not to me. The MoCo has taken everyone off development and placed them on the problem so they consider this critical enough to invest that many resources. I asked for an estimate on when they would have a fix and was told if they knew that then they would know the cause. They said to keep in touch with your dealer because they will be notified as soon as they have a fix.

Keep in mind they are NOT fixing the whine which is inherent to the cut of the gears. They are trying to figure out the clatter. If I hear more I will update this.
Duke

 

Duke -- Hope you're not BSing us and HD isn't BSing you (forgive the suggestion). PLEASE do keep us posted. I have 07 FLHRC just as you describe; at 1900 miles it's getting worse, not better. Dealer is having open house this Saturday and I'm tempted to stand out front with boycott sign. Nah.. Truth is, I like the dealer and believe they're also frustrated. Difference is, I'm out 20K and dealer is driving new 5-series BMW. You know, maybe I will go with the sign.

I'll be watching for your updates. Thanks. If you're ever in NW IL, let's go for a ride. Just drive by in 5th (or 6th), I'll hear the clatter and come join you.

 

Here's my 2 cents worth. I have an 07 UC that has 1200 miles on it after riding back from the GA. H.O.G. rally. From day one the tranny is quite, no noise at all. I had almost cancelled the order on my bike because of all the adverse reactions about the different sounds. sure am glad I got it now.

 

Eveoengine -- I'm jealous. If I look past the clatter, my new Road King is absolutely best bike I've ever owned. Great, great ride. Your 2 cents also sheds light on the "they're all like that" comments. Must have been some bad early ones (?). (And, in case you're nervous, my bike was noisy from day one. It's not like it took a few miles to flare up.) -- Enjoy.

 

Back to the dealer again this morning. HD sent them a notice saying due to the "overwhelming response" update changes will be coming to the 6 speed touring bikes. It seems that it is just the first of the new '07's that are having this problem. I sure was hoping that guMrunner would get one of these, but was told seems to be just the first ones out. I guess since it was a overwhelming response there must be a lot of us that don't know how to ride and lug them. Isn't that right guMrunner?