Fatboy noise sorry newbie here
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,718
Likes: 11
From: Punta Gorda,FL
If you put a loud exhaust on the bike, the other noises will go away. I have had a very loud exhaust on mine , since I bought it 2 years ago. Next week I'm going to put a slightly quieter exhaust on. I'm sure I will be concerned about all the mechanical noises that I never heard before.
Tom
Tom
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 4
Mine makes both noises. If someone asks, I just say 'what's it supposed to sound like' with a smile. It's fine with me since it's a Harley and their not supposed to be soft and nice like the metrics. And I think someone else posted awhile back about something called a compensator causing some of the noise. I might be mistaken, though. Do a search through the forum archives, there were a lot of posts on this topic.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,257
Likes: 6
From: Leander Texas
I changed the motor oil to Amsol and the trans to Bel-ray gear saver and no more chunk or noise or wine and the engine is quieter and cooler.
http://www.belray.com/consumer/product.fsp?pid=13637
http://www.belray.com/consumer/product.fsp?pid=13637
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 271
Likes: 13
From: OKC
The design of the bike, e.g. with the transmission and primary drive not being integeral to the engine case, causes a lot of general noises to be heard on a HD that might not be so loud on a metric.
The starter, for example, sits on top of the transmission essentially out in the open air, so you can hear the starter solenoid and gear kicking into the ring gear on the clutch hub. There is the noise of the engagement gear hitting the ring gear, plus the rebound echo coming from the clutch hub/primary and the top of the transmission. A second part is that that starter is turning over two huge pistons in a fairly tight V configuration instead of the relaxed V the other metric v-twins uses, or multi-cylinder arrangements uses, thus you hear, along with the hard "thunk" of the starter kicking in, the initial reluctance of the big motor to turn over and the electrical hit as the starter takes on the full amperage load. Most of the other v-twins don't have to overcome such a large inertia lag and so they don't make quite the noise, or the noise is masked by the engine casing.
On the shifting, keep in mind that once again the transmission is exposed outside of the engine case. They are hooked together by an aluminum primary case, which resonates noise during gear engagement, as well as a large chain between the two hubs which must shift to take up any minor slack as the gear is engaged. If your clutch or primary chain are in any way slightly out of adjustment, you may hear a louder "clunk" sound as the gear engages than others. If you are worried about it, have them check both at the dealership when you do your first service.
Finally, the other's reference to using synthetic oil in the engine, primary, and trans is correct... it will make things work better.
And on a basic level, just go listen to another newer HD when they start and/or shift. After several, you should have a good idea if yours is normal or abby-normal.
Regards,
The starter, for example, sits on top of the transmission essentially out in the open air, so you can hear the starter solenoid and gear kicking into the ring gear on the clutch hub. There is the noise of the engagement gear hitting the ring gear, plus the rebound echo coming from the clutch hub/primary and the top of the transmission. A second part is that that starter is turning over two huge pistons in a fairly tight V configuration instead of the relaxed V the other metric v-twins uses, or multi-cylinder arrangements uses, thus you hear, along with the hard "thunk" of the starter kicking in, the initial reluctance of the big motor to turn over and the electrical hit as the starter takes on the full amperage load. Most of the other v-twins don't have to overcome such a large inertia lag and so they don't make quite the noise, or the noise is masked by the engine casing.
On the shifting, keep in mind that once again the transmission is exposed outside of the engine case. They are hooked together by an aluminum primary case, which resonates noise during gear engagement, as well as a large chain between the two hubs which must shift to take up any minor slack as the gear is engaged. If your clutch or primary chain are in any way slightly out of adjustment, you may hear a louder "clunk" sound as the gear engages than others. If you are worried about it, have them check both at the dealership when you do your first service.
Finally, the other's reference to using synthetic oil in the engine, primary, and trans is correct... it will make things work better.
And on a basic level, just go listen to another newer HD when they start and/or shift. After several, you should have a good idea if yours is normal or abby-normal.
