I have read where several guys have had issues with the rollers on the lifters not being hardened. Or the chrome hardened finish coming off.
The reason I even ask is I have a slight buzzing in my engine. It's not a bad vibration but it is noticeable to me and a friend rode my bike and he said he could tell it a little bit. My bike is a 2010 96" with 204 cams which I had installed before I brought the bike home.
I'm wondering if my problem might be those lifters. The hardening may have worn off the rollers thus causing a slight vibration. I actually spoke to a guy who said he had the exact thing happen to his bike as well.
Just wanted to hear your thoughts on this and see if any of you engine builders have experienced this?
Already replaced the compensator to a SE and that actually seemed to have helped a little but didn't cure. When I first got the bike it didn't do it and now it has 15,000 miles on it.
You can quickly lose your mind worrying about stuff like this with a Harley. There are as many reasons for strange noises and vibrations as there are parts, and it would be impossible to tell you over the internet if your noise or vibration is coming from something like a lifter. Before you drive yourself nuts, look for the simple stuff that has tripped up many of us over the years. Loose parts, like exhaust heat shields for instance, have been known to cause people to tear down an engine looking for what they swear sounds like a lifter or other internal problem. Any grounding of a part of the engine, exhaust, drivetrain, etc. to the frame or footboards or other hard parts can also make you swear the engine is about to come apart. Even an exhaust leak at the head can sound like a mechanical problem. What I'm trying to say is, approach this logically and don't just assume it's something you read about on the internet.
Proper diagnosis of any problem should start with the basics. I don't think you really want to pull the cam plate and the lifters for an inspection as the first step in the process, but if you do I guess it's not all that difficult if you have adjustable pushrods.
Jerry