So I just picked up my first Harley Davidson 2 weeks ago. Its a 2010 Fatboy in Brilliant Silver and I love it to death. I put over 1000kms on it in the first 6 days. I broke it in as per the owners manual and it was running great up until last week.

I started to notice a minor rattle coming from the top end somewhere near or inside the fuel tank. I dismissed it as normal and kept riding. This week It kept getting more and more obnoxious. It was always present during acceleration and started driving me insane. I read every post about similar noises on this forum (some great advice) but no such luck fixing my rattle. It was not the gas cap btw.

I then took it to the local HD dealer that I bought the bike from. The Service Manager took her for a spin and came back to tell me nothing is wrong thats how a Harley is supposed to sound. I sort of accepted it and went on my way.

Today I was able to reproduce the noise at idle, so I parked the bike got off and started listening to it. The rattle was coming from somewhere near the front of the gas tank. I did some poking around and found out it was the left side of the forks. On the stainless steel wrap around piece behind the headlight there is a small cap. I assume this is removed for bikes with accessories added to run wiring through. This cap had some moisture sit and start to rust causing it to work slightly lose.

I cleaned up some of the minor oxidation and pushed the pins outward to allow for a more snug fit. I also put some clear DAP caulk in there to keep it sealed up. I took it out for a ride and the rattle is gone.

Im really happy I did my own investigation rather then assuming the dealer was right.

 

Good catch. I chased a rattle on my 93 for a while until I found it, it was a loose exhaust flange on the rear cyc. Actually, one of the nuts was gone all together. I've also found loose heat shield clamps in the past. Gotta check everywhere!

 

Good find. That's where the toggle switch goes when you have driving lights.

 

Glad you got it fixed. I always try to have someone else around to help me figure out what is rattling. One person revs the bike, the other touches things until the rattle stop. Harley and their "that's normal" BS.

Drew

 

Good find.

I had a buzzing that drove me nuts for months that never did it unless I was moving at mid rpm. Had to add a washer to the left foot board mount to get it to bite a little more.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I figured the least I could do is post about it since, I literally read almost every thread that dealt with odd rattles last night. There is alot of good information here, happy I could add something new.

 

I got the 2010 also. Post some pics of yours. I have a rattle also but still on the hunt for it.

 

I had my fatty rattle about 200 miles in. Turned out to be the retarded license plate holder. Ripped it off for a lay-down one, anyway.

 

Nice catch, thanks for sharing. I'm like you, even a little rattle drives me crazy till I find it.

 

i had the buzz sound and it was the gas cap and also another strange sound and it was the license tag. the air would go between it and the back plate making a wind instrument sound. I still have a tweet sound at 65 or faster. sounds like from the exhaust but i have had 3 exhaust types and still have the same sound