Spent some more time looking at the video in the link. I also road my bike last night and the noise is very consistent with the noise in the video where the rocker arms shafts are hitting the hold down bolts.


I'll pull the covers and take a look at that deal once riding season is over here. I'm not overly fond of relying on Loctite to hold the shafts in place. I'm thinking that drilling tapping and installing hardened set screws would be a better fix for that issue......Cliff

 

Did you read the whole thread.
Check this out.

 

Cool! Look a lot better and easier than installing set screws.....Cliff

 

If your interested you can email forum member Harleycruiser at autonews2@yahoo.com
I just ordered two sets yesterday. It will be interesting to try them out when I get time.

 

I hate to make this an oil thread but I was wondering about your choice, but not the 15. More so the 40 and not that it would cause noise but not offer the protection when hot. I run 15-50 Mobil 1 and I cannot tell any difference in it and the 20-50 SYN1 Harley oil as far as noise.

I like you have the clatter at cruising RPM and more so coming back off 2300 or so in a leaning left turn. I personally think its side clearance in the rocker itself.

That side clearance even when in tolerance is pretty big or the locking slot being a little oversize in the rocker arm shaft itself making a little noise will not hurt anything. Mine has been doing it for 45K +. Someday, when I finally replace my tensioners since I have the old link chain, I will also check the rear cam bearings and to do that will pull the valve covers. Only reason I will go to the trouble to go into mine.

Remember, due to expansion, you only want to lock one end of the rocker shaft. To fix side clearance if it is excess require either replacing the cradle or shimming. Shimming would require taking some material off the end of the rocker arm to enable you to fit a thick enough shim that would not wear thru and come apart.

 

Your aren't going to hurt one of these engines by running Rotella 15W-40 oil in it. That oil is rated for commercial fleet use in HD engines, and I use it in just about everything around here, including my last 3 HD motorcycles with zero issues anyplace.


The CVO Road King engine has BIG cams and strong valve springs, and the noise that it is making sounds EXACTLY what is being described as the rocker shafts hitting the bolts. It happens to be quiet at idle, starts clattering pretty good around 2200rpm's, and quiets up (or happens so quickly it isn't noticed as bad) above 2700rpm's or so. I'd also note that when you shut it down if you listen closely you can hear the shaft beat back and forth on the bolts as the engine comes to a stop.


The noise is worse running and when you shut it down on the front cylinder, not sure why, but I'll get it torn down and take a look, and deal with the rocker shaft movement while I'm in there.


Thanks for all the help........Cliff

 

Mine drives me crazy. I have 590 cams and was blaming them. Now I see what I need to do. Not a fan of senseless noise. Even if it's harmless.

 

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No disrespect intended but your mistaken about the 15-40 in your lrg v-twin that will be nosier eespecially when its somewhat over heated with your oil cooler thats basically useless when you need it most to cool the oil & motor when in stop/go traffic and at slow road speeds where there's little to no air is passing thru the oil making it much less effective.

Will the thinner 15-40 make your motor blow up,absoulutly not,will the 15-40 thin out significantly more then quality 20-50 in same heat & cond leading to more valve noise,yes it can & does,end of story!

An keep this in mind if you decide to try going to proper 20-50 bike oil,quite often syn oil seems to thin a it more then std dino in same high heat cond though we all know syn is designed to take more heat /higher temp long term then std dino can thats still what happens with syn oil in hot hd motor.

I found that to be true with HDsyn3 and m1 20-50 syn bike oil but not near as much when i tried spectro's hvy dty std dino and spectro's hvy dty platinum syn bike oil both in 20w-50 grade that didnt thin as much when hot because the motor held considerably higher oil pressure when hot with those 2 spectro oils then the syn3 & m1- syn 20-50 bike oil did in same heat & cond .

Moving on,HD recs 20-50 bike oil in the motor for good reason because HD knew 15-40 is is too light for the app ACCEPT IN EMERGENCY COND IF YOU CANT FIND ANY PROPER REC 20-50 WHICH IS THE ONLY TIME HD REC'S THAT OIL.

