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Hi, last week nearing the end of a ride approx 60 miles I noticed both my hands were numb! Bars were high frequency vibrating and strange sound from left side of engine? Any ideas or has anyone had similar problem? Sound wasn't knocking... rather a high pitching sound almost like a super charger??? Road was smooth also....
The sounds, and the way you described them, I find troubling. It could be something simple, but a strange sound, left side of engine, sounds like a supercharger.. Those symptoms would be enough for me to check out the primary.
I'd drain the primary fluid, checking the drained oil for debris and volume. I'd be inspecting the magnetic drain plug for metal shavings, and then remove the cover. Under the cover I would inspect the comp, chain adjustment, chain tensioner, and visual on clutch.
Originally Posted by rheboi
Noise and vibrations also evident when stationary...
Does it vary with rpm? Does it change when you pull in the clutch? If the sound varies when pulling in the clutch, I would suspect the inner primary bearing... but that shouldn't make your hands go numb on the bars??
Originally Posted by rheboi
Good questions btsom.. bike was serviced around 400 kilometers ago, oil is at full mark and clear with nothing remarkable to see... has cam chain tensioner replaced as well... rocker lockers were also installed as I was hearing a tapping sound after about 10 minutes riding... still do so that wasn't fixed lol... never had vibes through handlebars sufficient to numb hands till now...
Who serviced the bike?
How many miles on the bike?
Cam tensioners replaced on a 2010..? At low mileage that would be unusual.
Why was the cam chest opened and the cam tensioners examined?
Why were they replaced after being inspected? (wear, cracks, broken)
Did they do a crank runout test when the cam chest was open? I wonder how much wear there was to the oil pump (gerotors)?
FWIW..Rocker lockers are a good product, but they only address a specific, albeit common, problem. Your noise obviously wasn't caused by the rocker shafts tapping the mounting bolts.
This is a puzzler...
You have received a lot of good ideas to check for vibration to the handlebars.
But if the sounds and vibrations are in fact coming from the left side of the engine (WP50 gave you some good hints on how to precisely locate the noise), that makes me want to inspect the primary. If your bike is lower mileage, and needed tensioners, while not unheard of, that could suggest bigger problems (excessive crank runout ).
I'd like to talk to whoever did the service & cam tensioner replacement, to see what they checked and how everything looked....
Follow through on the suggestions the others have offered, but keep digging and report back what you find...
Last edited by hattitude; Mar 22, 2025 at 08:48 AM.
Local Harley shop... after approx 3 months of ownership I noticed a 'sound' that bike hadn't made before... tapping sound that happened after about 10 min from cold start.
Because of our stupid privacy laws (apparently) they couldn't or wouldn't say what or if anything had been done to bike... so I asked them to check cam and tensioner to make sure it was OK...
Report was tensioner was 50% worn so I asked them to install a new one purely for my piece of mind...
The noise persists but no obvious cause...
On Friday I'll get the derby cover off and inspect....
Local Harley shop... after approx 3 months of ownership I noticed a 'sound' that bike hadn't made before... tapping sound that happened after about 10 min from cold start.
Because of our stupid privacy laws (apparently) they couldn't or wouldn't say what or if anything had been done to bike... so I asked them to check cam and tensioner to make sure it was OK...
Report was tensioner was 50% worn so I asked them to install a new one purely for my piece of mind...
The noise persists but no obvious cause...
On Friday I'll get the derby cover off and inspect....
If you only take off the derby cover, you won't be able to inpsect the compensator, auto tensioiner, and see if the clutch basket has been wobbling and scraping into the inner primary cover (signs of a worn IPB)
I suggest taking off the outer primary cover. Consult a factory service manual for the torque specs and torque sequence (removal & reassembly) for both Derby & primary covers. Both cover's gaskets can be reused if not damaged during disassembly.
It takes like 5 screws, Derby Cover and 13 screws, Primary cover. Depending on how old (time and/or mileage) of the primary fluid you can reuse it, but it's only like a Qt.
Once both the Derby cover & Primary cover are removed, you will be able to inspect the all primary components...
Good luck and keep us posted...
Last edited by hattitude; Mar 26, 2025 at 01:29 PM.
Rheboi, your 2010 Roadking has a rollerchain on camshaft with hydralic tensioners. Once outer links of the chain groove in, rollers roll. Wear stops.
The dealership should have mentioned that. Now your bike is 15 years old and they probably were brittle from hot oil depending on how many miles are on bike.
Can you duplicate the sound now with bike running on the stand or in gear with clutch in?
If so, a helper and you with a two ear mechanic's stethoscope can a least pinpoint where issue is.
If you only take off the derby cover, you won't be able to inpsect the compensator, auto tensioiner, and see if the clutch basket has been wobbling and scraping into the inner primary cover (signs of a worn IPB)
I suggest taking off the outer primary cover. Consult a factory service manual for the torque specs and torque sequence (removal & reassembly) for both Derby & primary covers. Both cover's gaskets can be reused if not damaged during disassembly.
It takes like 5 screws, Derby Cover and 13 screws, Primary cover. Depending on how old (time and/or mileage) of the primary fluid you can reuse it, but it's only like a Qt.
Once both the Derby cover & Primary cover are removed, you will be able to inspect the all primary components...
Good luck and keep us posted...
Finally got bike to mechanic... apparently the clutch bearing was providing the 'music' plus the compensator was not in good shape either... apparently a lot of metal in primary oil ... getting new bearing installed plus swapping compensator for Dark Horse Man o War... getting new lifters plus cam bearings... should be back couple of days depending how long to find compensator...
Finally got bike to mechanic... apparently the clutch bearing was providing the 'music' plus the compensator was not in good shape either... apparently a lot of metal in primary oil ... getting new bearing installed plus swapping compensator for Dark Horse Man o War... getting new lifters plus cam bearings... should be back couple of days depending how long to find compensator...
won't be getting dark horse after all... way to expensive to bring in from anywhere... looks like screaming eagle compensator....
won't be getting dark horse after all... way to expensive to bring in from anywhere... looks like screaming eagle compensator....
Hopefully, he will be getting you the #40100061 Screamin' Eagle Big Twin Compensator.
It is the retro fit comp for your year bike, that is the same as the one introduced with the Rushmore bikes in 2014. It is much less problematic than it predecessors (2006 - 2013).
It requires installing a the new style rotor, but that rotor comes with the comp above. It will cost you more in labor than other choices, but it gives you the newer, better spring pack that is independent of the rotor.
If your mechanic thinks the clutch bearing is the main issue, it can be caused by the auto primary chain tensioner making the primary chain too tight.
The same year HD introduced the new compensator that turned out to be very problematic, they also introduced a new auto primary chain tensioner that also proved to be very problematic until a better version was introduced around mid 2010.
If he hasn't mentioned it already, have your mechanic check to see if you have the #39929-06B or #39929-06C tensioner. If so, and it is in good shape, you have one of the good ones. The #39929-06 and #39929-06A versions were problematic and would often overtightened the primary chain. If you have other than an "-06B" or "-06C" tensioner, IMHO, it would be worth adding the replacement version, currently "-06C", to avoid a recurrence of a clutch bearing issue.
I hope this information helps...
Good luck with the repair.
Last edited by hattitude; Apr 29, 2025 at 09:07 PM.
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