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You are right the exhaust fitting. My guess is it cracked because of the vibration. I've been out of town and have not looked at the bike in a while. I hope to give it a full check up this weekend. I really do appreciate everyone’s suggestions. There sure are a lot more things to check than I first thought there would be. It is so fantastic that people are willing to share their bike troubles and fixes.
I got my bike yesterday from the dealer. The vibration is still there. However, I am narrowing it down. While riding it home I noticed that the vibration goes away while the clutch is in and the engine is at idle. Once I give it a little throttle the vibration is very noticeable. So I am in the process of checking all components attached to the engine. If I figure it out I will make a reply. I will check each of the items listed in the above posts.
We just had an '03 Road King in the shop. Customer stated it was vibrating worse and worse, had it to the dealership for a week and was told "thats normal". He was getting ready to pull out in traffic after getting gas and the motor "locked up". We picked it up and tore the motor apart and founds the crank was .060 out. It vibrated so much that all the bolts were loose on the cam plate (two were backed right out against the cover, see pictures) and only one oil pump bolt was more than finger tight. The bearing on the right side had fractured the shoulder holding the rollers in (see picture) This guy rides very easy, most of the time two up with his wife, and 20,000 miles on the bike.
We just had an '03 Road King in the shop. Customer stated it was vibrating worse and worse, had it to the dealership for a week and was told "thats normal". He was getting ready to pull out in traffic after getting gas and the motor "locked up". We picked it up and tore the motor apart and founds the crank was .060 out. It vibrated so much that all the bolts were loose on the cam plate (two were backed right out against the cover, see pictures) and only one oil pump bolt was more than finger tight. The bearing on the right side had fractured the shoulder holding the rollers in (see picture) This guy rides very easy, most of the time two up with his wife, and 20,000 miles on the bike.
holy crap! WTF! I know if I don't geta proper response from some ashat dealer, I will go straight to an indy pronto....did this guy sour on harley?I wouldn't blame him if he did
It seems that e lot of harley dealers do not want to deal with "older stuff", try to getwork done on Evo's. We see the same thing happening with the 88"ers around here. Basically it's wouldn't you like a nice new one! Now before I go too far there are a lot of dealers out there that aren't that way, but I have found more that would rather sell you a new bike, motor, tranny or what ever then diagnose and repair yours. All the diagnostic equipment, dynos etc. are only as good as the person working it. It seems that we are in a disposable soceity, if it breaks buy a new one. That might be ok for a coffe pot, but a $20-30,000 motorcycle is another thing all together. In answer to your question he no longer does any buisness with them. I think that Harley realizes that a lot of their service departments are weak, that is why they push the extended warranty.
BONUS QUESTION What was the first mass produced product that was disposable????
I have taken most everyone’s advice and did most of the checking myself. The vibration is still there. I've now taken it to another dealer. They believe it is the spark coil. Of course the solution they recommend is to install a race tuner. This will not be covered under the warrantee. They are going to replace the spark coil and check wiring first. There is a good possibility I'll have it remapped.
The flywheel bearing and crankshaft were out of tolerance. Harley is replacing the parts and I should have the bike soon. Although I can't ride for several more week (broken Wrist). I hope this fixes the vibration.
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