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[BB Wolf]

While riding down and back from Bikes,Blues, & BBQ I noticed that while in 5th gear at cruising speed bike had a loud whine coming from either primary or tranny.
Has anyone else had this problem on CVO bike? My thoughts are loose primary chain of bad 5th gear. Any suggestion on where to start looking?
Thanks for any replys.

[scttgr8]

does the noise go away when in neutral?
I havebeen seeing others with this...

[grc]

While riding down and back from Bikes,Blues, & BBQ I noticed that while in 5th gear at cruising speed bike had a loud whine coming from either primary or tranny.
Has anyone else had this problem on CVO bike? My thoughts are loose primary chain of bad 5th gear. Any suggestion on where to start looking?
Thanks for any replys.

It helps if you indicate exactly what model and year bike you're talking about, since different issues are common on certain bikes and years.  For instance, the earlier model Cruise Drive transmissions had spur (straight cut) gears for the fifth gear pair instead of the quieter helical gears used for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th.  Many people complained about the whining noise in fifth, to the extent that Harley finally made the fifth gear pair helical for the 2010 model year.  Unfortunately the change is not easily retrofittable to an older bike.  If you have a 2009 or earlier bike, you could try a real gear lube like Redline Shockproof or Spectro if you're still running motor oil in the trans; that has been reported by many to help reduce the amount of noise.


Jerry

[Rocketman69]

Yeah.....fifth gear whines.  It's a fact of life.  More so than noisy 110 engines.  The truth is, the change to the helical cut gear in 2010 didn't make one lick of difference in the noise either.  I've got an '08, two '09s and a '12.........all of them do it.

[cahdbiker]

BB Wolf, I have an 09 with the straight cut 5th gear. When it was new and had syn 3 in it the noise was awful. Then I switched to redline shockpoof and it made it a little more quiet. Right now I am using a combination of Amsoil 75-140 mixed with 6 Oz of Lucas non-synthetic Heavy Duty oil stabalizer. I got an approval from techs at both companies before I did this. 5th gear is very quiet now compared to before. Just for the record I usually stay in 4th until at least 60 MPH. CAHDBIKER

[Kathy]

While riding down and back from Bikes,Blues, & BBQ I noticed that while in 5th gear at cruising speed bike had a loud whine coming from either primary or tranny.
Has anyone else had this problem on CVO bike? My thoughts are loose primary chain of bad 5th gear. Any suggestion on where to start looking?
Thanks for any replys.

Could this be a primary chain issue? That stock tensioner gets too tight and it may be that there is added stress on the primary system. Just food for thought.

Thanks,
  Hayden Enterprises

[CowboyBagger]

I had a 2008 that really whined loud, but my 2012 has no whine at all.  They actually did make an improvement.

[BB Wolf]

Thanx to everyone who replied. Sorry about not enough info on model. Bike is used 08 FLHTCUSE which I traded for on 8-27-12 and had 22000 miles. No noise except 5th gear at acceleration or decel. First off I will pull primary cover and inspect auto chain adjuster and change oil to Redline Shockproof and see if that helps.

Thanx
BB Wolf

[grc]

Could this be a primary chain issue? That stock tensioner gets too tight and it may be that there is added stress on the primary system. Just food for thought.

Thanks,
  Hayden Enterprises

Unlikely Kathy.  If it was the primary chain tension, it should whine all the time, not just in one particular gear.  Since this is a known issue that was actually acknowledged by H-D (amazing), I think I'd be inclined to believe it's just the poorly matched fifth gear set.  I find it funny how Harley had nothing but straight cut gears for decades without all these problems like severe neutral rattle from the first gear set and whine from the fifth gear set.  Just one more of the many examples of cheapening the designs and parts until they screw up the works, IMHO.


Jerry

[mjb765]

Yeah.....fifth gear whines.  It's a fact of life.  More so than noisy 110 engines.  The truth is, the change to the helical cut gear in 2010 didn't make one lick of difference in the noise either.  I've got an '08, two '09s and a '12.........all of them do it.

You have a whine in 5th gear on a '12? Something is wrong........1st gear whines but that's it. I have had a '10 and now an '11 and neither made any whine in 5th. 1st is a different story....

As others have stated...try Redline Shockproof in the trans....it helped my 1st gear noise and it may help the noise for you also.

[BB Wolf]

Which Redline Shockproof are you guys recommending (Heavy, Lightweight, Or Superlight)?

[grc]

Which Redline Shockproof are you guys recommending (Heavy, Lightweight, Or Superlight)?

Heavy.  They also market it under a name like V-Twin Transmission Fluid with Shockproof if I remember correctly.  You could also go with Spectro, Bel-Ray, or many others.  The proper weight for the trans is 75W90.


Jerry

[Fired00d]

Which Redline Shockproof are you guys recommending (Heavy, Lightweight, Or Superlight)?

Heavy Shockproof...

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[tennisman]

Thanx to everyone who replied. Sorry about not enough info on model. Bike is used 08 FLHTCUSE which I traded for on 8-27-12 and had 22000 miles. No noise except 5th gear at acceleration or decel. First off I will pull primary cover and inspect auto chain adjuster and change oil to Redline Shockproof and see if that helps.

Thanx
BB Wolf

I also have a FLHTCUSE3 ('08 model) and have the 5th gear whine (as explained by others due to 5th is a spur gear, not helical).  It gets worse when hot (completely understandable).  I don't fret it and continue to use Syn3 in the tranny as recommended by MoCo.
T

[09S/E roadglide]

Heavy !  Agreed its just the straight cut gear.