My 06 RK Custom now has nearly 7000 miles on it. Its my first Harley so I dont really know what its supposed to sound like, but man, this thing sounds harsh.

There is a ticking in it that makes me think a lifter has bled down and wont fill up. It runs good, starts fine. But the ticking is driving me nuts with nightmares of thing getting worn that will fail just after the warrenty expires.

Should I be worried?

Tim

 

Take it in pronto!

 

Valve train on twin cam 88's are noisey, but letting a dealer listen might be a good idea

 

Did you purchase the bike new? As you stated it's your first HD, so what did you ride before?

Probably not. But get it checked out by the dealer if it'll give ya some peace of mind. Harley V-Twins are notorious for valve noise. I've noticed that some do seem to make a bit more noise than others, but that's about it. Could be possible cam chain noise also.

I've owned my EVO since new in 93. It's probably the quietest it's ever been right now with 48,000 miles on the clock and a recent topend. But it still makes a symphony of noises.

Take it out and ride it like ya stole it.

 

If it's under warranty, why not let the dealer have a look/see?

 

Yeah, I bought it BSN (Brand Spanking New), after going bikeless for nearly 15 years. I rode hondas for years (years ago) Had an '80 CB650, an 83 CB750K, an 83 VF750F Interceptor (woot woot!).

I know a liter-and-a-half v-twin air cooled engine will make some noise, but I dunno, I guess its a matter of getting my "this is normal" meter calibrated to the hog.

A riding buddy of mine also has an 06 RK custom (identical to mine except his is carb and mine is F.I.) We are gonna swap up this weekend to see if he thinks mine sounds out of the norm.

Tim

 

Yeah, that's a good idea having another HD rider listen to it, at least if you don't wanna take it into the dealers just yet.

But since you pretty much mirrored what I did: 15 year layoff for me also and I rode Triumphs, BMWs, Kaws, and Hondas 'in the day'. When I took delivery of my brand new 1993 FLHS I got 5 miles from the dealership and almost turned back around. I couldn't believe how harsh it rode, how uncomfortable the seat was, the way the tranny sounded/shifted (sounded like a 50's dump truck), and all the valve noise. But....It did break in. Harleys also take a number of miles (up to 10K) to really break in. I had someone at the 90th reunion tell me it takes 5000 miles just to break in the seat! And he was right.

I don't know how the newer ones are, but if The MoCo stayed the same engineering course they've always been on, the new ones are probably similar. Like others have posted, if it's under warranty take to the dealer and have them check it out when they do the 10K service.

 

Let the dealer look at it and if it comes back as "normal noise", switch to synthetic oil. My bike got alot quieter after I switched to synthetic. Now have synthetic in all 3 holes and the bike shifts great(clicks not clunks), runs quieter and runs cooler.

 

You said it has 7000miles on it and you are just now starting to hear this noise, Correct? Just a thought?? You haven't recently put on a windshield have you? The reason I ask is becuse with my windshield on I can hear all kinds of stuff that I don't useally hear with it off. Just a thought, good luck....

 

Remember that your working with 80+ year old technology here. Mine sometimes sounds like the valves are going to jump right out of the bike and fly away sometimes, with all the rattling around in there. And I have 11K miles on my '06 RKC. It's all part of the Harley charm.

Get someone who's owned Harleys for a while to listen to it.