2011 103 engine knocking?
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Texas
What got my attention was "and can hear plain as day when sits for 15 minutes", are you saying it is idling for 15 minutes then you start hearing it?
I seem to remember this issue came up 10 years ago and was discussed at length, basically saying these engines are not designed to sit and idle and will make strange noises when that happens. I had a Softail at the time, started mine one morning to go ride, got sidetracked for a few minutes and it started knocking, never had a problem with it for the next 4 years when I sold it.
I'm not doubting what you are hearing and it could be something unrelated to my comments but I thought I would throw it out anyway. I wish you the best in what ever you decide to do.
I seem to remember this issue came up 10 years ago and was discussed at length, basically saying these engines are not designed to sit and idle and will make strange noises when that happens. I had a Softail at the time, started mine one morning to go ride, got sidetracked for a few minutes and it started knocking, never had a problem with it for the next 4 years when I sold it.
I'm not doubting what you are hearing and it could be something unrelated to my comments but I thought I would throw it out anyway. I wish you the best in what ever you decide to do.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,778
Likes: 69
From: Badlands of ND
I have a 2012 with 4500 miles on it. No noises as yet. Yours has to be still under warranty. I would just take it in to the dealer. At least get it documented so that if there is an issue after the warranty expires, you can say the problem started while the warranty was still valid.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 12,653
Likes: 18
From: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
That's a shame. But that's exactly what the dealership wants you to do.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 551
Likes: 2
From: Tallahassee, Fl
At wits end!!!
Mine started with the knock at around 1800 miles, right after i had the selling dealer do a dyno on it. Unfortiunately I bought my bike from a dealer 200 miles away so I now had to take it to the local dealer. I told them about the knock and they seemed to not be to interested or give it too much interest. They said they believed it might be the throttle body. At that time i was ready for a cam upgrade and had that dealer install the Andrews 37h. When I picked up the bike, the knock was much more pronounced and again they said it was probably the throttle body and told me to call them the following week as they were talking with the factory to discuss the issue with them. I brought it back the following week and asked them to please take another look/listen to the knock as I was concerned. Once they heard it again, they asked me to leave the bike and now its been over a week and all I get from them is that they are talking with the factory rep and doing tests but have yet to determine the cause. I think 9 days is exsesive for them not to have a solution. I am at wits end!
HDF Community Team
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,763
Likes: 2,597
From: san antonio
If the compensator is making noise, it is because it is loose. You would need to pull the outer primary cover and check the torque on the comp nut.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,385
Likes: 252
From: Southern California
Throttle Body? Wow, is that ever a bunch of BS if I ever heard any. I wouldn't let that mechanic change my oil. Man is that a sign of incompetence!
A Rod or Main Bearing Knock will not change all that much with Engine Temperature or Engine running time. Once a Rod or Main Bearing starts to fail it will not go away; and engine life will be extremely short (minutes or maybe an hour if you are really lucky) from that point on. But it will definitely get louder when you apply a load to the engine.
Valve Train Noise, particularly a Hydraulic Valve Lifter problem can change with Engine Temperature and Oil Pressure. It can set up quite a racket. But while this noise will change in frequency in direct proportion to Engine RPM it will not change with the load on the engine.
For the really curious, take off the Oil Filter, Cut it Open with a filter opener or a Pipe Cutter that is large enough for the diameter of the oil filter (Harbor Freight) Do NOT use a saw. Anyhow, cut it open as close to the base of the filter as possible and remove the Filter Element. Now cut that open, with a Knife (not a saw). If you've got something serious coming apart in the engine there will be a significant amount of metal shavings in there. Do NOT use a saw to cut open any of the Filter as the metal shavings from the saw blade will give you a heart attack even though there may be nothing wrong with your engine.
A Rod or Main Bearing Knock will not change all that much with Engine Temperature or Engine running time. Once a Rod or Main Bearing starts to fail it will not go away; and engine life will be extremely short (minutes or maybe an hour if you are really lucky) from that point on. But it will definitely get louder when you apply a load to the engine.
Valve Train Noise, particularly a Hydraulic Valve Lifter problem can change with Engine Temperature and Oil Pressure. It can set up quite a racket. But while this noise will change in frequency in direct proportion to Engine RPM it will not change with the load on the engine.
For the really curious, take off the Oil Filter, Cut it Open with a filter opener or a Pipe Cutter that is large enough for the diameter of the oil filter (Harbor Freight) Do NOT use a saw. Anyhow, cut it open as close to the base of the filter as possible and remove the Filter Element. Now cut that open, with a Knife (not a saw). If you've got something serious coming apart in the engine there will be a significant amount of metal shavings in there. Do NOT use a saw to cut open any of the Filter as the metal shavings from the saw blade will give you a heart attack even though there may be nothing wrong with your engine.
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 111
Likes: 2
From: NZ
I would really doubt that the conrod bearings are a problem, most likely the compensator causing that knock.
dewky
dewky
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 551
Likes: 2
From: Tallahassee, Fl
Mine started with the knock at around 1800 miles, right after i had the selling dealer do a dyno on it. Unfortiunately I bought my bike from a dealer 200 miles away so I now had to take it to the local dealer. I told them about the knock and they seemed to not be to interested or give it too much interest. They said they believed it might be the throttle body. At that time i was ready for a cam upgrade and had that dealer install the Andrews 37h. When I picked up the bike, the knock was much more pronounced and again they said it was probably the throttle body and told me to call them the following week as they were talking with the factory to discuss the issue with them. I brought it back the following week and asked them to please take another look/listen to the knock as I was concerned. Once they heard it again, they asked me to leave the bike and now its been over a week and all I get from them is that they are talking with the factory rep and doing tests but have yet to determine the cause. I think 9 days is exsesive for them not to have a solution. I am at wits end!
Now dealer says the reason its taking so long to do anything is that they need to run everything through MOCO because my bike was put on a "blacklist" as a result of having a race tuner installed at the dealer at the time of purchase!!!! Is this for real???? Not only does the MOCO manufactor this stuff, the dealer pushes you to buy it, they install it, then put you on a "blacklist" and refuse to stand by thier product. This is insane!!!
