Did the solid sprocket put more vibration into the ride? I've also heard that it creates a ticking noise while in neutral. What has your experience been like?

 

Actually... that is something the factory has suggested doing for years now on noisy comps...

It will just be a stop gap measure on some comps but the $4 shim is a lot cheaper than a new comp... on others it has worked for many miles and many years...

You measure the spring stack height, if it is out of tolerance on the loose side, within reason,, you can shim it to pre-load the spring.... If it is too loose, it needs to be replaced...

 

The clutch has absolutely nothing to do with starting the engine.

 

Did a load test on the battery today, it was right on the border between the green and the yellow. I took the bike for a ride today, it started fine when cold and also started fine upon return with a hot engine.
My local dealer is having a fathers day 15% off sale this weekend. I don't know if I should take advantage of the sale since I can save $60 on a new Comp or go with a solid sprocket if the new battery option doesn't work.
Another issue would be if I can get the new battery delivered before the weekend. I usually purchase from High Tech Battery Solutions, $105 for Deka ETX30L.

 

Possible

Weak battery could also prevent the sprags from fully jamming. .

 

The 2010 was the last year of the good solid factory comps, surprised your's had an issue. The SE comps of 2011-12 were the ones that always wore the ramps causing the start up bang. I wanted the latest and greatest so I removed my perfect 2010 comp for the SE style before everyone started having issues with them.

Went through 3 of them in two years before I installed the Baker comp and haven't had an issue on my 2010 since.

 

I'll have to respectfully disagree....

Short story:

The problem with the compensators started in 2006 when Harley went to an "upgraded" compensator from the problem free Shovel/EVO/early twin cam days... they kept trying to redesign/improve them through 2014... each new version was a little better, but they had the most problems from 2006 thru 2011... The SE comps from 2011-2014 were better than previous versions, but not as good as the latest Twin Cam compensator update for the 2014 Rushmore bikes..


The Details:

Harley switched to a new style compensator in 2006, first in the Dyna bikes. It was part #40296-06. It was different from the shovel head/ EVO / early TC 88 compensators. It had many problems. The Shovel head/ EVO / early TC 88 compensators were pretty much trouble-free in comparison.

They upgraded the 2006 compensator by 2007. The part was now #40296-06A. This was first redesign of the problematic compensators. There were many reports of compensator problems and failures with this one too........

They changed the OEM compensator, in 2011. It was now part #83935-09A. This was previously called the Screamin Eagle compensator that was available through the HD parts catalog as an upgrade, prior to 2011. It was much better than its predecessor, but still had reported issues and failures..

They went with an upgraded compensator again, in 2014. It was changed to part #42200064A. It became OEM issue on the '14+ bikes. This is the compensator that uses a deflector, to direct oil into the splines of the compensator. Additionally, this version has a bigger spring pack, that handles several times the power of the previous compensator spring packs. This version has proven to be the most reliable of the compensators since they “upgraded” from the shovel head / EVO / TC 88 style compensator in 2006…

The 2014+ bikes have the defector built-in to the primary cover. If you want to add the newest compensator to an '07-'13 bike, you will need to glue the included deflector into the inside of your OEM primary cover, or buy a '14+ primary cover (at a cost of about $200).

If you want to replace the compensator in an '07-'10 bike, you will also need to replace the rotor, as the older rotors are not compatible with the newer compensators...

They changed the compensator again, in '17, for the M8 engine bikes..... not sure if that was a redesign of the '14, or an entirely new concept & design ...

 

I bought my 2010 in 2009 and have been on this forum since 07 when I had my night train, so I can only speak from what was going on with the 2009-10 bikes.
The 09 and 2010 comps ramps were not wearing, but in 11 when they came out with the new style (SE) everyone was saying how much better they were. So a lot of owners to include myself replaced the perfectly fine 2010 comp for the new ones. And that's when everyone started having the ramps wear on the newer comps, most of the bike that came with them were able to get it warrantied. But for the rest of use we had to pay out of pocket to replace and install.

I'm sure the older ones where hassle free, but these forums were flooded with comp issue posts in 2011-12. I started my own with a bunch of pics from all three that I went through, but that was before the photobucket issue so all the pics are gone.

Putting the 2010 comp back on would have been a pain because it was completely different from the 11 and up comps.

 

I’ve been keeping The battery on the tender. I do not think the battery Is the problem.
ive noticed that it only bangs when really hot.
an example would be filling up at a gas station in the middle of a ride.
it bangs on restart. When the motor is cool everything sounds normal when starting.

 

If you have any version of the compensator with the belleville springs (the cone washers) I doubt what you are hearing is the compensator banging into a stop. Even with inadequate spring preload to prevent rattling at idle, the medium and large springs would be difficult to flatten to the limit because they are quite heavy and stiff, combined with the cam ramps being quite steep by the time the comp has deflected enough to put pressure on the big springs. I agree with others suggesting you are getting the first stages of starter clutch grind. Combine 27,000 miles of wear and a weakening battery and the rollers in the clutch might not be getting enough initial force to lock in place and you are hearing the second try when they do lock. At 4 years your battery is on borrowed time, replace it and the noise may well go away for another 3 to 4 years.

The current comp looks pretty good to me, it has addressed all of the "soft spots" in the previous designs. Harley (or a supplier) just can't get the springs quite right. My recommendation to Harley would be to eliminate the smallest spring and replace it with a shim thick enough to replace the little spring and put adequate preload on the compensator. That would mean that the medium and large springs would be doing all of the work and I don't believe they will get "tired" and loosen up.