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Primary chain noise while riding question

P

Pops LOC

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Have a 06 Wideglide with 36K miles on it. I just changed my full face helmet to a beenie type to help in this heat wave we have had out here. I now hear what seems to be a loud chain whirring noise when riding my bike. My question is how loud are these chains supposed to be while spinning in the closed case. I removed the primary cover to inspect the chain and tensioner and all looked almost new. No signs of obvious wear, no metal shavings on drain plug magnet. Are these chains always that noisy?.
Thanks
PS the reason I mentioned my helmet change is the full face blocks out much more noise.
 
Hard to compare what is noisy to you vs what is noisy to me. Was an '06 Dyna manual chain adjusted? I know Softail was in 2006. I believe auto tensioner came out w/ the 96ci in 2007. You inspected the parts but didn't say if the chain was adjusted to the correct tension. Chain tension is where the noise comes from. Was the bike converted to a different brand of tensioner or is it still in original factory trim..
 
First thing to do is ride with your full-face helmet on again and see if the noise is still there. Its amazing how different helmets etc make the bikes sound different. After I got used to wearing ear plugs, I can't ride without them because it sounds like the bike is falling apart, put them back in and all is well. If your bike is still noisy with the full helmet on, then perhaps there is an issue.
 
Thanks to both for your replies.
First my bike came with a auto tension er and chain is adjust to factory specs. Like I said all parts inside primary case were clean and almost no signs of wear. The inside of primary case was clean and no residue . Oil drain plug magnet had no signs of metal on it. The only part i could see with obvious wear was the gear on the starter that engages the sprocket..

I did put my full face back on and like you say the noise was no were as loud as with the beanie. So I'm starting to think that I may be playing mind games with myself. Just wanted to see if any noise is o.k. or is it supposed to be just a hint of something moving inside the case.

FYI I just installed a Cobra Power Commander Ti2000 fuel management system on the bike. I had a Vance and Hines system on prior to this. The difference in the performance of the engine is stunning!! clean full power in all speed ranges all gears all speeds. Bike doesn't start to starve for fuel at upper end of RPM range and at low low almost lugging range it just pulls and continues to pull hard up the RPM range. Had it up to 5000 rpm and it was still pulling hard but that is far as I needed to go. Almost no popping on deceleration as well. I'm impressed to say the least. Best $476 I have spent on it in a few years.
 
Sounds to me like the auto tensioner has ratcheted up too much and the chain is too tight.

I had to replace my auto tensioner at 30K on my '10 ultra.
 
Going to look in my shop manuel to see what the free play in chain should be.. This idea had not crossed my mind Thanks. Perhaps I'll just replace the tensioner anyway. Not a big job for sure..

Thanks.
 
If you have a hydro-tensioner, and she sings a little, that is generally OK. Being remote, I can't tell if she is only singing a little. If she is howling, and you have a ratcheting type adjuster, she may have ratcheted up a bit too tight, as previously stated.

A little singing is not a bad thing.

Good luck,
Rich P
 
I installed the newer Harley primary auto adjuster in my 03 ultra about 2 years ago. The adjuster is a 2 stage adjuster. The main self adjuster will ratchet up a notch when the chain gets enough slack in it. The second adjuster is a spring loaded fine adjuster that allows for a small amount of uneven wear of the primary chain by maintaining tention on the chain to keep it snug untill it wears enough for the first stage to again ratchet up and remove any excess slack. At the same time it allows for enough give that the chain shouldn't ever get to tight. I have been very impressed with the design and the results it has given me. I think I have put about 17,000 miles on it since the install
 
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