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[HOGMIKE]

I had one of our club members here today, she is complaining of "excessive" motor vibration/movement at idle and up to cruise. Bike is a '03 RG. We also have a '03 RK sitting here to compare. There is NO doubt that the RG has much more engine movement than the RK, and, after riding both, the RG has MUCH more vibration throughout the rpm range. The dealer said (and provided her a copy) of a "flywheel runout measurement" that showed normal runout (about .003"). My question: how can the flywheels be checked for shifting, or runout with the motor in the frame, and the jugs and heads on??
Is there some little trick that I'm not aware of to check flywheel truing without opening up the cases???
We also checked the "NORMAL" things for the vibration issue, mounts, links, alignment, etc, etc. She is upset, because this issue started without any other problem with the bike. Sounds to me like there is a shifting flywheel issue. She has a "extended warranty", but, the dealer will not open things up unless the warranty company ok's it.....they won't do that unless the dealer can prove to them thats the problem. Sounds like a "catch 22" situation to me!
Any comments from anyone would be helpful. Trading for an '09 is not an option (I already tried that! LOL)

[Unbalanced]

Are you sure it is not a motor mount issue?   

[HOGMIKE]

yep

[Unbalanced]

They use a dial indicator to check it.

[hd-dude]

The flywheels can be checked by removing the camplate and cams and using a dial indicator on the crank, Or you can check it on the primary side by removing the entire primary drive (compensator, chain and clutch). I prefer the cam side inspection as if it is excessive the oil pump and cam plate are typically shot at the same time. This would need to be exposed to prepare a proper repair estimate.

By the way the extended warranty company NEVER authorizes the inspection to find out what is wrong. The customer has to agree to pay for the work to have it inspected. If it is found to be excessive or out of spec then the repair facility calls the extended warranty company for authorization to do the repair which then covers the teardown. ( I know this as I do extended warranty repairs all the time)

[HOGMIKE]

The flywheels can be checked by removing the camplate and cams and using a dial indicator on the crank, Or you can check it on the primary side by removing the entire primary drive (compensator, chain and clutch). I prefer the cam side inspection as if it is excessive the oil pump and cam plate are typically shot at the same time. This would need to be exposed to prepare a proper repair estimate.

By the way the extended warranty company NEVER authorizes the inspection to find out what is wrong. The customer has to agree to pay for the work to have it inspected. If it is found to be excessive or out of spec then the repair facility calls the extended warranty company for authorization to do the repair which then covers the teardown. ( I know this as I do extended warranty repairs all the time)

Sounds reasonable to me. If I understand it correctly from my friend, dealer wants $387 for an "inspection". The details of the "inspection" were not disclosed. The results of the inspection may or may not show a need for more of a teardown, such as pulling the flywheels. If it is found a need to go "all the way" then the customer is covered for the initial $387 out of pocket, right? Then the warranty company will pay all (except for her $50 deductable).
I thank you for clearing up some of the areas I have no knowledge of. None of my bikes ever had an extended warranty!!!! When I break them, I fix them!!

[hd-dude]

Sounds reasonable to me. If I understand it correctly from my friend, dealer wants $387 for an "inspection". The details of the "inspection" were not disclosed. The results of the inspection may or may not show a need for more of a teardown, such as pulling the flywheels. If it is found a need to go "all the way" then the customer is covered for the initial $387 out of pocket, right? Then the warranty company will pay all (except for her $50 deductable).
I thank you for clearing up some of the areas I have no knowledge of. None of my bikes ever had an extended warranty!!!! When I break them, I fix them!!

I would ask for a complete breakdown of what the $387 covers. The teardown to get to the crank at the cam side should not cost more than 2 hours labor. The thing with the extended warranty is that they only pay "book rate" + a 25% bump. In other words if the factory rate manuals state that an engine teardown and rebuild is 6 hours then they will pay the shop 7.5 hours labor. I many cases the rate including the bump does not cover the actual hours it takes to do the job so some shops want to make it up on the front side inspection time. To answer your question the inspection should be covered (less the $50) if it is found that there is damage to the crank.