330 miles and the engine's already tapping
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
There really may be something wrong with your bike, or there might not be. In the past I spent countless hours and dollars trying to get rid of Harley tapping noises. I dont think it can be done. Some are worse than others. Some a lot worse. If there is something wrong I would bet on it being a lifter. If not, you can spend the time and effort to shim the rockers which is where I believe most of the top end noise comes from. I had a well know engine builder tell me once that if you watched a slow motion film of an HD engine the rocker boxes flex so much you would be amazed that they hold together. Good luck and sorry about your bad experience.
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,800
Likes: 307
From: Houston, Texas
You are going to constantly be hearing noises of one kind or another. Just make sure they don't change or get worse.
If you had the dealer install anything, retorque the fastners. Everything my dealer installed came loose at some point. That might be a source of your noise.
It's under warranty so don't be scared to keep riding it until it breaks or becomes obvious what's wrong. Then the dealer will fix it no questions. And as someone else has already said, you wont be wasting their time and yours.
If you had the dealer install anything, retorque the fastners. Everything my dealer installed came loose at some point. That might be a source of your noise.
It's under warranty so don't be scared to keep riding it until it breaks or becomes obvious what's wrong. Then the dealer will fix it no questions. And as someone else has already said, you wont be wasting their time and yours.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 624
Likes: 2
From: northern Minnesota
noise ???
There are some noises that are normal granted however there are also some that are not normal even if the dealer says they are. I just went through this with my 04 EGC. First I checked with several dealers some said the thrashing was normal while others were so well trained that they could not even hear it. Remember these motors have hudraulic lifters for a reason which is to eliminate valve train noise ! ! ! ! I had this motor apart several times looking, measuring and replacing suspect parts, well to get to the end of the story I finally found the cam bearings in the cam plate bad so I replaced the complete cam and oil pump assembly and the noise is gone. This bike has only 6000 miles on it and it probably would have lasted a long time with the rap in it, but I could not stand riding it knowing that something was wrong. The dealers will not put any effort into solving this sort of issue if you have a rod sticking through the side of the case they might look at that. Also there are a lot of articles publisher regarding normal vs. not normal noises.
G@@D LUCK ! ! ! !
G@@D LUCK ! ! ! !
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
From: Joelton, TN
The bike before the one I have now, was a 1986 Tour Glide with EVO motor. It ticked, banged, made all kinds of crazy noises. But ran awesome
and never let me down. I sold that bike and bought the current bike 1999 Electra Glide and guess what, same thing, ticking like crazy between about 2000-2500 rpm. Tore it down new cam bearings, oil pump, gear drive cams, lifters, pushrods, and rockers. Now have about 500 on the rebuild and its doing it again. So don't worry about it. Just twist the ears
back on her and ride. My dads 1997 Road King with Screamin Eagle jugs, cam, and just about every part of the engine new except for the cases
does the same thing. Its just there nature. I know that is not what you
want to hear with a new bike, but I don't think you have any problems.
At the 25,000 mark I would replace the cam tensioners or go to gear drive
and keep on ridin. Besides, I enjoy turning wrenches on mine. My metric buddies only get to shine on theirs, and after a while, that gets boring
and never let me down. I sold that bike and bought the current bike 1999 Electra Glide and guess what, same thing, ticking like crazy between about 2000-2500 rpm. Tore it down new cam bearings, oil pump, gear drive cams, lifters, pushrods, and rockers. Now have about 500 on the rebuild and its doing it again. So don't worry about it. Just twist the ears
back on her and ride. My dads 1997 Road King with Screamin Eagle jugs, cam, and just about every part of the engine new except for the cases
does the same thing. Its just there nature. I know that is not what you
want to hear with a new bike, but I don't think you have any problems.
At the 25,000 mark I would replace the cam tensioners or go to gear drive
and keep on ridin. Besides, I enjoy turning wrenches on mine. My metric buddies only get to shine on theirs, and after a while, that gets boring
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Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 938
Likes: 0
From: North Central Arkansas
I have an '07 so this may not apply to your bike, but my engine noise quieted dramatically when I got rid of the el cheapo HD synthetic and went to AMS Oil. Same for the tranny when I went to 75/90 Severe Gear.
Something to think about.
Something to think about.
