Automatic primary chain tensioner noise? They can be noisier than the old style. Slight wear marks on the inner case also common from chain bounce.

 

I have that same noise on my 09 Ultra. When I roll on the throttle from a coast I hear a snap,clunk noise and it sounds like it's slack in the rear end, I've got a 5K maintenance coming up soon and I'm going to bring that to their attention. I also have a 'rattling' noise around the primary area. I may change to Mobil 1 90-140 to see if that quietens that. Other than that I've had no problems. I rode 700 miles to Daytona last week and 700 back in the left lane at 80 (77 gps) all day and it ran like a champ. My 08 seemed to run quieter???

 

It does it one my 07 roadking,Its the compensator spring bottoming out on the primary.When ever you ask a harley tech about a f'ed up noise on your new expensive bike they have this quizzical look on their face like you are the first guy ever to ask such a question.Just ignore it,wont hurt a thing.I rode my new 07 home 40 miles then called dealer directly about pinging,clattering,running red hot.Its normal they say

 

Forgot to mention,I love this bike,have dealt with all the "issues" such as heat management,whining trans,clattering etc.Its a great bike,ride it every chance I get.Sittin in the hospital ICU out of state right now,my oldest son got stabbed twice in the back at a Halloween party this afternoon.Issues with the bike seem pretty minor at times like these

 

My 07 started making a light knocking sound in the primary when the engine was cold and would go away after the engine warmed up. I figured it was the compensator banging around. I finally took the primary cover off to see whats up in there. Everything was tight and looked good, i noticed the chain had 5/8 play which is getting close to the max amount of slack allowed according to the specs for the adjustable tensioners. I grabbed the chain and started flopping it and there was the knocking sound, I then noticed that the autotensioner was working up and down the ramp, the chain had just enough slack to allow this movement in the tensioner, it is trying to move up the ramp and tighten up the chain, while at this point it has enough gap between the ramp and teeth to chatter when the chain flops. Once it gets over the hump to the next tooth up it will be tighter and quiet down but will go through the whole process again as long as the chain continues to stretch. This is why most people are complaining about knocking in the primary after putting a few thousand miles on the bike, most like me started noticing the sound at 7000 miles more or less. It also explains why the sound goes away after the bike has fully warmed up, the heat causes everything to expand taking some of the slack out of the chain. I put a heavier fluid in my primary and it reduced the sound.

 

Darn, I hate to hear about these kinda things, I sure hope everything turns out OK.

 

Prayers to you and your family. May he recover well and quickly.

 

I had a similiar experience on my 2007 FLHTC and my mechanic suggested I try Sunoco 94 or Shell Premium. I did and it went away.

 

I also have a noise from the clutch. I am told by techs that it is the compensator ramp and that it is normal. And yes, they looked at me like they never heard the story before, and said they could not duplicate the noise. Well, I could. I have had many hd's and never had anything like this before
my 2008 ultra. I don't consider it normal. It can't be good. something is banging metal on metal internally causing wear with pieces of who knows what flyin' around. So far no satisfaction. I again, am told it is normal...