When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Recently noticed a chattering noise that sounds like it is coming from the top end. Only happens when its cold. A mile down the road and its gone. Have checked lifters and rocker boxes with stethoscope and all sounds normal. If it wasn't something new I would forget about it. Any ideas?
Recently noticed a chattering noise that sounds like it is coming from the top end. Only happens when its cold. A mile down the road and its gone. Have checked lifters and rocker boxes with stethoscope and all sounds normal. If it wasn't something new I would forget about it. Any ideas?
My RGS was quiet at first but did develop a little clatter after I had accumulated some miles. If the noise doesn't intensify with time, I'll venture to say it's normal, especially if it's gone when warmed up.
Possible sticky lifter. Push rods could conceivably transmit noise to upper end. Hard to locate sources sometimes as noises resonate through engine components.
I have started the bike cold and listened to the lifters with a stethoscope. They all sound the same.
Would that condition have the push rod smacking the rockers ?
Yo Marty do we have compression reliefs in these things for start up?
After the noise has gone away have you stopped then restarted the bike and listened for that noise again?
Last edited by badcooky; Sep 20, 2018 at 08:44 PM.
Would that condition have the push rod smacking the rockers ?
Yo Marty do we have compression reliefs in these things for start up?
After the noise has gone away have you stopped then restarted the bike and listened for that noise again?
These bikes do have auto compression releases. Its hard to describe a noise. Its more of a chatter than a tick. I would describe lifter noise as a tick. It is only present when cold. I am 66 and getting hard of hearing. That doesn't help as I often get confused about the direction of any noise.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.