The much lighter 15-40 oil can cause the lifters to bleed down esp in hot cond getting thinned along with the high perf cam that required higher / stiffer spring rates adding to that issue with thinner oil because the 15-40 thins more vs same quality proper 20-50 bike like i rec in same cond and thats likely why lashing lifters a lot tighter then normal helped a bit.

So before wasting time & money on new lifters you may not need get that way too light 15-40 oil out of the motor and get some spectro hvy dty std dino or syn 20-50 bike oil in the motor,could even try spectros std dino 25w-60 as long as you dont run that oil below 50deg f.

Now the valves should be quieter with that oil and if thats the case but when bike gets hot in traffic the valves start to make a bit more noise but not as loud as with prior 15-40 thats showing you where the oil cooler with dual elec fans along with wards cooling would help a lot because it can reduce oil temp 50+ deg in those cond .

But at the very least you'd be shooting yourself in the foot if you didnt 1st try the proper thicker visc 20-50 oil in your bike motor esp the spectro i rec because as i already stated i tested hd's syn3 and m1 20-50 syn bike oils in my bike and found the spectro to hold up better in heat retaining higher oil pressure resulting in considerably less valve noise then when i had the other oils in my bike.

The oil getting overheated in traffic/slow road cond is definately part of the issue with hd's & valvetrain noise along with other issues like the rocker shafts shifting back & forth at certain rpms thats a little diff noise but still an adder to valvetrain too that some bikes have issue with and some dont thats a diff subject for a diff day.

But if some of the valvetrain noise you motor has is from loose rocker shafts then new lifters & proper thicker oil wont quiet that down so keep that in mind.

Heres links to the spectro oils if you decide to try the proper 20w-50 in your motor.

So get cracking and give your HD mtor the proper 20w-50 it needs for best protection etc,you spent a lot of money installing hot cams/ligters /ex etc and then chince out improper for HD thinner cheaper 15w-40,whats the sense in that?

Leave the cheaper thinner viscosity 15w-40 for the diesels & gas fleet trucks its specifically designed & best suited for.

Good luck.

scott

http://performanceoilstore.com/products.asp?cat=65&pg=3

Spectro Heavy Duty Engine Oil 20w50 1-qt
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Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum Full Synthetic 20w50 1-qt
Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum Full Synthetic 20w50 1-qt. Enter quantity of 12 for case discount. Engineered specifically for Harley DavidsonŽ high-performance engines and other high-output V-Twin motors. Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum Full Synthetic provides smoother shifting, reduces friction, offers tremendous lubrication and provides superior protection in extreme heat conditions. A.P.I. SF/SG – CD/CG - 4.
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Product Information

Heavy Duty
Spectro Heavy Duty Engine Oil is a superior motor lubricant designed specifically for use in American-made HarleyŽ V-Twin engines. Crafted from superior petroleum stocks combined with the most advanced anti-wear, anti-carbon additive systems available, Spectro Heavy Duty extends component life, reduces wear, eliminates valve sticking. Meets all known OEM warranty requirements. Exceeds A.P.I. SF/SG – CD/CG - 4.
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Thanks for all the information on oil.


When I bought the bike it had a fresh service from the dealership that was selling it, so I suppose it had Syn3 in it, but could have been conventional HD 20W-50. Noise is about the same as the 15W-40 that's in it now, so I'm suspecting deeper issues and most likely directly related to the big cams and strong springs that are in it.


The oil viscosity isn't making much difference nor it how far I ride the bike or how hot it gets. The valve train noise is pretty consistent and worse in the 2200-2700rpm's range for some reason.


I've ordered the kit to take care of the rocker shafts smacking the hold down bolt deal, and will try that before changing out the lifters. For good measure I'll go with the heavier oil as well. Maybe when it all comes together it woln't sound like "meat grinder" going down the road!......Cliff

 

PS: Finally got around to making a copy of the dyno runs. Whatever is going on with the "meat grinder" valve train noise, it doesn't seem to be effecting engine power......Cliff