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[Chief]

I have the same problem. SOOO much clacking and slapping it sounds like it is going to blow up at any moment.  I have met several other owners at bike rallies and they report the same noise.  I am made very uneasy by the excessive noise and it takes pleasure from the ownership and ride of the bike.  From the old days, it sounds like rod bearings that have spun and knocking it's a$$ off.  It is almost embarrassing to ride near another bike in that they may hear the s**t for noise coming from the engine, Primary or tranny.

The heat of the 500 degree oven between your legs also adds to the displeasure of owning this bike.  The only real pleasure I seem to get is when I am washing and polishing it.  Only to be brought back to reality when it is started.  I have spent several thousand dollars to cool her down but it is a no go.

Did I mention pinging?  Holy S**t.  When it gets hot it is unbelievable.

I have tried amsoil in all three holes and no difference.  I installed Red Line Shock Proof and it made no difference.

Flame me if you want!  I'm all yours, but I don't see how Harley could bring this to market like this.

John B

John,

Have you taken it in to the dealer so they could look into the noises?

[bikerdude]

My dealer showed me a Harley Tech bulletin telling the dealers not to put syn oil of any kind in the Transmission.
Use standard transmission oil and the noise is cut in half.

[ultrafxr]

My dealer showed me a Harley Tech bulletin telling the dealers not to put syn oil of any kind in the Transmission.
Use standard transmission oil and the noise is cut in half.

Not saying there is no problem, but ran the Syn 3 until 850 miles with no problem then changed over to Redline Heavy Shockproof and no problem and shifts very, very smoothly.  No noise, no clatter at all. 

[RK2000]

Changed to the Redline oil. Shifts much better but still have the 5 gear whine and clacking. I guess my next chance is to go into the primary and see if there is something wrong with the auto adjuster. The clacking sounds a lot like chain slap or a loose comp nut. Dealer wants me to bring it back in to start paper trail.
 Maybe after I take a look. Does anybody know where those TSB be obtained other than thru the dealer?

[rmarion]

your not alone...........

http://www.hdforums.com/m_751251/tm.htm

http://www.hdforums.com/m_654370/tm.htm

good luck in your quest.......

BTW, just curious, what her birth date?

[vagabond6542]

On the 5th gear clacking, I had a Service Manager explain that the fifth gear is straight cut, not cut like the rest of the gears.
I am using AmsOil MCV 20w/50 with 2oz of Amsoil Marine Gear Lube SAE 75w/80w-90 and had the fifth gear quiet down after about 300 miles.  Tried the same combination in the Primary chain/Clutch area as well. Now it is a pleasure to ride.

[rednectum]

the biggest problems i see causing the gear noise are lugging the engine. anything under 2500 rpm is lugging.

second is lack of a good tune. either stock, or with the stage whatever flash, you still have cylinder imbalance and surging that you cant feel-----but it is enough to make the gears clack against each other.

a good tuner, or the auto-tune will cure this problem. as to heat and pinging, you gotta trash the stock cams. epa cam timing creates lots of heat and detonation.

[2up]

Ronnie, I'm running the Redline Heavy Shockproof in my tranny.  9,000 miles and shifts extremely smoothly and no clunk, clank, etc.  I talked to Redline in light of the needle bearings and this is what they recommended.

Jerry

I tried the Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil in mine and actually it seemed worse than the SYN 3. I ordered Red Line Heavy duty shock proof and it made a noticable difference. I wouldn't use anything else in it now.

[stekat]

I have all the same noise issues as the rest of you. I use shock proof in the tranny and Amsoil in the primary, both of which helped but not completely.

A friend of mine talked to a Harley Tech Rep at Sturgis.  He said that almost all of the noise, vibration and what many perceive as pinging, can be curred with the new Isolated Drive used on the '08s.  I talked with the local tech and he confirmed the quietness and lack of vibration on the '08s.  I ordered one a while ago and will receive it this week.  I'll let you know what I think after I install it next week.  If anyone already has one, let us know.  Part# 40287-07, page 461 of the new accessory book.

[arcticdude]

Changed to the Redline oil. Shifts much better but still have the 5 gear whine and clacking. I guess my next chance is to go into the primary and see if there is something wrong with the auto adjuster. The clacking sounds a lot like chain slap or a loose comp nut. Dealer wants me to bring it back in to start paper trail.
 Maybe after I take a look. Does anybody know where those TSB be obtained other than thru the dealer?

