Clutch Rattle?

Jul 27, 2012
108
38
W.Rutland, Vt.
My 2015 TriGlide has developed a rattle coming from the clutch area. It makes the noise (sounds like spark knock)when I first take off ,or when revved slightly in neutral. I installed a hayden M6 about 200 miles ago. The trike has about 800 miles on it now. Any ideas?

thanks, Wayne
 
My 2015 TriGlide has developed a rattle coming from the clutch area. It makes the noise (sounds like spark knock)when I first take off ,or when revved slightly in neutral. I installed a hayden M6 about 200 miles ago. The trike has about 800 miles on it now. Any ideas?

thanks, Wayne

If you ruled out spark knock.....You are running 91 or better..??
Then;;
Mechanic's 101;; Go back to the last thing you changed :Shrug:
 
Clutch Rattle

Running 93 octane Citgo. I am going to pull primary and check tensioner and clutch. I was hoping someone had experienced this . This is my first Harley with the slip assist clutch. I am sure it will be replaced before long.
 
You might want to pop the outer primary off and check things out, if you are sure it is coming from the primary. There have been times where the Hayden has failed and left pieced floating around in there.
 
You might want to pop the outer primary off and check things out, if you are sure it is coming from the primary. There have been times where the Hayden has failed and left pieced floating around in there.

I am going to pull the primary tonight. I finished heat cycling my Jackpot ceramic head pipe last night. Trike was hot and it was late .Should know something by tomorrow. I hope its not the M6. I have used them on my last 3 Harleys and never had a problem.
 
I am going to pull the primary tonight. I finished heat cycling my Jackpot ceramic head pipe last night. Trike was hot and it was late .Should know something by tomorrow. I hope its not the M6. I have used them on my last 3 Harleys and never had a problem.

Pulled primary cover. Everything looks fine. M6 has just under 3/8" clearance, nothing is loose.I guess it goes back to the dealer. I am going to put it back together auto tune it and make an appointment. Just wondering what a bad compensator sounds like ?
 
Pulled primary cover. Everything looks fine. M6 has just under 3/8" clearance, nothing is loose.I guess it goes back to the dealer. I am going to put it back together auto tune it and make an appointment. Just wondering what a bad compensator sounds like ?

Not completely sure, but I had been complaining to my dealer about what sounded like intermittent spark knock at idle and when pulling out from a stop ('14 TriGlide). The dealer insisted that there was nothing wrong. Recently had it at a local indie shop that is right down the road... he listened and said "nothing bad, you are just hearing the compensator". I asked him if it was bad, he said it was a pretty common sound.

I know more than I did before, but still not completely sure!:gah:
 
Pulled primary cover. Everything looks fine. M6 has just under 3/8" clearance, nothing is loose.I guess it goes back to the dealer. I am going to put it back together auto tune it and make an appointment. Just wondering what a bad compensator sounds like ?

I wonder if you're hearing neutral rattle, or the compensator. A good many of them have a rattle when in neutral, but you have the noise when taking off in 1st gear also, could be compensator. Noises are tough to troubleshoot via the internet.
 
Went to the Harley Dealer this morning.Talked to service manager/head tech about noise. He said it was the compensator . They all make noise,some more than others.He told me not to worry about it ,that's what the warranty is for. I still think it sounds like crap and he agreed but I guess theres not much you can do.
 
My 2015 TriGlide has developed a rattle coming from the clutch area. It makes the noise (sounds like spark knock)when I first take off ,or when revved slightly in neutral. I installed a hayden M6 about 200 miles ago. The trike has about 800 miles on it now. Any ideas?

thanks, Wayne

Hey Wayne, I see you already checked and it was not the M6.

Questions for you. Does it make the noise if you take off with a bit more rpm before engaging the clutch?

Also, you say it does it if you rev is slightly when in neutral....if you take the RPM up to about 1100 or so, then slightly rev, does it do it?

If the answer to either or both of the above is no...there are two solutions that I have seen work for getting rid of what clearly sounds like an unhealthy knocking sound...

