| Author | Message | ||
     Jetranger_2000 |
So I know this isn't a HD forum but I need to run something by everyone before I spend so much time registering and asking on a HD forum ***30000kms ***stock engine My issue is what I would call not normal ticking from engine. I have done a lot of reading and it seems that most guys on HD forums say that the newer HDs just tick. Well I kept digging and found automatic primary chain adjustment might be a notch loose so I removed cover and put it up a few clicks. Put it all together and still ticking. It gets louder at higher RPM and is proportional to revs. As revs go up ticking increases in speed and volume. I know a bunch of us buell owners also run HDs so any help would be great. Did have it at dealer and he said it was normal but I don't buy it. Bike ran quiet and great the last few years. This sound just showed up (Message edited by Jetranger_2000 on October 23, 2014) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Did you recently change the oil? Different grade? Different brand? Without quantifying what "more ticking" is...sounds to me like lifter tic. Syn3 is notoriously noisy. I run it in all my Buells and ran it in my Evo 1340 FLHP - never had a functional issue, but ••••••• it can get loud. Especially when hot. | ||
| Tootal |
Is the engine stock? What year? There has been a lot of talk about tappets ticking on the new bikes. If you have adjustable push rods you could try extending them another half turn and try. If stock it could be tappets bleeding off too quickly. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Pay close attention to that sound. The cam bearings fail. The cam chain tensioners fail. This is what happened to my friend's roadking. Twincams are shit. There. I said it. A luxury touring bike whose engine lasts under 70,000 miles is a joke. | ||
| Tootal |
Nothing wrong with a twin cam if you put gear drives in it! On a 2009 though you have to check the runnout on the crank because the engines after 2002 have runout issues. On the later bikes they use hydraulic tensioners and bicycle chains and they work much better than the original silent chains and spring loaded tensioners. Go gear drive and forget it on the older ones! | ||
| Sagehawk |
what about those 25,000 mile lifters? at galveston rally S&S fellow said they change theirs out even earlier due to valve lift. hmmmmmm? sorry , still in evo age. | ||
| Tootal |
Funny you should bring that up. Just rebuilt my 2002 RG after 98,000 miles. I had to change tappets cause I wasn't getting any oil to the top end. In researching my problem I found tons of info about tappets. The original ones were made by Johnson Hylift and worked great but they went out of business, or something, so HD got another company to provide them but they were taking Chevy tappets and modifying them for the HD. The first ones were not working but the B model seemed to be better. Now they have a C model and I'm not sure about them. I do agree that the Twin Cam has had it's problems. Heck, even the push rod holes in the heads don't line up properly with the rockers!! Sometimes the pushrod can touch the tube, while it goes through it's arc, and get pushed sideways out of the socket and then pop back in causing a click. Bottom line is if you modify a twin cam you have to make a lot of changes to get it right. Leave it stock and it will run for a long time, except for the first few years where the cam chain tensioners will break and destroy your engine!! My old evo had the studs pull out of the cases because they were soft on one side. Got a crack through the oil pressure sending unit threads that was unfixable. Had to buy S&S cases and crank. By the time I finished that engine the only thing left HD was the cylinders, intake and carb. It's still running with 156,000 miles on it! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Sagehawk, Plenty of Buell owners have stories about their ULYs but plenty of us are doing just fine. I guess it all depends whether you want to pass on just bad news or the good news. As long as there are ICE powered vehicles there will be mechanical engine problems to report. So many parts from so many suppliers. | ||
| Arry |
As I understand it, the ICE powered vehicles work very well in the arctic regions. | ||
| Uly_man |
"As long as there are ICE powered vehicles there will be mechanical engine problems to report". If anyone thinks that they will NOT HAVE problems with electric engines they are just dreaming as it STILL has moving parts IE Bearings. You have folk that can not understand a modern AGM battery let alone the complication of the type that is needed for and electric engine system. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Ulyman, Probably right, but electric motors for certain have very few moving parts and oil threads will go away. After riding the Harley LiveWire I for one am looking forward to that hopeful eventuality. | ||
| Sagehawk |
Thanks for lifter info Tootal. You are a wealth of info. What do you recommend lifter wise for the evo? Also, you posted about valve stem seals a bit back. Thought on those on what to use? Eg97, i dont have a lot of negative thought on these bike. I do have a few notes n observations on my experiences with 96 flhr and 07 12x. I share facts of what ive found and ways to keep things running good. Beauty of this site is so many views n thoughts from so many places. This creativity started when the phrase explosion motor engineering was first coined. ? | ||
| Tootal |
Oh, you have an evo! Well then I wouldn't ride it anymore until you pull the tappet blocks and check the rollers on your tappets. There were quite a few failures in those years. The rollers were not hardened properly and once the outer hardness wore through it ate them up. I had to rebuild a friends 97 ultra because of that. Here's what to look for:  As far as the valve guide seals I like the ones from Genuine James Gaskets. In this picture the one on the left is the James seal and stock is on the right. The stock ones harden with age and heat and no longer seal correctly.  |
