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Primary Whining

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wildspirit97

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Today on the way to work I heard a whistling sound when I got on the freeway. At first I thought it was my tire on the pavement because it got quieter when I went from white to black pavement. But when I arrived at work there was a very distinguished whining coming from the primary. I immediately shut it down pushed it in the shop got it straight up in the air and checked the primary oil level (that I changed 2 weeks ago) and the level looked good but the oil (Formula +) smelled burnt.
When the nearest HD shop opened I took the bike down and had them take a listen and the mechanic said I had a loose clutch or compensator bolt. From looking at the manual I think it looks like a pretty easy job to get in there and tighten up the bolt and the shop put an estimated 1 hour of shop time on the paper work, but I was wondering what kind a damage this might have caused and what caused the burnt smell. Was a loose bolt burning my clutch up cause the smell was similar to burning brake pads.:bigsmiley21:
 
A loose compensator bolt will give you a bad knocking noise like a bad rod sound, the burnt smell you have is usually a sign of a burnt stator. IF it was the compensator bolt loose, there is no following damage in itself from that, just has to be re torqued after the "fix" suggested here.
Doing the compensator bolt is an easy fix but you should ask them to install the washer that allows the proper torque load to be applied on the stack up on the compensator so it doesn't happen again while they have it apart (probably replacing the stator).

Compensator Nut Re Torque - Harley Davidson Community
 
Thanks for the insight on that Glider:cheers I'll be sure to mention that to them and I hope if it is the stator it go's out soon before the warranty is up at least. Do you think 13,000 miles is a little soon for a stator to burn up? I replaced the one on my Honda Shadow after it turned 60,000:shock
 
No telling on the newer models how long they are going to make it. Lots of different problems popping up on them in low miles.

I'd bet on the stator thou with the burnt smell.
 
Now I wonder if that's what the sound was. I have never had any knocking or clunking but I have been hearing this faint whining sound the last few weeks. It's kinda like the 5th gear noise only not as loud, but today it was real loud after a 20 mile trip down the freeway to work. After it sat for a couple of hours it wasn't near as loud but it was the same sound and coming from the front of the primary. Hope the Mechanic knows his stuff, They've only been open a couple of months so I don't know anything about the people there yet.

By the way this is on a 2007 FXST. I forgot to mention that
 
Generally speaking the burnt smell usually indicates the stator problem. It's rather unmistakable when you open the cover up.

Chances are one of the magnets came loose in the stator and that could be where the noises are coming from even thou they usually give a knocking noise too when they come loose.

Could also be a problem with the chain tensioner causing the noise but then that would leave the burnt smell undetermined as to the cause.
 
wildspirit97 said:
Now I wonder if that's what the sound was. I have never had any knocking or clunking but I have been hearing this faint whining sound the last few weeks. It's kinda like the 5th gear noise only not as loud, but today it was real loud after a 20 mile trip down the freeway to work. After it sat for a couple of hours it wasn't near as loud but it was the same sound and coming from the front of the primary. Hope the Mechanic knows his stuff, They've only been open a couple of months so I don't know anything about the people there yet.

By the way this is on a 2007 FXST. I forgot to mention that
Click to expand...

I actually think the faint whining is normal as when I load up the electrical system with all my accessories on, it whines and I just thought it was like what my cage alternator sounds like when it is loaded and charging. Is this right?
 
Well there's another stealer on the list for me. When I took the bike in yesterday I specifically asked if the loose compensator bolt would be covered under warranty and was told "yes absolutely" by the service manager. When I picked up the bike today he handed me a $75 bill and told me a loose bolt is not covered and only broken parts could be covered and the bolt should have been torqued down on the 10,000 mile service. After a long heated discussion it ended up costing me $40 bucks and they'll never see another dime from me and probably not from anyone I know either. but that's their choice. Oh yea he also told me the burnt smell was normal for the clutch!!!:lolrolling

If anyone feels that my feelings are wrong or I'm out of line please tell me I don't want to talk bad about a dealership if I'm out of line. thanx
 
I don't feel you are wrong at all. If the compensator bolt was installed correctly to begin with and the proper clamp load was applied using the washer or a cut down bolt, it shouldn't have come loose at all.

Burnt smell the clutch???:unsure You must ride the heck out of it:s
 
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