Worrying noise

David

Guys, I recentley added a set of Monster Ovals, tru-duals, big sucker filter and V&H Fuel Pack to my '07 Road King Classic all professionaly fitted and set up. Have probably done less than 1000-miles since then. I was out for a run on Friday evening and thought I heard a rattle of sorts when filtering through traffic at low-ish speeds. When I got home I noticed that the rattle would appear on the over-run and suspected that the tru-dual shield may be loose although on checking all seems tight. After the bike had cooled I fired it up again and after approx a minute or so the noise appeared again on the over-run and sounds more of a chain like type of noise/rattle coming from the lower right hand side below the air-filter housing or thereabouts, just tried it again after getting home from work and it is still the same. I do get a bit of popping (back-firing) on the over-run however, nothing to excessive. I think the best bet would be to have the bike recovered rather than ride the bike into the dealer and get them to check it out. I'm just curious what this may be?

TQuentin1

Couple of things:

First, I assume from context that the term "over-run" means revving the engine and releasing the throttle quickly?

Secondarily, all your symptoms developed AFTER installation of the new equipment, right? So these can be attributed to the new stuff, right?

If the answer to the second point is "yes", check a few things:

• Ensure that the headers are secure to the heads. Just get a socket on them and make sure.
• Check any heat shields to make sure these are tight. Not just by grabbing at them (especially not while HOT!!), but get a screw driver or small ratchet and socket on them.
• If the pipes have baffles, make sure those are not loose.
• Check the AC backing plate to make sure it is secure, and that any cover is secure and not rattling.
• Finally, does that AC have any sort of actuator in it?

Let us know how it goes.

TQ

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David

Thanks TQ, I will go through these checks when I get back home tomorrow evening. Are there torque settings that I need to adhere to as far as the nuts on the headers are concerned? The Air Filter housing is as the standard one with a re-usable K&N filter fitted in it as opposed to the standard filter, I don't believe that there are any other mod's in this area. With a bit of luck this will turn out to be just a rattle from a loose component, but it is one of thoses sounds which can have you easily believing that there is something much worse going on (particullarly when you are not mechanically minded like me) Thanks again, David.

TQuentin1

On my '03 UC, the book calls for the exhaust flange nuts to be torqued to 60-80 in-lbs, but working up to that point incrementally switching between top and bottom.

TQ

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David

Well exhausted all avenues as far as I could, got the dealer to pick up the bike for further investigation. After nearly 2-days they have advised that it's the oil pump that's gone. Not very good with only 11,500-miles on the bike and full dealer service history, oils etc. So will take issue with Dealer / MoCo and see where this goes.

kemo

I don't want to alarm you but I would think if the crankshaft runout is exccesive that would take out the oil pump. Have the shop check the runout on the crank. Have you noticed any new vibrations that yu didn't feel before.
kemo

glider

Have to agree with Kemo on this one. Something had to make ther oil pump go like excessive crank run out.Hopefully the dealer is smart enough to check the runout and not just replace the pump and send you on your way. You may want to mention the run out to them and ask if they think it could be the problem to get a reply from them about it. Not all dealers are created equal.

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David

Thanks guys, I'll bear this in mind when communicating with the dealer. A good friend of mine is a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers here in the UK and has offered to have the oil pump independantly analyised if need be. He has also suggested that I express my concerns over the possibility of damage to other engine parts from oil starvation. He is not a Harley Rider though so it's good to get additional info such as this from here, thanks again, it is appreciated.

David

Update:

HD have come back to dealer and have offered to cover cost for parts which obviously helps with the bill. Dealer say they are prepared to put in writing that they have examined the engine and have no concerns with any of the other engine parts and that there are no signs of oil starvation having occured in the engine. I also intend to take out the extended warranty for peace of mind.

glider

It's good they will help out with the parts but what about the run out on the crank and WHY the pump went?

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