Just bought my first Harley a 2003 Anniversary RKC picked it up in North Carolina from a private owner and rode it back to New Jersey. What a GREAT ride!

On my ride back I experienced something that is concerning. I was cruising back at different speeds anywhere from 65mph to 80 mph. I wanted to see how the bike cruised and handled at those speeds and was very happy with the results. Then about 1/2 way through my trip back I was slowing down to stop at a rest stop and as I let off the throttle a grinding noise or that is what I would describe it as happened. I was traveling at around 75 mph at the time. It happened twice, each time I let off the throttle and then never again for the remainder of the trip. There were no problems with shifting, acceleration before or after this event. So I kind of wrote it off.

When I got home I took the bike out for a ride that weekend and had another scenario not the same by still concerning. I was cruising along stopped at a red light and upon accelerating got to third and the bike seem to be laboring to move forward. I was giving it gas and no acceleration so I slowed down to a crawl got back to first gear and repeated with no issues. Have road the bike a few more times and no issues then either.

Has anyone experienced anything like this. I have road just sport bikes before this and of course they are a different animal. I have never heard of or experienced anything like this on any of my sport bikes and I am not expecting the harley to operate anything like them. They are my only reference point though. So any advice here would be helpful. Should I have down shifted and braked vs letting off the throttle. Are the scenario's described above nothing to worry about? As I mentioned I have rode the bike a few more times and the scenario's described have never repeated.

I would like to take the bike somewhere to have them give it the once over. Perhaps just some adjustments need to be made. If anyone has any recommendations on who to take the bike to in the Southern New Jersey area. I live in the Mullica Hill area of Gloucester county.

Anyway looking forward to your responses.

 

Congrats on the new (to you) bike! And Hello from from S. Jersey. I'm in Vineland. There are 3 good service departments in our area. Camden County HD on Rt 168 of which I have NO experience, but word of mouth says they're alright; Millville HD, where I bought my EG and have had some service done; and Mike's Famous HD just over the Del Memorial bridge. If I need service done and it's not too inconvient, I take my bike to Mike's. Their service department is top notch and I enjoy dealing with them. I've had warranty and non-warranty work done there. I'd have to think REAL hard about buying a bike form Mike's but I won't hesitate to use their service department. This is not to say the Millville HD ISN'T a quality service department either. Dave, the service manager, is a great guy and extremely helpful. This is my "home" shop and they ALWAYS make me feel at home there. They're very patient with me too. I sugest either wholeheartedly.

 

Thanks!

Question: How do you like the stage 1 with the screaming eagle configuration? I was thinking of that for the new bike once I get through what I am currently dealing with.

I am assuming you had the SE work done at Mike's.

 

Actually, I had the SE work done at Millville at the 3,000 mile mark. That was in May I think. Now it's got 19,000 miles and I LOVE the setup. Millville did a great job. The bike runs flawless and I absolutely love the SE Performance pipes. Mike's did the warranty work of replacing the valve guide seals around 16,000 miles. They didn't have to do it either. They could have told us to take it back to Millville as the warranty had been voided. (We had broke down a mile before Mike's on our way back from the Smokey Mountains.) They did the work, did it fast and of course, no bill. They also did an emergency repair on a leaky rear brake caliper (my fault) one evening. In fact, we were on our way to Lancaster County for the weekend (on a SAT.) when we lost the rear brake around Elmer. We pulled into Mike's just before 5pm and was told their service dept closed at 5pm. The guys kept it open and worked on the problem till they got us back on the road a little after 7. That's one of the reasons I like them so much.

 

I would check your primary chain tension for the first problem. Your second problem sounds like you missed shifted which would indicate a booze problem.

 

I have an 05 RKC. The stock brake shoes grind. This might be what you hear. Mine does it as well. If you can't live with it & you do conferm it is the pads, replace with better ones. People who have done this said the grinding has gone away

 

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations! I will post how I make out.

 

Which dealership are you going to use?