Donny just touched on this and more is to come in next issue.I think he could use a new dial indicator,the sheet metal screw used to follow pinion isnt the most accurate.

 

Have 07 Ultra with 19,300 miles tranny will not quiet down, and I accept this, Dealer just ordered new clutch cable were the cable is crimped
on the end thatgoes into the trans there is a oil leak. also dealer just replaced the Y pipe on the exaust it crack couldn't get harley to admit it
but I think its from the excessive heat. Thease are minor things my biggest concern is rear tire wear I don't pull a trailer, haul alot of weight,
wife can no longer ride, and I'm 61 and don't ride that hard and I'm only getting between 6500 and 7000 miles per tire. anyonelse having tire
wear issues???

 

So what you want is the straight-cut gears throughout, which as I understand it, is the way it ever was prior to the 6-speed cluster?

Well then, put your money where your mouth is and order an IDS retrofit kit.

I wonder if you'd buy mine. I don't think I have any of the problems you mention, but how will I know until you listen to my bike and tell me?

The only thing that keeps me from being completely 100% entirely elated with my '07 RKC is that it wants to go left a little more than I'd prefer. So I'm only 99.82% satisfied. Sure the drivetrain makes noise. It's a drivetrain. There are big pieces of metal moving up and down tubes with discs on the end of stems being pushed open and closed and things are spinning and pressing against other things to make them spin.

 

The first thing that comes to mind in reading your response is why the negative tone. The purpose of the forum as I understand it, is to share ideas and thoughts, and help eachother out. I don't understand why some of you who are happy with your bikes seem to think that we that aren't are being petty. Twenty grand may not be a lot to you, it is to me. I will buy the IDS if HD doesn't step up, but that shouldn't exclude my wishing for something more ethical from them--on a more personal note I'm not sure why it matters to you why I don't foot that bill, and I certainly didn't understand your response on buying my bike...it's certainly not thrown out as an insult to anyone, it's more or less asking a common-sense question of would you put up with this if it were yours, if you were experiencing these things--etc. I appreciate honest feedback, but don't understand the defensive tone of your comments. I'd rather hear about IDS's that worked for people, and what you guys out there having these problems are doing or suggest doing about it. As for what parts move and turn--I appreciate the engineering lesson but thanks to this problem am more aware of the internal workings and causation of it than I ever wanted to be.

 

I'm sorry. Your post (and the tone of it was very similar to some of the other very vocal and negative ones I've waded through over the past month or so that I've been here) must have just been the straw that broke the camel's back.

You don't like that the highest and lowest ratio gear sets are straight cut while the middle three are helical. I'm sorry about that. It's the engineering team's design. You didn't have to buy into it. Why should they change it because you don't like it? Why should the burden be on them to do anything so long as they function reliably? I don't think it's even the problem (the clattering) in and of itself. Maybe they could have done some things differently, like use a higher ratio for the primary along with altered ratios in the gearbox to compensate. But then 6th gear would have been less useful since it merely is a result of the output sprocket being tied directly to the clutch shaft. They would have to have made an actual 6-speed gearbox to do that, instead of a 5-speed with a bypass.

For my tastes it works fine. Yeah, it's a little too bad I can't get much below 2000 rpm in the higher gears because of the way the compensator gets loaded there. So what. I bought a complete package and even if some of the details aren't what I'd have done with it I'll either live with it, change it, or sell the whole package and get something that suits me a little better.

You asked how many of us would buy your bike knowing the condition it's in. How do I know? It might be better in the aspects you're moaning about than mine is. Maybe I'd jump at the chance. Maybe you wouldn't buy mine. It's all a moot point. If you're not satisfied (and you certainly have the right to express yourself nonetheless) with the package then make yourself happy and change it or sell it. It really is that simple. You're not allowed to make demands after the fact; you didn't contract them to build it to your specifications so it's not a failure on their part. If I'd built something with a sound design and offered it for sale and somebody came along making demands or complaining like that I'd turn a deaf ear too.

Do I want to have to put aftermarket exhaust and engine controls on a 20 grand piece of equipment? Hell no! But that's the price I've got to pay to change it if that's important to me. Though that wasn't a design choice on their part so much as a constraint they had to work under. In fact, I think they did an admirable job, considering.

I've not noticed (or at least cared about) any of the stuff regarding the '07 drivetrain on my ride. It's a design I accept (I'm actually glad 5th makes a distinctive noise compared to the others. There's no dash light for it and I don't have a tach. It tells me that's what gear I'm in if I haven't been paying attention along the way). When my rear tire needs replacement I'll more than likely pick up an IDS kit just to see if I like what it does. I'm confident I know what it will do, just don't know if I'd prefer it enough to go through the hassle of pulling the rear tire just for the sake of doing so. If the things you dislike bother you so much I'm sure the IDS will handle the situation admirably. Is it a bandaid? Maybe. Unless/until your driveline takes a crap under warranty (and I doubt it will, or even soon after [let's hope not]) it's a successful design. If you don't want it, get rid of it.

I'd be willing to bet that if somebody had their transmission take a dump a month after the warranty expired, and they hadn't complained up and down in the mean time, it would probably still get fixed for them.

Now I'm rambling...

 

What hes saying is if there is a fix that he will be be first in line.

 

[&:]Nice! Seems to me he could have just said that instead of rambling...but hey thats just me.