Use some seafoam in the gas.

and/or

increase the idle to 1100 RPM

Kevin
 
This may sound really smart-ass, but when mine rattles (sometimes), I just think it sounds like a Harley.

Now, I'm starting to worry. :xzqxz:
 
Hey Wayne, I see you already checked and it was not the M6.

Questions for you. Does it make the noise if you take off with a bit more rpm before engaging the clutch?

Also, you say it does it if you rev is slightly when in neutral....if you take the RPM up to about 1100 or so, then slightly rev, does it do it?

If the answer to either or both of the above is no...there are two solutions that I have seen work for getting rid of what clearly sounds like an unhealthy knocking sound...

Use some seafoam in the gas.

and/or

increase the idle to 1100 RPM

Kevin

Kevin,what does seafoam do?
 
wow, 2015 triglide with 800 miles on it and needing to run seafoam thru it????????? Little on the new side to be running additives thru it already.
 
I use H-D Formula+ in my 2014 primary. 38 oz wet per the manual. What do you have in yours ... and how much fluid did they put in?
 
What Fuzzy said.

I have never used seafoam in my life...until this summer. I got two bad tanks of gas, about a month apart. Caused the bike to run rough, have some knocking...both times the seafoam cleared it up very quickly.

Kevin

I am going to try some just to eliminate that as a source of the noise.:Shrug:
 
I am going to try some just to eliminate that as a source of the noise.:Shrug:


Any input on these?

Does it make the noise if you take off with a bit more rpm before engaging the clutch?

Also, you say it does it if you rev is slightly when in neutral....if you take the RPM up to about 1100 or so, then slightly rev, does it do it?


Kevin
 
Shot in the dark here, Take a look at the two 9/16 bolts that hold the bracket from the stabilizer to the top of the head mine lossen up and at first i though it was detention. Like i said just a shot....:Shrug::Shrug:
 
Any input on these?

Does it make the noise if you take off with a bit more rpm before engaging the clutch?

Also, you say it does it if you rev is slightly when in neutral....if you take the RPM up to about 1100 or so, then slightly rev, does it do it?


Kevin

Just went out to shop ,started trike let it warm up raised idle to 1100 rpm, souns like the rattle is gone or at least less noticeable. ,when I rev it slightly from 1100 the noise is gone. I am still going to try the Seafoam .Can't hurt.

Wayne
 
I use H-D Formula+ in my 2014 primary. 38 oz wet per the manual. What do you have in yours ... and how much fluid did they put in?

I have a mix of 30 oz.Formula Plus and 15 oz.Mobil synthetic atf.I had the problem before I changed the fluid. I pulled the primary cover to check the Hayden and refilled with this mixture. Neutral is very easy to find now,almost impossible before.

Wayne

- - - Updated - - -

Just went out to shop ,started trike let it warm up raised idle to 1100 rpm, souns like the rattle is gone or at least less noticeable. ,when I rev it slightly from 1100 the noise is gone. I am still going to try the Seafoam .Can't hurt.

Wayne
I did another auto tune run tonite.In auto tune the idle went back to 1000 rpm,and the comp noide was back.After I flashed the tune I raised the idle to 1140rpm, most of the noise is gone .Does the higher idle keep the comp from locking and unlocking or what? Is it defective?
Wayne
/
 
Rattle

I would bet on compensator sprocket. The Hayden adjuster will make them more noisy than stock self adjuster. I am on my forth compensator and they all rattle at some point especially taking off from stop with a cold engine. You can check by applying the brake at stop, give it some gas, let out the clutch while keeping the brake pressed. Bad comp will rattle badly. No rattle, just ride it and don't worry about it. Some day Harley will finally refine the compensator sprocket.
 
I would bet on compensator sprocket. The Hayden adjuster will make them more noisy than stock self adjuster. I am on my forth compensator and they all rattle at some point especially taking off from stop with a cold engine. You can check by applying the brake at stop, give it some gas, let out the clutch while keeping the brake pressed. Bad comp will rattle badly. No rattle, just ride it and don't worry about it. Some day Harley will finally refine the compensator sprocket.

