So Im sure this is a really dumb new guy question and Im sure it's nothing, on my new fatboy lo when I hit 4th gear at 35-40 mph I hear a ticking, but not when Im not in gear should I take it in or could it be the exhaust?

 

My bike ticks a little I dont think much of it... on the other hand 35-40 is low for being in 4th. I dont hit 6th in my bike till about 70 or so. Usually going 45-50+ before I hit 4th. Might try that and see what happens.

 

ditto on the gear selection...

Personally, I'm in 3rd running 35-40 and running somewhere around 2900-3100 RPM depending on slope and road conditions.

I'm not hitting 4th until 45-50mph, and not hitting 5th until about 60 mph. I've only had the bike in 6th twice and both those times were running on the highways at 70+

 

+2 I think your getting into fourth to early, I have never heard any clicking at all in any gear on my 09 Fat Boy

 

I don't hit 4th until 55 or 60 and 5th until 70, but the solution for your tick a set of pipes!

Drew

 

The Dr. is probably right. With stock pipes it's probably your wrist watch . . . you just never noticed it until you were in a real quiet place.

 

 

We're all new guys at one point, hell, ive been posting for a while and i still consider myself a noob when it comes to mechanics... This forum is like the library of congress for HD stuff.

Tons of peeps here with a lot of knowledge and very willing to help!
i dont know what i would do without HDFORUMS.COM!

 

Not to go off topic but here's something interesting with regards to gear selection and mph. I bought my bike about two moths ago. Grew up riding dirts and street enduros but this is my first adult HD. Was reading the dealer manual the other night and ran across the recommended up shift and down shift gear selection and mph. Here's what it said. BTW, my '04 WG is 5-speed.

Up Shift:
1st to 2nd - 15 mph
2nd to 3rd - 25 mph
3rd to 4th - 35 mph
4th to 5th - 45 mph

Down Shift:
5th to 4th - 40 mph
4th to 3rd - 30 mph
3rd to 2nd - 20 mph
2nd to 1st - 10 mph

While the recommended mph to down shift seems okay, the up shift mph for 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd seems way too low. When I ride it's more like 20 mph for 1st to 2nd and 30 mph for 2nd to 3rd. Probably splitting hairs I guess. Maybe they do that for break in or something.

 

That was great! And it's 100% accurate!

But seriously...shift a little later and you'll be happier. You'll get more torque too.