I see on the 2014 thread talk about the compensator. I started this thread so as not to hijack that one.
In June while on a trip on the west coast, my comp started making a loud bang when I would hit the start switch, and a puff of burnt smelling black smoke would come out of the breather. Got so bad I stopped in Eureka, CA to have them look at it. This was at about 27K on the speedo. They confirmed it was bad and my extended warranty was used to replace it and the spring plates. Tech showed me the old parts and how and why they were worn. The plate springs were flat with no curve in them. All good when I left. 200 miles up the road in Oregon, it started doing it again!,,but not as often. Rather than backtrack, and knowing they had used the only replacement parts in their stock, I elected to continue the trip and have my tech here in Idaho look at it.
When I took it in, do you think we could get it to do it again?? Hell no!! We must have started that thing 50 or 60 times. It was a 100 degree day,,took it out on the freeway, sat in traffic, and got it really hot, still wouldn't do it. Tech did not want to crack it open if there was no problem... Changed the oil and I took it home.
A few days later, met friends at a gas station for a 4 day trip up through Oregon, Washington and Montana. We all gassed up to head out, and when I started it,,,Bam!!! there it was again!!. I had my witnesses, riding Honda's of course, and they were very happy to let me know what a piece of crap Harley I had. It did it off and on the whole trip, and they diligently reminded me everytime what a sweet running machine I had. At every stop, I would take a deep breath and wince when I hit the switch to start it.
30 k on the speedo by now and took it in last week, and this time he opened it up. Comp looked like it had not been replaced!!! Had the receipt with all the parts and everything,,but the plate springs were fine, so they did replace those fer sure. My tech decided they did replace everything, and it just did not last, but they didn't think they could get it thru the warranty process again. Well, the diligent Lady service writer got it done. So... new comp, springs, starter motor...the whole works,,, all I have to pay is the 50.00 deductible again, which is fine with me.
Too bad we didn't know about this new beefed up comp last week or I would have put it in,,if we could even get one. Did the 30k service,,new brake pads..got 20k out of those...and replaced my rear tires with some really nice 70k mile warranty Toyo radials. The stock Dunlops were almost down to the wear bars. Should have it finished today, then Tech wants me to put a few hundred miles on before we leave for the San Juan Islands and B.C. in a coupla weeks.
Sorry for the long winded compensator story.
In June while on a trip on the west coast, my comp started making a loud bang when I would hit the start switch, and a puff of burnt smelling black smoke would come out of the breather. Got so bad I stopped in Eureka, CA to have them look at it. This was at about 27K on the speedo. They confirmed it was bad and my extended warranty was used to replace it and the spring plates. Tech showed me the old parts and how and why they were worn. The plate springs were flat with no curve in them. All good when I left. 200 miles up the road in Oregon, it started doing it again!,,but not as often. Rather than backtrack, and knowing they had used the only replacement parts in their stock, I elected to continue the trip and have my tech here in Idaho look at it.
When I took it in, do you think we could get it to do it again?? Hell no!! We must have started that thing 50 or 60 times. It was a 100 degree day,,took it out on the freeway, sat in traffic, and got it really hot, still wouldn't do it. Tech did not want to crack it open if there was no problem... Changed the oil and I took it home.
A few days later, met friends at a gas station for a 4 day trip up through Oregon, Washington and Montana. We all gassed up to head out, and when I started it,,,Bam!!! there it was again!!. I had my witnesses, riding Honda's of course, and they were very happy to let me know what a piece of crap Harley I had. It did it off and on the whole trip, and they diligently reminded me everytime what a sweet running machine I had. At every stop, I would take a deep breath and wince when I hit the switch to start it.
30 k on the speedo by now and took it in last week, and this time he opened it up. Comp looked like it had not been replaced!!! Had the receipt with all the parts and everything,,but the plate springs were fine, so they did replace those fer sure. My tech decided they did replace everything, and it just did not last, but they didn't think they could get it thru the warranty process again. Well, the diligent Lady service writer got it done. So... new comp, springs, starter motor...the whole works,,, all I have to pay is the 50.00 deductible again, which is fine with me.
Too bad we didn't know about this new beefed up comp last week or I would have put it in,,if we could even get one. Did the 30k service,,new brake pads..got 20k out of those...and replaced my rear tires with some really nice 70k mile warranty Toyo radials. The stock Dunlops were almost down to the wear bars. Should have it finished today, then Tech wants me to put a few hundred miles on before we leave for the San Juan Islands and B.C. in a coupla weeks.
Sorry for the long winded compensator story.
