inner primary noise
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,018
Likes: 1
From: cd. Obregon, Sonora, mx
inner primary noise
Hey everybody, looking for a little help from the experts. A friend of mine has a 2009 SE Road Glide Custom. In first and second gear, between 2000 and 2500 rpms it sounds like the primary chain is slapping around. At 2000 rpms you can barely hear it and it gets progressively louder. After 2500 rpms the noise goes away. The bike has the self adjusting chain tensioner and the old style compensating sprocket. Anyone else have or had a similar problem?
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,537
Likes: 4
From: The Great River Road, Wisconsin
Rings and valve seals at 52K sounds a bit excessive. I had a buddy tear one down at 70 plus K and had zip, nahda, zilch for wear on everything he measured. These sleds should run well over 100 without needing anything (other than poorly designed items) replaced.
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,018
Likes: 1
From: cd. Obregon, Sonora, mx
The bike was blowing smoke from the front cylinder since new, one to two quarts of oil every 5000 miles. Dealer kept telling him it was within Harley's tolerances (what a joke).
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 4,458
Likes: 2,876
From: Oklahoma
I would be more suspicious of the compensator than of the chain adjuster. Are there any other symptoms like a loud bang or metallic crack sound when he hits the starter? When cruising at lower rpm, is ther a roughness to the drive line and a rattling noisiness that goes away if he down shifts and runs at a higher rpm? At 52,000 on that compensator, he must have gotten the only good one they made that year.
Banned
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 67
There is no way to tell for sure what shape the primary chain is in until you pull the cover and check it out. Otherwise it is pure speculation. It is easy enough to pull the cover and look. You could very well have a loose chain because it is pretty common. Sometimes the OEM tightener will be a little slow in taking up slack. There is a procedure many folks use to tighten up a slack chain by putting the bike in 1st gear and launching it fairly hard until you hit say 3000 rpm. then without pulling in the clutch, stand on the rear brake. You might have to do it two or three times but if you have a loose primary chain that will usually ratchet it up to where it is no longer noisy. I am not saying that is what your problem is, but it costs nothing to try if you think the chain is loose.
Trending Topics
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 37
From: Monroe, Louisiana
I have a 2010 FLHTK and it has been doing exactly the same thing for over 20000 miles. Not really any worse. It started doing this before out of warranty and I had them pull the Primary cover and every thing was ok. I have checked the chain and it is tight enough. I think it is the stock compensator. It seems to be little less noisy until it warms up. I have tried the formula, se syn 3, Rotella, and Mobil One and they all sound the same. Mine does clank on occasion when starting it. I have new SE comp for it and will be putting in in next couple of weeks. Hope it fixes it. I have rode several 11 and up bikes and none of them have this noise. Friends 08 Ultra had same sound and he changed compensator and it went away. His old comp looked brand new, but the springs are so weak that I am guessing that is what it was.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 744
Likes: 1
From:
I have a 2009 Ultra, inner primary bearing had to be replaced at about 13K, two years ago.
Dealer did it under shop warranty so no cost to me.
Do a search here, I think I had a video attached to the post, got lots of help from the members here!
Dealer did it under shop warranty so no cost to me.
Do a search here, I think I had a video attached to the post, got lots of help from the members here!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,216
Likes: 102
From: Central Illinois
There is no way to tell for sure what shape the primary chain is in until you pull the cover and check it out. Otherwise it is pure speculation. It is easy enough to pull the cover and look. You could very well have a loose chain because it is pretty common. Sometimes the OEM tightener will be a little slow in taking up slack. There is a procedure many folks use to tighten up a slack chain by putting the bike in 1st gear and launching it fairly hard until you hit say 3000 rpm. then without pulling in the clutch, stand on the rear brake. You might have to do it two or three times but if you have a loose primary chain that will usually ratchet it up to where it is no longer noisy. I am not saying that is what your problem is, but it costs nothing to try if you think the chain is loose.