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[Johnny]

Went riding today through the mountians north of Atlanta, had been riding for a couple of hours (about 100+miles) when we came to a stop and I notice that the bike was making a terrible noise.  My first thought was that a bearing was going out but when I pulled off of the road (ie engaged the transmission) the noise went away but when I pulled in on the clutch back came the noise.  Stopped with the motor running I thought  it may have been something loose that was rattling or vibrating.  Checked the bike and motor and could not find anything loose.

Decided to head home and when I restarted the bike the noise was still there.  Kept an eye on the oil pressure which stayed in the normal range.  It sounded like a rattlaing, clamering noise, kind of tinny almost grinding (internal) and somewhat loud.  At idle you could hear it without a problem.  Would get worse if I bliped the throttle.  While leaving, I noticed the noise would go away when I would put the bike in gear and let out the clutch and was under load.  The instant I let off of the throttle as when I was going down hill or slowing down or entering an intersection the noise would return.  When I got back on the throttle (put load on motor) noise would go away.  At a stop sign noise would come back or when I pulled in on the clutch there it was.  Noise did not seem to affect performance of the bike that I could tell nor did the motor seem to be overheating.

After about forty miles of taking it very easy on my way home the noise would come and go as I was under power or not.  Then it seemed to stop, I pulled over and the noise
totally went away!!  Went on without noticing the noise.  Got home and never heard it again.  Seems there is no lingering affect as bike sounds and performs well seems to be running perfectly!!

Am going to take it out tomorrow to see what happens.  The noise was very upsetting I thought the motor or tranny was going out.  Am scheduled to go to NC for the CVO gathering but do not want this thing to fall apart on the trip.  Luckily, I have a service appointment Tuesday but if I can not recreate the noise I know the dealer will not do anything.

Has anyone had or heard of this type of problem??  Responses greatly appreciated as I have no idea what happened.

[16HD117]

Johnny,
Sounds kile a cluth or clutch release bearing problem.  See you in Maggies Valley!

[geezerglide]

Johnny,

May be a long shot, maybe the compensator nut could have backed off and your rotor could be loose, just a thought.

Some have been coming loose lately.

geezerglide

[billt1]

I had the almost exact experience two weekends ago. About 50 miles into a ride pulled up to a stop sign and my bike stated hammering. Fortunately I was only 2 miles from a HD dealer. Unfortunately the dealer was about as unhelpful as they could get. Said since I did not buy the bike there they would not even listen to it for a week. All I asked was to have a tech listen to it in the parking lot and tell me if it was safe to drive home. They could not be bothered and when I left the bike overnight to hare my selling dealer pick it up they charged me $39.00.That aside, I was convinced it was rod bearings. Fortunately it was not, it was the primary compensating sprocket. A rather non invasive repair...  

[Twolanerider]

What dealership was so completely unwilling to help a possibly distressed rider potentially stuck on the road and then compound the problem by charging you to park the bike?  It will be a dealer I will always avoid on my travels.

[billt1]

Seacoast Harley Davidson, Hampton New Hampshire. I pulled in 60 miles from home and my home town dealer with the bike sounding like a rod was about to come through the engine block. I was white with fear that my brand new 2005 SEEG was toast. They could not have been less concerned than if I drove in on a Honda. It was 1PM on a beautiful afternoon they said if I waited 2

[WFP]

That story about service SUCKS!

[Twolanerider]

I've had two similar good experiences with dealerships over the years while cruising.

[110tHunDer]

Stories like biltt1's are H-D's worst nightmare.  I agree with Bill.  Send a letter to H-D with a courtesy copy to Seacoast.  Heck, you could probably just copy and paste your post.  Odds are you will get some sort of response either from the Motor Company or the dealer.  It would be interesting to see what happens, if nothing else.

[jfscheck]

This is what starts to happen when "non-bikers" run the "HD Store".  A good example can sometimes be seen up here in the "DC" area.  The guys are great (Service, Parts, Techs, etc.) and the owner is a super guy (a REAL bike rider of all types) but he has a little minion that runs around and "f$cuks" everything up for the sake of "money".  [smiley=furious.gif]