I'll have to keep the Sumax in mind myself, sure beats the DIY route or paying the indy.

 

Well, I ordered the Sumax today and they've already shipped via priority mail. I should have them in a few days. I'll let you know how it turns out.

By the way. How does one diagnose a failing compensator? The dealer mentioned it as a possibility yesterday, but I'm not going to start changing parts and hoping. I found a YouTube video of a guy with a bad one that knocked when the engine was running. On my bike though, the primary is quiet when running, hot or cold. Any other way to check it?

 

Noise in the forward primary, a lot of threads on failing compensators.
Start with this one.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...mpensater.html

 

Thanks!

 

PitBul, What I installed was the Sumax 22007 2 guage with one 10" and one 12" cable. It says '89 to present for Softail. I'd have to pull my seat off to measure the diameter, and I'm planning to hit the hay in a little bit but, I didn't have any trouble at all mounting these to my scoot. Of course mine is a carbureted 2003. If their is any under the seat difference on yours, I wouldn't know.

If I were guessing, I'd say they probably measure about 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter.
If you have doubts, I wouldn't hesitate to call or email Sumax. I'd be surprised if you run into any trouble.

 

Thanks for getting back. I called them this morning and the guy measured one. It's just under a half inch. He said no one has ever told them they had an installation problem, so I ordered a set (22007 2g). Should have them in a a few days. I'll measure them again and post the results. Looking forward to a faster crank, I hope...

 

Primary question - are you getting a random kickback when starting once in a while? Mine is starting to go. I had it off recently to replace my stator, which went belly up (50k). Neither replacing the stator or the compensator are a big deal if you are a medium skill mechanic. Much easier than the cam chest for example. Hardest part is the torque spec for mine was about 150 # if my memory is working. No big deal, longer pipe over my t wrench. Trick for stator, do a search, DO grind the little tab off instead of pulling the inner primary. It's a non functional little piece of casting...saves HUGE dollars and EFFORT!
I think they do the job well, when they work right...I DO NOT LIKE the idea on the updated one about gluing a piece of plastic to metal thats been bathed in oil for 7 years...what happens if the glue fails and the plastic piece gets caught up in the primary chain or something similar...

 

Yes, I do get the random kick back. Its more of a lug on a compression stroke though, and thats usually when it it loses it mind and belches through the carb and occasionally cause the starter to grind. I have looked into the procedure and I don't like the glue and splash guard either.

The thing is, except for the normal whurr of the chain, my primary is quite. No knocking, clunking or the like..

 

Just an FYI. I was looking at my manual on the starter trying to find out what size the positive cable mounting stud hex nut was on the starter. The one underneath the cable lug, not the hold down nut. And I got to looking at the starter spec's. Whether you want to believe it or not, it says max starter current draw is 200 amps! That's way higher than I would have ever expected. Those big Sumax cables are rated at 180 amp, so the dinky little 6g OEM cables have to be much lower. It also makes me wonder what the cold crank amp rating is on the OEM battery.

Edit: Found the battery info. The OEM battery is rated at 315 cold cranking amps..

Oh, the manual said nothing about the hex nut size, so if anyone happens to know the size, please post it..

 

Oh...lug on the compression stroke, yup, I got that also...NLOL. I'm planning on changing it this winter so I dont get stuck on a trip.
Now to decide on which new and improved (I hope...) unit to buy...oem, baker, ???? I'll do more research before I pull the trigger on it.

ps I'm going to update my battery cables also this winter. Eight year old stock ones...