5th gear whine
- Thread starter hntwrobin
- Start date
spartacus55
Active Member
I also had that noticeable whine in 5th gear on my 2007 road king. harley addresed the problem in 2008 but if you ride a 2007 harley sells a part that attaches to your rear wheel called an isolated drive system for a cost of about 300 bucks plus labor, Why they charge you for it is a topic for another time since they admitted there was a problem with the gearing when they fixed it in 08. After installing the whine disappeared along with quieting the transmission clunking when you downshift into first gear in fact the whole tranny has quieted down to a whisper.
Harley skirts around the issue by calling the IDS pulley an"enhancement" rather than a repair for poor design. The wouldn't have put it on the 08 models if there wasn't a problem but that's Harley for you. I put it on mine and there was a WORLD of difference.
IDS Drive System - Harley Davidson Community
IDS Drive System - Harley Davidson Community
Thorns
Active Member
07 Road King - IDS will take care of the gear chatter (loading and unloading) due to the weaker compensator design, which you can remedy with the SE compensator, but IDS will not remove the 5th gear whine due to the gears are spur gears (straight cut) for strength. Use a heavier trans fluild (shockproof heavy), and it will quiet down some, but you'll still hear it, kinda like the wifey...:s If you run without a windshield, or use a full face helmet, or ear plugs, well....you just shut the door to the garage, leaving the wifey outside still telling you how to cut the grass, but now you won't hear it. 
Thorns
Thorns
With a quality gear lube in the trans like Spectro platinum for 6 speeds , the whine is a non issue.