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I bought a 2012 FLHTK with 12k miles on it last year. I have 15k miles on it now. Sometimes its starts fine and sometimes I hear a loud clattering coming from the primary area. Is this a bad compensator?
What is the best upgraded replacement? If I continue to ride with this will I damage other components? Ill probably take it to a new Indy who comes highly recommended. Any other recommended upgrades while hes in there? Any other pattern failures I should know about on the 2012s?
Ron , I would have the indy inspect the inside of the comp , chain and tensioner . I'm not sure when the new s/e comp was installed on the twin cams , thought it was 12 , but could be wrong . I had the older style comp on my 10 , which was doing what you explained . I put in the s/e comp , so far so good . If you do have the s/e comp , it might only need a shim ( utube s/e shim upgrade ) and re torque , or the tensioner / chain might have gone bad , something the indy will tell check .
Hope this helps a bit , members here with much more knowledge on this subject .
. I'm not sure when the new s/e comp was installed on the twin cams , thought it was 12 , but could be wrong
Late 13s is when the switch was made. Had a coworker that had a 12 his comp failed at the same mileage as the OP. When I bought my late 13 he was telling me to replace the comp now. I had to show him the bulletin that HD put out saying the SE comp was in the late 13s
Are you sure it’s the comp? That’s pretty low miles for the comp. also thought the SE was used in 2011. Is it worse when hot?
mine was making the same “clattter” noise on start up. Replaced my starter clutch and been fine since. Considerably less costly and you can likely do it yourself.
Further research tells me the s/e comp was used in the cvo's in 2011 , all 103" were upgraded with s/e comp , anything before that , 96" all had the older comp .
Ron , if your engine is a 103" , then you'll have the s/e comp .
my 12 does that when the battery isn't strong. I have replaced my battery 2 times since 2017 and each time I replaced the battery i could tell the difference. how old is the battery.
The best of the Comps, since Harley upgraded in 2006/2007, is the one that became OEM in 2014. It requires a "scoop" be added on the outer primary cover. If you have an '06 Dyna or '07 other model HD that needs a comp, I'd upgrade to that one...
In 2010, HD went to the new version of the auto primary tensioner (had another upgrade in 2021). That 39929-06B auto tensioner (and 39929-06C in 2021) are far less problematic than the first version in 2006/2007 that gave the auto tensioner a bad name... I've had no issues with the "B" tensioner on a couple higher HP builds. So I would leave the auto tensioner in place...
Last edited by hattitude; Jun 8, 2022 at 11:23 AM.
Start your bike up, let it run for a bit, then kill it. As soon as you kill it if you hear a fairly loud "clunk" then it's your compensator.
Harley Comps are junk for the most part. Just my opinion. Many many choices out there. I did a complete comp delete. Went with Dark Horse Crank Works motor sprocket. Top notch American Co with top notch lower end ****.
Only thing is you have to check, or have your indy check your crank run out. They recommend less than 0.010 I believe....
I stopped by my Indy. I started it three times. The second time he said it was the starter straining, and the third time it clattered. He said I needed a compensator, and maybe a starter. The kit Hattitude recommended is backordered until at least July, so he ordered the individual parts. He said the only thing he is missing is a little plastic deflector that gets glued to the primary cover, but he was sure he had one "laying around". He has a great reputation, so I told him to go ahead. So I'm without a bike.
This bike has been a money pit. My '03 was a rock, this one has been a pebble in my shoe.
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2012 FLHTK: Bad compensator?
