Is It Time For Engine Work?

[franka]

2007 Road King FLHRC with 52,603 miles. I've owned the bike from day one and have taken meticulous care with all three holes changed every 5,000 miles and just Dyno tuned at 50,705, Max Power 77.55 Torque 90.76. Currently running Stage 1 with HD Heavy Breather and Freedom Performance Tru Duals. To this point I have not done any repairs or modifications to the engine, all stock. However, I have replaced starter motor, Race Inner Bearing, Clutch Assembly and Compensator at 49,843. Also, replaced Stator at 50,705
What I'm hearing now is pinging and knock in lower gear and idle and just an array of knocks and rattles. With the exception of pings, rattles, etc. the bike runs well, plenty of torque and smooth at freeway speeds, do I need to be concerned?

 

[STEVE07]

If you feel confident run it. It is riding season. Wait for the colder weather to do anything. My 07 was apart with just 18,000 miles because the crank spun. that was in 08. Haven't touched it since with the exception of oil changes and it will roll 100,000 this year

 

[Breeze3at]

Two things that may need looking at, are the cam chain tensioner shoes and the compensator. 2007 has the new hydraulic cam tensioner shoes that seem to be good for a lot of miles, BUT still worth taking the cover off for a look see. Mine were barely scored at 35K. If your starter is not making occasional horrible grinding bangs when hot, your comp. is probably ok. It's very likely that you are becoming used to your bike and starting to notice every noise it makes. I say ride on and enjoy the season.

 

[dolt]

I would add a couple of suggestions to the previous posts:.
'07 was a bad year for cranks. First year of new crank vendor so quality control issues increased the crank failure rate in the '07 models; Steve07 was a victim. Run out spec for warranty purposes increased from .003" to .012"; the Moco anticipated the increase. So, I would suggest checking crank run out while the cam chest is open to check the chain tensioners.

At 50K miles, there is likely some carbon build up on the pistons which will increase compression and could be the source of the ping or knock you are hearing under load. A compression test would be a good idea followed by a leak down test to check the condition of the top end. Running some sea foam through the motor will blow a lot of the carbon buildup off the piston tops, if there is any, lower compression and eliminate the ping. It would not be a good idea to continue to roll up miles if the motor is pinging.