Went out Sunday and did another auto tune run. It is really pretty good now.With the idle around 1100 rpm I only get the noise when it is cold. Had the 1000 mile service done today. Just oil change and check torque on critical fasteners.I already changed the primary fluid (twice) and changed the transmission to Redline shockproof.Goes into neutral almost every time.

Time to ride it and enjoy the mods I have done so far,
 
Went out Sunday and did another auto tune run. It is really pretty good now.With the idle around 1100 rpm I only get the noise when it is cold. Had the 1000 mile service done today. Just oil change and check torque on critical fasteners.I already changed the primary fluid (twice) and changed the transmission to Redline shockproof.Goes into neutral almost every time. Time to ride it and enjoy the mods I have done so far,

Good to hear raising the idle got rid of it (mostly). I've seen this on a few bikes recently...some straight off the show room floor, and some with 10k miles on them.

Enjoy the ride! :)

Kevin
 
Good to hear raising the idle got rid of it (mostly). I've seen this on a few bikes recently...some straight off the show room floor, and some with 10k miles on them.

Enjoy the ride! :)

Kevin

Hi Kevin ,thanks for the tip about the idle.I also ran a tank of gas with seafoam, just in case. Now I will install my DK tank lift and the discrete breather system. When the service manager came back from road testing my trike he said" Hey did you put a rear lift on this?" When I replied that I had ,he commented on how much better the handling was. Kudos to DK

Wayne
 
I experienced the same noise when taking off when cold. First thing I thought was the compensator. I read a article about the new compensator saying you cant run the primary fluid ar 32 oz like most HD and other shops prefer to do. I changed the primary fluid to the 38 oz as the manual states. Its gone. I even had a knock at times from the clutch, rare and only did it at idle when the trike was pointed down hill. Mine would disappear at 1100 rpm also. I filed a complaint with them for not following the service manual procedure and fluid amount.
You would be surprised how many folks and shops only use 32 oz
I only got 28 oz of fluid from the primary. It has done it from day one off and on.
 
I experienced the same noise when taking off when cold. First thing I thought was the compensator. I read a article about the new compensator saying you cant run the primary fluid ar 32 oz like most HD and other shops prefer to do. I changed the primary fluid to the 38 oz as the manual states. Its gone. I even had a knock at times from the clutch, rare and only did it at idle when the trike was pointed down hill. Mine would disappear at 1100 rpm also. I filed a complaint with them for not following the service manual procedure and fluid amount.
You would be surprised how many folks and shops only use 32 oz
I only got 28 oz of fluid from the primary. It has done it from day one off and on.

Quite a few of the dealer parts changers don't take the time to learn the difference between the MY's. They haven't used 32 oz since the 06 MY, all the dummies have to do is FTFM.
 
I experienced the same noise when taking off when cold. First thing I thought was the compensator. I read a article about the new compensator saying you cant run the primary fluid ar 32 oz like most HD and other shops prefer to do. I changed the primary fluid to the 38 oz as the manual states. Its gone. I even had a knock at times from the clutch, rare and only did it at idle when the trike was pointed down hill. Mine would disappear at 1100 rpm also. I filed a complaint with them for not following the service manual procedure and fluid amount.

You would be surprised how many folks and shops only use 32 oz

I only got 28 oz of fluid from the primary. It has done it from day one off and on.

Very interesting. Going to get ahold of one of the local bikes that had this issue and check their primary fluid level...and give them a free primary fluid change in the process.

:)

I did not know what caused the issue...the problem they had was the same as the OP described (even on brand new, not even had the 1,000 mile service yet), each time the increasing of the idle got rid of the noise.

Not wanting to be sour grapes, I kept the thought to myself that it was just a result of HD's ever increasing tolerances.

If it is just a matter of primary fluid being low, that is Great news, and they will be able to lower their idle back down.

Will report back in the next week or so what we find.

Kevin
 

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