2007 dyna, lite knock from front of Primary

[brentm]

Hello, on my 2007 Dyna Wideglide there is a very lite knock comming from the front of the Primary when bike is at idle, is this just the counter balancer set up on the end of the crankshaft, the bike has 9500 miles and its had this lite knock for months and it doesnt seem to be getting any worse, it is due for an oil change so if anyone recomends any oils that would be helpful as well. Regards Brent.

 

[2000classic]

If the noise is something new, then most likely something is not right. Could be as simple as a loose primary chain to a loose compensator nut! Would wait to hear from more knowledgeable folks here before running any further. As far as oil in the primary, most would agree HD Formula+ is a good choice and easy to come by. Good luck.

 

[brentm]

Just letting you no that i have dropped the oil and its as clean as the day i put it in. Cheers

 

[Brutal FXDX]

Brentm, your wide glide does not have counterbalancers only 2000 up softails do. Check your front rubber engine mount bolts for proper torque. As mine have come loose before and caused a bad vibration. Also your bike has a automatic primary chain tensioner which does not require adjustment. Does it knock at any temp or just when first started?

 

[brentm]

it seems to have this knocking or more of a chatter sound any time the bike is at idle, its very hard to pick up, even to the piont if you didnt point it out to someone they wouldnt hear it. thanks for your coments so far.

 

[TQuentin1]

it seems to have this knocking or more of a chatter sound any time the bike is at idle, its very hard to pick up, even to the piont if you didnt point it out to someone they wouldnt hear it. thanks for your coments so far.

Sound is funny on a running bike. Do all the simple stuff first. When the bike is cold or at least no more than warm, start grabbing stuff and man-handling it to see if you can find something loose. Front fender, light, gas tank, cow bell, battery cover, coil cover, belt guard, stabalizer link, etc. All that stuff can cause an annoying and very hard to find noise especially if you skip the easy stuff and start on the harder stuff.

If all that checks out and the noise still seems to be at the front of the engine when running, get a stethoscope, a long screw driver or an old broom handle and try "listening" around the bike to isolate the sound more. Pay particular attention of the front of the primary AND the nose cone. Depending on what you find, open up the primary or the nose cone to look and see. In the primary, check the torque on the compensator nut and the clutch basket (lefty). Make sure the chain tensioner has been working and the slack in the chain is taken up. In the nose cone, make sure that the shoes on the hydraulic tensioners are still in good condition (a bit challenging on the inner one, but get an eye in there with a cheap dental mirror).

Button everything back up and see what happens. Let us know.

TQ

 

[Spade5]

This is probably way off base but I thought I would share it just in case.

Dynas can have the front end clunk and I think it is worse on the Wide Glide. For me the stem nut had worked loose and I would hear a sort of clunking mainly at cold idle. Being an unbalanced engine you expect the handle bars to shake at idle but what I found was if I grabbed both grips and pulled them back towards me, the clunk would stop.

There is a dealer upgrade that replaces the washer under the stem nut and allows higher torque on the nut. I am not sure but I think it goes from 30-40 ft lbs to 70-90 or so. My 07 had the upgrade but it has no locking tab on the washer. I could turn the nut with my finger so it got a little dab of blue loctite and so far so good.

I still get a little clunk when crossing railroad tracks but nothing like it was doing.

 

[jmpancoast]

Just for the heck of it, grab your gas tank and give it a good jerk, up and down, front and back. Been lots of instances of loose tank bolts.

Check headlight housing. Many of these models had mounting rivets loosen up.

Check front fender for same thing.

Note: On the front end clunk, if the dealer only replaced the washer and torqued the steering head nut, they didn't accomplish much. A fall away test need to be performed and the star adjustment nut under the upper tree needs to be correctly positioned to apply proper head pressure on steering head bearings. Only after this is done does the washer and torquing of the steering head nut help anything.

 

[brentm]

thanks for all the input, I drained the oil and removed the primary cover and everything is in perfect order, I put back together and put the recomended Harley Plus primary/transmission oil in and all is fantastic, I got the bike serviced last time from a standard bike shop and im thinking they used the wrong oils. Ive now done a full service using Harley oils and filter and the bike seems to run like new, seem's to rides better than ever.
Thanks to all.

 

[Chopper]

Did you check the torque on the compensator nut while you were in there? If it's good now that's great, but if you didn't and the noise comes back, just a thought.