Compensator Going Bad?

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Dec 19, 2014 | 05:01 PM

magellan

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Compensator Going Bad?

I have a 2012 Streetglide with 32,00 miles on it. It is totally stock. This morning after riding for 20 miles, I stopped for fuel. When I hit the starter button, I heard a loud single "bang" noise that came from the primary. I rode the rest of the day without reoccurrence of the noise. I am wondering if this is the compensator beginning to fail.

Dec 19, 2014 | 05:03 PM

Hogpro

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That is what mine did although it was fine until 19k miles. From that point on it slowly started to do it more and more often until it got the point that I could not deal with it any longer. You might want to look into the 2014 comp with a Compesnaver.

Dec 19, 2014 | 08:39 PM

btsom

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Joined: Jan 2012

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From: Oklahoma

What lube are you guys using in your primaries? I have an 08 Road King and put the "Mark 1" SE comp on it in 09 at 15,000 miles. I now have 70,000 miles and the comp seems fine, smooth starts, smooth operation. I run the same type of oil in the primary that I put in the engine. My son has an '11 Road Glide Ultra with 25,000 and he has always run Mobil 1 V Twin in his engine and primary. His comp still seems in excellent shape also.

Dec 19, 2014 | 09:25 PM

saintdaniel

Cruiser

Joined: Jan 2008

Posts: 173

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From: michigan

the baker compensator is what i am waiting for.

Last edited by saintdaniel; Dec 20, 2014 at 10:27 AM.

Dec 19, 2014 | 11:29 PM

texaswiz

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I think what you are describing is known as "kickback". Nearly every late model touring bike owner I know gets it from time to time. It is most pronounced when you pull in to get fuel and turn the bike off. The piston will always stop on the compression stroke. The bike is hot and during the 5 minutes it takes to gas up there is no leak down on the cylinder. So, when you hit the starter it has to struggle to overcome the built up compression and the result is a horrible knashing sound. It makes you look to see if there is a pile of metal below your engine the first time this happens. If you have a battery that is not quite up to 12.8 volts, that can contribute to the problem because it does not have enough "umph" to spin the engine without incurring the "kickback" sound. It also helps if you have a compression release so you don't have to overcome that initial start up pressure that you get from a hot engine. Some of the newer touring bikes come with compression releases already installed at the factory.