Possible Rear Sprocket Problem

[triglide1]

I had my tri-glide up on jack stands this weekend putting a lift kit on to get the back end up so I would quit dragging the pipes. While it was up and the wheels off I was checking the rear sprocket and as I turned it I noticed it had a slight wobble and the belt moved from one side to the other as I turned it. Has anyone else noticed any wobble in their rear sprocket? Could it be a problem with the IDS or is it normal to have some movement in the sprocket? I also have a squeak some where in the rear that has been there for a while but now seems to be getting louder. It only squeaks when you are going over 40 MPH an let off of the throttle with no pressure on the drive-train like coasting but not completely decelerating. Both problems may possibly be connected.

 

[americanbadass]

I would get that checked out right away. The belt adjustment should keep it centered in the sproket. You may have some loose bolts on that sproket, and it very likely will damage the belt before long.:AGGHH:

 

[Gorilla]

i agree sounds like a loose sprocket to me. IMMEDIATE attention required

 

[trikermutha]

Dont the rear sprocket have a rubber isolator on them now???

 

[msocko3]

Dont the rear sprocket have a rubber isolator on them now???

Yes they do, there is a procedure in the manual for checking them for wear.

 

[msocko3]

I had my tri-glide up on jack stands this weekend putting a lift kit on to get the back end up so I would quit dragging the pipes. While it was up and the wheels off I was checking the rear sprocket and as I turned it I noticed it had a slight wobble and the belt moved from one side to the other as I turned it. Has anyone else noticed any wobble in their rear sprocket? Could it be a problem with the IDS or is it normal to have some movement in the sprocket? I also have a squeak some where in the rear that has been there for a while but now seems to be getting louder. It only squeaks when you are going over 40 MPH an let off of the throttle with no pressure on the drive-train like coasting but not completely decelerating. Both problems may possibly be connected.

Something doesn't sound right, I'd be looking into it before to many more miles get put on it.

 

[scooty]

The squeak that you are hearing when you let off of the throttle is the drive bely rubbing on the sides of the rear sprocket, I had this exact problem with one of my bikes, the fix: Harley makes a belt dressing that you put on the sides of the belt and it will eliminate the chirp when you let off of it. Also the rear sprocket should run true, the drive belt might wander a little bit but the sprocket should not wobble.

 

[Phu Cat]

TG1, Had a buddy with a similar problem. He heard a noise from time to time but couldn't locate the source. Turned out to be a loose rear sproket once it failed completely. Hope you're still under warranty as it cost him a bundle!

Phu Cat

 

[triglide1]

Update

I took my TriGlide in to have the rear sprocket looked at. They put it on a lift to see if they could find any problem. The mechanic that looked at it verified that there was a slight wobble in the sprocket. Then he put a new 2012 TriGlide that they just uncrated on the lift to compare it to. It had the same amount of wobble in the rear sproket that mine does. It looks like the wobble is not out of the ordinary.
Then he did a test ride to see where the squeak might be coming from but could not get it to do it. It was only in the 50's Saturday so I don't think it ever really got warmed up enough to do it. They are keeping my TriGlide till it warms up some and do another test ride.

 

[Lakeman]

My belt makes a noise that you can hear if you throttle down and pull the clutch in and coast. I had it at a trike shop and they said the belt was dry and they put something on it and that cured it. Now it's back and I went to the Harley shop and they said Harley doesn't have a belt "dry lub". Do you have a part number for the belt dressing Harley has?

 

[scooty]

The lube that I bought from Harley is in a squeeze tube and looks and feels like a heavy grease, you just rub a little on the sides of the belt with your finger. This is actual Harley belt lube your dealer should have the P/N. I looked for my tube but can't find it right now, when I do I will post P/N

 

[Lakeman]

scooty if it is "like a grease" it will hold dirt and wear out the pulleys. What we need is a dry lub. Thats what I ask for at the Harley shop and they did not have one, I also checked with Advanced Auto with no luck. Anyone have an idea what and where a dry lub is?

 

[White Knight 04]

Use a bar of dove soap it will do away with the squeak !!! Old mechanics trick !!!

 

[renegade]

I have converted 200+ Harleys with Lehman and Champion conversions and never had a problem with a rear pulley wobble. The belt should have 30 thousandth clearence from the inside edge of the pulley and should track there. The only time it should make any noise is when you backup and the belt rides against the inside of the pulley which also happens when you backup a 2 wheeler.

 

[Lakeman]

My belt tracks fine but will make a noise you can hear coasting at very low speed. The dealer said it was dry and used a dry lub and took care of the noise. He checked the tracking and so did I and all was fine, the belt looks new at 28,000 miles.

 

[Lakeman]

Dose anyone know of a dry lub for the drive belt?

 

[triglide1]

Thought I would update everybody on the squeak. I found the problem. I had my Dealer change out my 32 tooth sprocket to a 30 tooth several months ago. Since my TriGlide is out of warranty now I decided to find the squeak myself. Well I pulled the primary and inner primary to take a look. Did not see anything at that point so I continued on and started to remove the big sprocket nut so I could pull the sprocket and take a look at the main transmission bearing which was my next suspect of the squeak. Got my big breaker bar and socket so I could remove the nut. Well much to my surprise it did not take the breaker bar to remove the nut. Well it appears that the tech that installed the 30 tooth sprocket never did tighten the nut properly. After I removed the sprocket you could see where the splines were worn a bit from the sprocket moving back and forth on the main shaft but they were not to bad. So I put it back together and used Red loctite and torqued it to spec. I put the primary back together and let it set for 24 hours so the loctite would cure. I took it for a test ride the next day and no more squeak.

 

[John Luciano]

I would have used BLUE locktight . Glad you found the problem.

 

[icebite1]

Glad to hear you found and fixed the problem. Red locktite is the correct one to use on that big nut and what is called for in the HD manual

 

[msocko3]

I put the primary back together and let it set for 24 hours so the loctite would cure. I took it for a test ride the next day and no more squeak.

Thanks for updating us, you did the right thing and should have no more problems from it. Like Icebite1 said, red loctite is what the factory calls for and what I used when I did mine and my dads.

 

[americanbadass]

The squeak that you are hearing when you let off of the throttle is the drive bely rubbing on the sides of the rear sprocket, I had this exact problem with one of my bikes, the fix: Harley makes a belt dressing that you put on the sides of the belt and it will eliminate the chirp when you let off of it. Also the rear sprocket should run true, the drive belt might wander a little bit but the sprocket should not wobble.

belt dressing works well for that chirping noise-but if it reoccurs, loosen the belt a tich, and it might solve the issue.

 

[John Luciano]

Red locktight requires a torch to remove it. BLUE will hold as strong but if it needs to come off an impact gun can remove it. Well the good news it won't come loose again.

 

[icebite1]

The nut in question is installed at the factory with red locktite. I have changed several of these , you do not need heat, the proper combination of socket/breaker bar with with steady pressure and the pulley locked locked in place with the locking tool it comes right off.

 

[msocko3]

Red locktight requires a torch to remove it. BLUE will hold as strong but if it needs to come off an impact gun can remove it. Well the good news it won't come loose again.

I've used quite a bit of red loc-tite over the years and have yet found the need of a torch to loosen the fastener. There are applications on a Harley where you must use red or it is a for sure thing the fastener will come loose, and those applications where the fastener comes loose generaly cost big $$ to repair when loose parts fly around.