Regards,
Road Captain
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 519
Likes: 4
From: USA
Part of the awesome character of a HD. My RK is really clunky when shifting, the NT is quite a bit better, either way I totally dig the noises these bikes make. As said earlier, it is personality and mystique. When I bought the RK in 06, I had the same concerns, took it into the dealer and talked to an old timer about the noises, he said, " Son, that is the ticking of the clock". I havent thought about it since.
Tourer
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 291
Likes: 3
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A loud crack on startup and a solid clunk into first.Mine does it, my buddies Ultra does it and just about every other one I looked at when I thought mine was extrordinary does it. Totally normal for these bikes which are nowhere near as "slick" as the imports. You will learn to love it.
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Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
The design of the bike, e.g. with the transmission and primary drive not being integeral to the engine case, causes a lot of general noises to be heard on a HD that might not be so loud on a metric.
The starter, for example, sits on top of the transmission essentially out in the open air, so you can hear the starter solenoid and gear kicking into the ring gear on the clutch hub. There is the noise of the engagement gear hitting the ring gear, plus the rebound echo coming from the clutch hub/primary and the top of the transmission. A second part is that that starter is turning over two huge pistons in a fairly tight V configuration instead of the relaxed V the other metric v-twins uses, or multi-cylinder arrangements uses, thus you hear, along with the hard "thunk" of the starter kicking in, the initial reluctance of the big motor to turn over and the electrical hit as the starter takes on the full amperage load. Most of the other v-twins don't have to overcome such a large inertia lag and so they don't make quite the noise, or the noise is masked by the engine casing.
On the shifting, keep in mind that once again the transmission is exposed outside of the engine case. They are hooked together by an aluminum primary case, which resonates noise during gear engagement, as well as a large chain between the two hubs which must shift to take up any minor slack as the gear is engaged. If your clutch or primary chain are in any way slightly out of adjustment, you may hear a louder "clunk" sound as the gear engages than others. If you are worried about it, have them check both at the dealership when you do your first service.
Finally, the other's reference to using synthetic oil in the engine, primary, and trans is correct... it will make things work better.
And on a basic level, just go listen to another newer HD when they start and/or shift. After several, you should have a good idea if yours is normal or abby-normal.
Regards,
The starter, for example, sits on top of the transmission essentially out in the open air, so you can hear the starter solenoid and gear kicking into the ring gear on the clutch hub. There is the noise of the engagement gear hitting the ring gear, plus the rebound echo coming from the clutch hub/primary and the top of the transmission. A second part is that that starter is turning over two huge pistons in a fairly tight V configuration instead of the relaxed V the other metric v-twins uses, or multi-cylinder arrangements uses, thus you hear, along with the hard "thunk" of the starter kicking in, the initial reluctance of the big motor to turn over and the electrical hit as the starter takes on the full amperage load. Most of the other v-twins don't have to overcome such a large inertia lag and so they don't make quite the noise, or the noise is masked by the engine casing.
On the shifting, keep in mind that once again the transmission is exposed outside of the engine case. They are hooked together by an aluminum primary case, which resonates noise during gear engagement, as well as a large chain between the two hubs which must shift to take up any minor slack as the gear is engaged. If your clutch or primary chain are in any way slightly out of adjustment, you may hear a louder "clunk" sound as the gear engages than others. If you are worried about it, have them check both at the dealership when you do your first service.
Finally, the other's reference to using synthetic oil in the engine, primary, and trans is correct... it will make things work better.
And on a basic level, just go listen to another newer HD when they start and/or shift. After several, you should have a good idea if yours is normal or abby-normal.
Regards,
Thread Starter
|
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Part of the awesome character of a HD. My RK is really clunky when shifting, the NT is quite a bit better, either way I totally dig the noises these bikes make. As said earlier, it is personality and mystique. When I bought the RK in 06, I had the same concerns, took it into the dealer and talked to an old timer about the noises, he said, " Son, that is the ticking of the clock". I havent thought about it since.