Toggle sidebar

IS your top end NOISEY? Noisier than you would like? check this out...

Spazz

Spazz

Administrator
Feb 22, 2014
1,856
1
0
I know there are a few of us that venture to other forums... many resources and a wealth of info. So it's times like this that we need to share invaluable knowledge.

I have a CLACK in my 120ST ( as many others do in all TC motors ) between 2600-3000rpms. It's not NORMAL as HD says it is.. so I go on the hunt for answers. I have NOT taken it apart yet, but I will.

The closest scenario I found is rocker box noise...

There is a die-hard HD owner that followed this thru to the remedy and marketed it....

www.rockout.biz

He found the rocker shafts on his 2015 LIMITED actually 'twist' in the housing and CLACK against the hardened bolts under operation!



You can see here the witness marks from the twisting shaft! You can see a pic on his site.

MANY people have purchased this $15 kit with GREAT success... IF you have this problem of loose rocker shafts. Unfortunately... the ONLY WAY to tell is to tear into it.



For $15... I am going to order 2 kits ( to be safe ) once I get a hold of him to ensure these will work on my 120ST motor.

He has sold well over 100 kits already with great success stories from across the country.

I AM NOT THROWING A SALES PITCH BY ANY MEANS.... I have no vested insterest here... just passing along GREAT INFO to the masses


Check it out and you may have the answer to your CLACKING... I hope I do.... I am replacing my lifters and pushrods at the same time when I get to it since I will be in there already.
 
I wonder if at high rpms does there need to be the ability to flex or move? How many miles on his testing and what does the long term wear on those parts look like after the kit is installed? If guys are getting 100k miles on these motors, is it an issue or an annoyance? I'm sure HD will think twice about warranting valve train issues with this in there.
 
The shafts are not supposed to move at all... the bolts are supposed to hold the shafts, but are too small. And shafts are a hand press in... so shouldn't turn.. but do. The bushings in the kit are precisely cut and tapered to take up the 'slop' been the bolt and shaft for a good fit with no movement.

The housing is allunimum and the bushings are brass... the oil in the system will impregnate the brass which is good. With no movement, you have now wear points. He has checked his at 1k intervals with no sign of wear.

The nice thing is.. they are removable with little to no problem... all they do is take up slack.

I will say this... they are many bikes on the road without this issue... my 14SGS is one of them... but several ( over 100) from all different years of the TC motors has had this problem and fixed with this kit so far.

Sent from Note4
 
Makes you wonder for sure why this issue hasn't been addressed. Had my front sparkplug wire replaced Saturday in Reno and they said they had never heard of that before REALLY. And yes they placed a piece of wiring loom over the spot so it won't rub. We walked out on the floor and all the bikes were rubbing so maybe they fix them before they leave who knows. Had them also hand me the replacement clips for the bag recall as I have the bolts now and don't need them but it gets me off the list.
 
TomA said:
Makes you wonder for sure why this issue hasn't been addressed. Had my front sparkplug wire replaced Saturday in Reno and they said they had never heard of that before REALLY. And yes they placed a piece of wiring loom over the spot so it won't rub. We walked out on the floor and all the bikes were rubbing so maybe they fix them before they leave who knows. Had them also hand me the replacement clips for the bag recall as I have the bolts now and don't need them but it gets me off the list.
Click to expand...
It's not on ALL bikes.... which is weird. It could have happened when rocker housings were mass produced and tooling was out of spec... just a guess

Sent from Note4
 
I agree with you Spazz. As many of you know, tooling items are only good for X amount of repetitions before they need to be replaced. Companies like to buy tooling items as cheap as they can and get the most reps they can and I'm sure HD and their vendors are no exception. The caveat is the initial quality of the tooling purchased. If a drill bit is cheap off shore crap it goes out of tolerance at a faster rate. Unfortunately if the acceptable machining tolerances of assembled mating parts are at the maximum, situations like sloppy rocker assemblies and slightly unbalanced crank assemblies, as well as others, are prevelant on certain bikes but considered by Mother Hog to be normal because each part of the assembly within the spec range. Most manufactured goods are like this.
 
BluesBelly said:
I agree with you Spazz. As many of you know, tooling items are only good for X amount of repetitions before they need to be replaced. Companies like to buy tooling items as cheap as they can and get the most reps they can and I'm sure HD and their vendors are no exception. The caveat is the initial quality of the tooling purchased. If a drill bit is cheap off shore crap it goes out of tolerance at a faster rate. Unfortunately if the acceptable machining tolerances of assembled mating parts are at the maximum, situations like sloppy rocker assemblies and slightly unbalanced crank assemblies, as well as others, are prevelant on certain bikes but considered by Mother Hog to be normal because each part of the assembly within the spec range. Most manufactured goods are like this.
Click to expand...
Well stated Blues

Sent from Note4
 
Spazz said:
It's not on ALL bikes.... which is weird. It could have happened when rocker housings were mass produced and tooling was out of spec... just a guess

Sent from Note4
Click to expand...

Must be on those bikes that were made on a Friday....or Hangover Monday....mine was made on Wednesday....no noise and everything still works...
 
14 FLHX said:
Rocker locker i believe, still sitting on the tool box
Click to expand...

Dang... where ya been? LOL! I have mine still sitting as well... noise is still there... I am waiting on parts before I dive into it.
 
Spazz,
Have you changed out the lifters yet?
The rattle between 2600 - 3000rpm sounds very familiar and being at cruising speed was very annoying.
Had the same with my SG, change lifter to the new SE version and seemed to quiet it down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Forum statistics

Threads
7,970
Messages
69,208
Members
15,056
Latest member
Clive Miller

Share this page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back