Clanking Noise from Trans/Primary

[Harley38]

Mine would bang from the primary when starting hot and would make a bunch of clanking when shutting off hot, basically all that noise means it is putting a lot of shock to your cranksaft. Yours does have the so-called heavy duty compensator already but mine after 10,000 miles is already banging and clanking once in a while. Under engineered junk but that is my opinion.

ok, thanks for the heads up. I do not have any of those symptoms when starting or shutting off, only the little rattle between 2k and about 2400 RPMs.

Will keep an ear out.

 

[zyepod]

Yes I'm running a 96... I've got 13000+ miles on it now but it's been doing it a while... HD in Tifton told me my gears were with-in tolerance but was on the loser side of tolerance... First I'm not sure they're in tolerance second I feel what will happen is the tranny will eventually go out after the warranty is out...

They said it was lugging thus letting the gears slop back and forth. I'm sure I'm lugging some but my argument here is the tranny shouldn't dictate (noise wise) what gear I'm in. Besides that the manual says to put it in 6th at 60... Unless your execrating of course...

I'm going back to HD to tell em it may be in tolerance but I'm not satisfied...

 

[Hoople]

I've got 13000+ miles on it now

Well if it really does sound like "ball bearings being spun on a rope flapping against metal" the dealer should have picked up on that. Since the noise is not there when cold, my guess it's not the primary chain because the chain gets tighter when it gets hot.

With 13K on the bike, the trans fluid has been changed once or twice. Did the dealership do the work and what fluid are you now using. If your using Syn 3, it's possible a bearing is going bad.
Before bringing it back to the dealership, I would check the oil level in the transmission. If they did the 1K, 5K, 10K work, you just never know what the level is unless you check it yourself.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Harley38]

Here is an update on my " primary noise". Turns out, not a primary noise, as much as I thought it was and the sound matched the description of the OP.

Ends up it was the vents on the lowers and a loose exhaust flange nut were all loose. Funny how the exhaust nut was loose as I checked torques on the 5k service, oh well.

So, after going through most everything on the front of the bike and checking the torques, the noise is gone and bike is running great!

Thanks again for the previous posts and I am also more aware of not lugging the engine.