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Rattle sound

Hill202

Hill202

Active Member
Contributor
I know that it will be real difficult to tell me what is causing the rattle in my bike but maybe someone has had this problem before. The bike has 3800 miles on it. The sound is coming from the rear and seems to be coming from the right side. It is not consistant with braking or bumps. It is a light metallic rattle that sounds alot like the belt guard sounds if you tap on it, or maybe a heat shield. It does not do it at idle. I only hear it when I am going kind of slow. I do not think that it is internal. It sounds like something is loose and I cannot find anything loose on the bike.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
Thanks for the try but its not a baffle. I've tapped all over the bike and I can not re-create the sound. I sure hope its not a wheel bearing. I don't think it is though, its too much like a rattle sound. It sounds just like a heat shield but its not.
 
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it's possible you just missed the rattling piece when you looked. check EVERYTHING that might be loose, even parts you are sure wouldn't make the noise. sometimes the solution to these pesky problems are surprising.
 
jonny oz said:
it's possible you just missed the rattling piece when you looked. check EVERYTHING that might be loose, even parts you are sure wouldn't make the noise. sometimes the solution to these pesky problems are surprising.
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Heat shields! I tightened them while the bike was hot. I got about a half a turn more on each clamp. It was'nt really a rattle, the clamps were just loose enough to kind of squeek on the pipes.
 
Hill202 said:
Heat shields! I tightened them while the bike was hot. I got about a half a turn more on each clamp. It was'nt really a rattle, the clamps were just loose enough to kind of squeek on the pipes.
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Heat shields are always the first thing to check when you hear a rattle. It's really wierd how many different types of sounds they can make. Not a bad idea to have some extra worm clamps laying around in the toolbox. Pretty common to booger one up when you're trying to get 'em really tight.

Another thing to check is the timing cover. I thought my '07 tranny was making intermittent noises for quite a while. When I was checking nuts and bolts for tightness during a service I found them loose with the screws not centered in the holes. About drove me nuts!

TL
 
My 09 was making a "rattle sound" that was driving me nuts as well... I found what I believe is the O2 sensor (threaded into the front pipe) was loose... the warmer the bike the looser it became... tightened... no more rattle!
 
I had the same problem last year on my FLSTC 08, I finally found the problem, it was a loose heat shield, I tight it and bend the shield a little bit to prevent it to hit the pipe, It fixed the problem and took 2 minutes to fix and all summer to find where it was coming from, good luck!
 
I had a heat shield vibrate so badly that part of it cracked off completely. The rattle sound was dramatic. I have also had the fuel cap rattle and touching it make the rattle stop.
 
Had a rattle/squeak sound on my Dyna. Looked at everything. Was convinced it was the exhaust, but could not find. Tightened the header flanges, heat shields, tapped on everything. Finally turned out to the the rear mount for the exhaust. Bolts were loose enough to let the pipes vibrate, causing the heat shield to rattle.
 
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