RK,
I can't answer your TSB question, but I can help you with the other stuff.  The 07'2 have a bolt in place of the shaft and nut arrangement of the 06's.  No nut to come loose.  Also, we have an automatic adjuster, which when PROPERLY adjusted, should eliminate most of the chain slap.  I say properly, because some of the folks here had improperly adjusted ones that gave them all kinds of problems.  I believe we also have a different compensator, because IT  makes lots more noise than previous years.  Low engine speeds magnify the sound.  Sounds almost like several large bolts being rattled around in a coffee can.  The larger displacement is causing much more variation in the instantaneous speed of the crank- meaning it speeds up and slows down much more than the 103 and smaller motors- which causes the clattering in the primary.  The Isolated Drive is nothing but several rubber bushings between the "input" and "output" plates of a rear sprocket (once you see the isolated drive, this will make sense).  This only dampens the primary/transmission output to thus relieve some of the clattering we hear.  It's like going from a solid mount motor to a rubber bushing mounted one.  You'll hear lots more motor noise out of the solid mount.

jm.02

arctic

[stekat]

I have all the same noise issues as the rest of you. I use shock proof in the tranny and Amsoil in the primary, both of which helped but not completely.

A friend of mine talked to a Harley Tech Rep at Sturgis.  He said that almost all of the noise, vibration and what many perceive as pinging, can be curred with the new Isolated Drive used on the '08s.  I talked with the local tech and he confirmed the quietness and lack of vibration on the '08s.  I ordered one a while ago and will receive it this week.  I'll let you know what I think after I install it next week.  If anyone already has one, let us know.  Part# 40287-07, page 461 of the new accessory book.

As promised above, I installed the "isolated Drive".  I'm actually quite impressed with it.  The change is very noticeable.  What vibration there is, is markedly improved, especially at low rpm around 2000.  Before, when approaching 2000rpm, the power pulses were aggravating, but they're virtually gone now; the bike pulls smoothly from low rpm on up.  The tranny noises are gone too, but the engine rattles are still there.  Off idle take off is much smoother and easier than before.  Over all, I'm happy with the change.

[arcticdude]

That's good to hear somebody has found at least a partial cure for our clacking chickens!

[SixGun]

There is one issue not discussed here that can't be fixed; sound reflection!  The Ultra's are going to be inherently noisy no matter what you do because you have all the fairings direct the noise right to your head.

One of my good friends has an 07 SERK and I jumped on that and headed down the interstate at 80 and the one thing that stood out was the absence of all that engine noise.  It was such a dramatic difference I couldn't believe it.  Same exact 110 as mine.

Several of my buddies have removed the lower fairings, at least in the summer months and helps somewhat, especially on keeping you cooler.

But at the least it directs some of the engine noise out the sides and front.

If you don't believe me go ride a SERK.

[RK2000]

Well It's me again with the Clacking Chicken. This past week end got a chance to ride for a while and the clacking noise goes away when you turn the radio up. I think. But really Riding thru the hills of E Tn. was great except for the hammering in the primary case. Got to fix this or git rid of it. Riding is suppose to be enjoyable but how can it with that kind of noise. We pay $35K for these bikes and they should run like sewing machines. After all they are the flag ships of HD and all they can say is that is the nature of the beast. Ok off my soap box.

Has anyone had their compensator apart? Looking at the service manual it appears that the comp sprocket has slots cut in it for the sliding cam to operate against. Right? The comp assembly is sandwiched by a bolt  which compresses the disc spring assembly. Right? Here is the big question, how much pre load is placed on the dics spring? Any? My thoughts are that when all reaches operating temp there may not be enough pre load on the disc springs when the sprocket expands with temperature there may be " slack " between the sprocket ramps and sliding cam. Any help here? I don't buy that it is from lugging the engine or from the spur gears. The whine is from the spur gears, lugging the engine, well I don't see how you can do that going down hill under light throttle. This noise is not only in 5th gear but 4th and 6th.

[Bonehead]

Well, I have been trying to find a lubricant that would help with the clattering in the primary. It was worse when cold but when up to temp seemed to get somewhat better which led me to beleive that viscosity was an issue. Thinner mixtures helped when cold but did not cure problem. Have used Syn3, Amsoil, Mobil1, still had problem. Then I remembered my old fix for many problems. LUCAS OIL STABILIZER. I used Castrol Syntax Fully Synthetic with about 25% LAS and noise is acceptable, not gone completely but tolerable. Now I can at least hear all of the engine pinging, rattles, etc better and maybe work with them. I know that the motor will eventually be replaced but hoping to wait until MOCO gets a good idea of exactly what needs to be done on the improved engines. I hate to change it now and have more improvements at a later date that I missed. LAS will also keep oil from breaking down as fast thus extending the fix for awhile longer. I had found that Amsoil helped at first but after 1000 miles noise resurfaced.