It sounds rattly at idle and you can hear it throttling on, more so since ive got a quiter pipe.... but is what i am exp... valve train noise and is this normal?
midnite
Well midnight , i would check all the easy things first , 1 Oil level . 2 Premium grade fuel . 3 All bolts and nuts for tightness . Has it been serviced by yourself or anyone . As you say you can hear the noise now that you have a quieter pipe on , i would try and road test an equivelant bike from the Harley dealer ( Type , year . mileage ) if thats possible . Remembering the 1200 is an aircooled motor so it will make some engine noise . The foreman of any Harley shop will be able to tell you immediatly if your noise is out of the ordinary . Hope this helps , tell us how you got on . Good luck.
Sorry , meant to write Midnite
Hi Houseofspeed, thanks mate........i hate noises, im a perfectionist when it comes to these things..., im running screaming eagle oil in it, which isnt the best i usualy run- mobil1 vtwin - but im going to buy some amsoil as ive been told this can quiet it down a fair bit.... i get it serviced by the local shop, good rep, and i service myself in between the compulsary services.. in other words every 5000kms i change the oil, filter ect and go over the bolts ect.
I recently changed to a two into one pipe which quieted it down a bit and noticed it straight away.. taking it on saturday to see what they say...
Most Sporsters if not all Sportsters have a lot of Valve Train noise which is normal
Did you notice the noise when you run the standard exhaust, thats if you had standard exhaust at the start.
Same here. Mines got 13k on the clock and sounds fine. A little clunky at times with the gear change, but nothing worrying
Hi Rocky2010, bought it brand new with s&s slip ons, so i never heard it st but i would have to say the two into one system is the quietest i have had on there.
You dont think it might be a loose primary chain making this noise?
Turned out to be loose primary chain... just adjusted it and no more rattles..
Hi Scouser, its the bolt and nut under the primary case..right next to the kick stand. There are few ways to adjust it and the method i used was to get it up to normal op temperature. Left it running and carefully adjusted it until it began to whine then backed it off. The other method is to disconnect the spark plug leads, open the primary chain viewer place a flathead screwdriver inside to test the slack, remove it crank the starter motor, you need to be testing about six times to get the most accurate reading. adjust it between 6.3 to 9.5 mm for hot engine, 9.5 -12.7mm for a cold engine..
Hece why i adjusted it while running, the chain should not whine otherwise you will wear it out prematurely
