free website stats program Primary whine? | Harley Davidson Forums

Primary whine?

Colt.45

Colt.45

Member
Hey guys
More questions from the new guy..........but I have noticed a 'whine' that is present with the bike in gear or out of gear,moving or not. It seems to come from around the primary cover and speeds up as you increase the throttle. It seems like I could hear it faintly before the last service but I have really noticed it more since my 10,000 mile service at the H.D. shop about 300 miles ago. Could they have tightened the primary chain and gotten it too tight? If so...is this something is is going to cause damage to my motor? It is not real loud but I can hear it and it bugs me.
Thanks.............Colt.45
 
The primary chain has a self adjuster. So the dealer did not touch it. I would remove derby cover and make sure that the fluid is at the bottom of clutch basket. Usually instead of 38 oz. the dealer only adds 32 oz. Check your receipt and see if they charged you for 2 primary oils. There has been cases of inner primary bearing or clutch basket bearings going bad but that noise is while moving.
 
Check chain tension and also check drive belt tension for too tight. Common opinion seems to be to error on the side of a little looser than tighter on the belt tension.
 
I changed mine over to the self adjustable chain tensioner a couple years ago and I get a little whine. I didn't have that sound with the stock setup so I'm wondering if that's normal.
 
I had the whine [almost a whirr like sound] before the service but is more pronounced after the service. It does it with the bike stopped so it seems is not related to drive belt.I thought perhaps the primary chain was a bit tight so if I was to do the automatic tighten thing [30mph...hit brake etc.] wouldn't that tighten it even more?
I checked the service sheet.......they charged me for 5 qts. of "SE SYN-3 Service". Can I assume they put motor oil in both holes then ?
Thanks.......Colt.45
 
Bodeen
Is there some way I can loosen it up then? If it is too tight, will it tear something up? I am not a mechanic and this is my first Harley [as if you guys could not figure that from all my questions :) ]
Thanks again........Colt
 
Colt.45 said:
I had the whine [almost a whirr like sound] before the service but is more pronounced after the service. It does it with the bike stopped so it seems is not related to drive belt.I thought perhaps the primary chain was a bit tight so if I was to do the automatic tighten thing [30mph...hit brake etc.] wouldn't that tighten it even more?
I checked the service sheet.......they charged me for 5 qts. of "SE SYN-3 Service". Can I assume they put motor oil in both holes then ?
Thanks.......Colt.45
Click to expand...

Yes and probably shorted you 6 oz. of primary fluid. What fluid did they put in transmission? When you remove derby cover to check fluid level, you can also check primary chain tension with a long screw driver and flash light. You can reach the center of chain at top and should be able to move 3/4 of inch which would indicate tension is ok...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top