 

New here but here's my .02 worth.
Bought new '07 Ultra back in Feb and love it.
Did hear the " rattle" but mostly at low RPM and in in higher gears, had dealer change to synth at 1k service along with D&D slip-ons, Stage I huffer and ECM remap. No more rattle and it toned down the heat as well (RJSOriginal heat deflectors cured rest of heat problem). Yep I got the 5th gear whine so I know when I'm in 5th, it just don't seem to bother me. I learned not to putt so much in higher gears but then again I like going a bit fast anyway, which will probably catch up with me someday but the scoot handles really well for its size and is a blast to ride. Don't get me wrong I like to putt around as much as the next rider but I just do it in lower gears.
Bike has over 7k on it now and no problems, still love it.

 

You don't like that the highest and lowest ratio gear sets are straight cut while the middle three are helical. I'm sorry about that. It's the engineering team's design. You didn't have to buy into it.

Not true. A test drive wasn't an option. I made my decision to buy a new Roadking based on a test ride on an '06. It wasn't like there was some flyer that came out for prospective '07 buyers that said "by the way, we've changed up the way some of the gears are cut on next year's model--and we'd like you to know that you will experience a noticeable noise while in those gears." Sure, I could have/should have test rode it before I signed papers, but it was special ordered and had to be shipped to Oregon where I purchased it--it was from one of the earlier batches they made. So to say I didn't have to buy into it isn't a fair statement. Also, there are enough as you say negative postings in this forum alone that stand alone with or without my add's that if this was by design--it's sure not a good one and the number of disgruntled owners seems to be growing.


Why should they change it because you don't like it?

Because this isn't about one owner not liking it. It's about a lot of people who got something they didn't pay for. It's about the fact that other companies are manufacturing fixes for the problem that HD should do on it's own. It's about stockholders and public image. It's about resale value and most importantly, it's about enjoying your ride and deciding if you'd buy another one. It's about stepping up to a problem that is now well-known and taking accountability for what might be a functional design, butcould cost them some business. It's about customer service.



For my tastes it works fine. Yeah, it's a little too bad I can't get much below 2000 rpm in the higher gears because of the way the compensator gets loaded there. So what. I bought a complete package and even if some of the details aren't what I'd have done with it I'll either live with it, change it, or sell the whole package and get something that suits me a little better.

If that's the approach you feel comfortable taking, then I'm happy for you. Your acceptance of the problem however does not diminish the issue for those of us who don't feel it should be ours to just put up with.


You asked how many of us would buy your bike knowing the condition it's in. How do I know? It might be better in the aspects you're moaning about than mine is. Maybe I'd jump at the chance. Maybe you wouldn't buy mine. It's all a moot point. If you're not satisfied (and you certainly have the right to express yourself nonetheless) with the package then make yourself happy and change it or sell it. It really is that simple. You're not allowed to make demands after the fact; you didn't contract them to build it to your specifications so it's not a failure on their part. If I'd built something with a sound design and offered it for sale and somebody came along making demands or complaining like that I'd turn a deaf ear too.

Do you work for HD?


Do I want to have to put aftermarket exhaust and engine controls on a 20 grand piece of equipment? Hell no! But that's the price I've got to pay to change it if that's important to me. Though that wasn't a design choice on their part so much as a constraint they had to work under. In fact, I think they did an admirable job, considering.

This isn't about aftermarket add's. Your comment on it not being a design choice but a constraint they had to work under is a bit confusing to me and contradicts your earlier points. A design choice shouldn't be equal to a constraint that results in product that is unsatisfactory. Sounds like what you are saying is that they were forced to produce something

 

I bought my '07 RKC without a test drive of anything. Hadn't thrown a leg over a Harley since a ragged Sportster I borrowed for about 20 miles back in the late '70s.

As I understand it, the '06 models had straight-cut gears throughout. Maybe I'm wrong about that but I'm sure it's what I've heard. There would be little difference in sound quality between any gears in the box if that's true. Since we know the straight-cut 1st and 5th whine a little in comparison to the helical others in the 6-speed box it would stand to reason that all 5 whined in the 5-speed. Is that true? Did you notice the 5th in the 6-speed box makes a different noise than the others with it in the box, or was the noise different than any of the 11 sets combined (5 and 6 speed)? Did you even compare 5th between the two?

Man, I really wish you could be grateful that they put quiet gears in the box as much as they did. The whole thing could have been loud.

No, it's still a fair statement. You didn't have to take delivery.

I wonder how many of the growing population would be on the bandwagon if it hadn't been paraded with great fanfare by a select few up and down the street in front of them.

Everyone got exactly what they'd paid for. I'm sorry some now have remorse. I'm glad I don't. Other companies making a replacement doesn't mean the design isn't sound. It just means somebody else, who'd already been making replacements all along, wants to make some money offering a choice to those who are willing to pay for it.

Just keep on vociferously complaining. That's what's going to drive resale value down.

Have you nailed down just what the problem actually is? Is it the compensator? The primary tensioner? Something within the tranny itself? Please enlighten me. The only thing I'm less than spectacularly happy about sure sounds like the compensator to me. It'll rattle and clatter whenever I'm at about 1500 rpm in any gear above 2nd and get on the gas. But my elbow really hurts, too, whenever I try to bend it very far backwards. It's just one of those things I've sort of learned not to do.

So quit jumping up and down yelling from the top of the soapbox, devaluing the bike at every chance, and sell the damn thing.

Negatory

[quote]Your comment on it not being a design choice but a constraint they had to work under is a bit confusing to me and contradicts your earlier points. A design choice shouldn't be equal to a constraint tha