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My '07 FXSTC had the noise in 5th for the first 5K miles and then it started to quieten down as the gears wore in some. I never did change the gear lube. Is it totally gone, no but it no longer bothers me. At least I knew when I was in 5th gear. Why HD can't put a gear indicator on a bike is beyond me. They tell you when you are in 6th but hell that is the last one anyway. daaaaa An old timer like me gets forgetful and can't always remember which gear I'm in. Alzheimers must be just around the corner!!
The 5th gear noise never bothered me. Just a characteristic of HD drivetrain similar to the clunky shifts. I can no longer hear it over my BSS pipes...hmmm.
Maybe I need louder pipes then. I have D&D slip-ons, but my 5th gear sounds like a noisy clanking sound. Sounds like my engine is about to fall out on the concrete.
The noise you hear is normal for a straight cut gear. Sorry, but that is just the mechanics of the matter. Although straight cut gears are noisey, they are stronger than helical cut gears. It only took HD four model years to figure out that customers want a quiet gear box. The noise you hear will not affect the trans life. If you want to quiet it down a bit, fill the trans with a heavier oil. I use Redline Heavyshock Proof in mine and has made a big difference.
Helical gears are stronger than straight cut gears. They are used in heavy industrial applications like steel mills and mining equipment. Ask anyone that designs industrial gear boxes or you can check out Wikipedia.
Originally Posted by oct1949
Quit trying to hear it and it will go away...
Mine is very loud and hard to try to ignore.
I just bought a 2009 FLSTC on 8/31. It was O.K. when I drove it home 20 miles. The next day I shifted from 6th to 5th and the howling was so loud I almost wrecked the bike. The dealer gave me the stronger, better but just a little bit noisier bit. And it would go away as the bike broke in.
Well I am close to 1,000 miles and it is not any quieter. Going to try and get the 1,000 mile service this week and see what they say.
Last edited by Recon Dad; Sep 13, 2009 at 07:19 PM.
I have to agree my 07 fatboy 5th gear sounds like shot ! . sounds like im going 30mph in 5th gear climbing a hill. I'm going to try my 5000 oil change with a friend instead of taking it to HD, figuring they will charge me a leg to change out all of the fluids, I still plan on upgrading to a heaver oil for my transmission to quieten down 5th gear.
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