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[SilverDawg]

...found out that the bearings in my sprocket were shot, and the sprocket had a crack in it   As Howie would say, WTF.... I just got back from a 1000 mile trip through Arkansas and I now wonder if this was f'ed up the whole way there   The bike was purchased new in December 2007 and all maintenance has been done according to the manual, by HD certified techs.

Not sure what could have happened with this if no one caught it, but it would probably not be good if something gave way at 75MPH on a twisty road   I asked the tech who pointed this out and he said that this is the second 2008  Ultra in a very short time frame that had the same probelm.  He said that each Monday a.m., all the tech share unique repair incidents to make the others aware of what to look for.  My tech, Jason, was changing the rear tire out and happend to inspect the sprocket and bearings and noticed they were all f'ed up.  Thank god I had a strong tech who actually cared about his clients.  I thanked him many times and told him how much I appreciated his thoroughness and professionalism.  My service adviser was also very apologetic about the delays, as they have to order the parts as it is not (at least in the past) a part they had to replace.  This is why a man needs to own at least two bikes

Anyway, the purpose in posting is to make sure y'all check this out if you have your bike serviced.  Not sure if it just '08 touring models, or it is across all 2008 models, CVO and non CVO.  It could easily be a one off incident where I got a bad sprocket or some idiot in purchasing changed suppliers for a cheaper version of the sprocket to save a $1.00 a bike so he could look like a hero, but ended up with a chitty part that could cause serious damage to the HD family.

The bike should be done in a couple of days and will all be covered under warranty.  However, please ride safe as you never know when one of the parts will fail causing you to lose control over your ride.   I will now wear my helmet 100% of the time to protect against things I cannot control.

Ride safe.

[sportygordy]

Thanks for posting the heads up on this,,, Will defiantly will be keeping an eye out on this one,, 

[LRebel]

...found out that the bearings in my sprocket were shot, and the sprocket had a crack in it   As Howie would say, WTF.... I just got back from a 1000 mile trip through Arkansas and I now wonder if this was f'ed up the whole way there   The bike was purchased new in December 2007 and all maintenance has been done according to the manual, by HD certified techs.

Not sure what could have happened with this if no one caught it, but it would probably not be good if something gave way at 75MPH on a twisty road   I asked the tech who pointed this out and he said that this is the second 2008  Ultra in a very short time frame that had the same probelm.  He said that each Monday a.m., all the tech share unique repair incidents to make the others aware of what to look for.  My tech, Jason, was changing the rear tire out and happend to inspect the sprocket and bearings and noticed they were all f'ed up.  Thank god I had a strong tech who actually cared about his clients.  I thanked him many times and told him how much I appreciated his thoroughness and professionalism.  My service adviser was also very apologetic about the delays, as they have to order the parts as it is not (at least in the past) a part they had to replace.  This is why a man needs to own at least two bikes

Anyway, the purpose in posting is to make sure y'all check this out if you have your bike serviced.  Not sure if it just '08 touring models, or it is across all 2008 models, CVO and non CVO.  It could easily be a one off incident where I got a bad sprocket or some idiot in purchasing changed suppliers for a cheaper version of the sprocket to save a $1.00 a bike so he could look like a hero, but ended up with a chitty part that could cause serious damage to the HD family.

The bike should be done in a couple of days and will all be covered under warranty.  However, please ride safe as you never know when one of the parts will fail causing you to lose control over your ride.   I will now wear my helmet 100% of the time to protect against things I cannot control.

Ride safe.

So did you notice any vibration, wobble, or unusual noise?

[cowboy7123]

how many miles are on the bike?

[kruisin]

From what I've read on other forums yours is not the first or will be the last. The cush drive sprocket has had bearing failures and the outer edge of where the belt runs can come off (it is manufactured in 2 pieces). I've read the cush drive is part of the new wheel design on the 09's (I haven't seen one in person though).

[mr_magoo]

The design was changed in 09 probably as a result of failures (no it not really a problem would be HD's response) on the 08's.

[Hoist!]

I've heard of other failures on that cush drive before, which is why I have one and never installed it. It'll get sold instead!

Hoist!

[Twolanerider]

I've heard of other failures on that cush drive before, which is why I have one and never installed it. It'll get sold instead!

Hoist!

Howie, if you marinade it for a couple days in dino oil before installing the cush drive it'll work forever . 

[AXIL]

  sorry hoist, but 2lane that was funny.  axil

[Hoist!]

  sorry hoist, but 2lane that was funny.  axil

That's cause he knows it'll fall apart with synthetic!

Hoist!

[SilverDawg]

So did you notice any vibration, wobble, or unusual noise?

Not not really.  I have the V&H classic ovals so it is fairly loud for a touring bike.  As I mentioned, I just got back from 1200 miles through AR and she handled fine.

[SilverDawg]

how many miles are on the bike?

Cowboy,

7,000 miles on her when she went in for the service.

The store called last night and said the bike was ready.  I hope I get a chance to talk to the tech a little more to find out what his thoughts are on this failure.  Again, the intent of this thread was to make other owners aware so they have it checked or check it yourself.  Sucks something like this happens and it could have been a lot worse.

[SilverDawg]

I've heard of other failures on that cush drive before, which is why I have one and never installed it. It'll get sold instead!

Hoist!

I may need it if the fix does not work

[stekat]

I've noticed on my '08 that when the bike is fully warmed up, the belt tension is way too tight.  Apparently there is expansion of the engine-transmission at running temps causing the belt to over tighten and the bearings to fail.  Now I double the tension spec when cold and recheck it when hot.  The belt feels very loose when cold, but is in spec when hot.

A friend had his rear sprocket bearing fail recently on his '07 while going cross country.  He had the dealer install it and adjust it (the '07's didn't come with the ISD).  HD wouldn't warranty it because it was past the 90 day accessory period, and wasn't installed when the bike was new.

I also have more noise than I should on my '08 and think I better pull the wheel and have a look before I'm parked along side the road in the middle of the desert.

[cowboy7123]

Cowboy,

7,000 miles on her when she went in for the service.

The store called last night and said the bike was ready.  I hope I get a chance to talk to the tech a little more to find out what his thoughts are on this failure.  Again, the intent of this thread was to make other owners aware so they have it checked or check it yourself.  Sucks something like this happens and it could have been a lot worse.

DId you get a pic of it?