Before a trip south last fall, I decided to try Redline shockproof in the transmission instead of Lucas which I've been using for years. During the trip, my oil level was dropping an ounce or more every day and the oil looked foamy so I blamed it on the high temps we were riding in. A few weeks before the bike went into storage, I started hearing a grinding noise on the left side so the first thing I thought of was the primary bearing because it had just been replaced in June. I can hear the noise when I'm up to speed and it's there when the clutch is in or out. It gets louder with more rpm and quiets down when you back off the throttle.
Our riding season just started so I changed all my oil last week. The Redline was still foamy and my primary oil was very grey with the magnet full of metal shavings. I replaced their harley primary oil with the same and switched from Redline back to my normal gear oil.
The grinding noise was still noticeable so I took the bike to our local dealer and explained my situation. Before their head mechanic took it on the road, he held the brake and rode the clutch as if he was starting a burnout. Everything seemed normal at that point and after his test ride, the mechanic said it was a front wheel bearing. He pulled the callipers and spun the wheel and sure enough, there was noise there. I questioned that it was the only problem because of what I saw in the primary oil but he considered that normal after a bearing change. Anyway, I left the bike there and they replaced the wheel bearings but he's still hearing the grinding so now they think a bearing in the transmission might be the problem. I reminded them of the primary oil and the bearing replacement and told them the compensator springs were replaced in November of 2010 because of starting issues that I have again. They had already called Harley but they haven't given their opinion yet. I'm hoping to hear an answer on Monday. The bike is an '09 with close to 33,000 miles on it. I'm not trying to blame Redline but if there is a transmission problem, then it seems like a coincidence to me. I have an extended warranty so I'm hoping Harley won't try to blame it on me for using that oil.
Any opinions ? If it is a transmission bearing, does the replacement require removing the tranny ? And if so, what does that job entail ? I've heard good things about this mechanic but he's never worked on my bike.
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Topic: Grinding noise on the Primary side (Read 5239 times)