A buddy has a 2007 Electra Glide Ultra with 47k miles ... not every time, but once in a while when he starts it, there is a clunk before it turns over and starts ... once started there are no unusual sounds while idling, riding, speeding up or slowing down ... the clunk is not heard every time he starts the bike, just once in a while.

I am thinking compensator either loose or going bad ... how wrong am I? What should we check?

 

yup.......betting on the comp.......mine has about same miles....same sound.......just replaced it with a Baker unit.......haven't even started it up yet with all the other things i'm doing...
open it up and check wear on the comp...

 

Every once in a while my Baker comp gives a bang at start. It doesn’t seem to do it, if I start it in neutral. Doesn’t seem to be a big deal. Sure is a lot better than the SE one that sounded like rocks in a pot.

 

The bike sat for a few weeks, on a tender, and it made the clunk when starting it cold ... no sound on restart after the bike was warm. I showed him how to change the fluids and he did find a small metal shaving on the primary drain plug ... the shaving could be picked up with a magnet. He's had the bike just over a year and wants to learn so I'm doing what I can to help.

Sounds like we need to open the primary and see what is going on.

 

My 07 FXD did that, got in to it and had a missing tooth on the starting gear, my Indy put new clutch and starter and starter gear in, about 1000 miles later, Comp went. I am betting Comp.

 

I am on my 4th comp, current is a Baker at 95000 miles...now with ACR on the new motor and the starter or comp noise is completely gone...my inner primary bearing was shot also around 50k

 

 

When mine was bad, it sounded like the starter bendix was completely shot. BUT, it only made that sound when it was hot. I would have bet my life that it was the starter, and it turned out to be the compensator.

 

As they should.

You should panic and worry about yours failing.

 

Could be the battery. Seriously.