1999 Ultra Classic Jingle/rattle noise goes away when clutch is pulled in?

[Colorabee]

 
Hi all, Colorabee here, I have a new problem with my old 1999 UltraClassic.  I'm hearing a Jingle or rattle noise coming from somewhere between my legs.  Kind of hard to tell exactly Where it's coming from because it only does it while riding.  Can't make it do it in the driveway.  Gotta get the bike good and warm before it will start to rattle.  The noise is most prominent between 2000 and 3000 RPM while just maintaining speed.  Might be doing it under moderate to heavy acceleration too, but I can't hear it due to the loudness of the exhaust note.  Pull in the clutch and the noise goes away.  Kind of hard to get the bike in neutral while going down the road, but the one time I tried it, it didn't seem to make the noise with the clutch either in or out.  With the bike not moving in neutral there is no noise with the clutch in or out.  Any thoughts on what this might be?

[calif phil]

Exhaust heat shield , loose or broken or a sagging front motor mount , allowing the rear brake pedal and front exhaust pipe to get to close to each other. 

[Hossamania]

Gremlin bell?

[Hossamania]

Check the rear exhaust rubbers, bag latches, loose clutch handle. Sound travels, so it may not be coming from exactly where you think sometimes.
Take a rubber mallet and just go around and tap stuff, rear bumper, heat shields, shifter, passenger boards, etc. Have you lubed the passenger boards lately? They can squeak and rattle.

[kd]

A jingle usually comes from a loose flat washer or the like.  One poster a while back had a similar complaint and found it to be the washers on his (front ?) engine mount.  If you have a rubber mallet you can "gently" bump your way around everything and hopefully it will ring the bell.

[Colorabee]

Phil, Hoss, and KD, thanks for the suggestions on things to check.  I did find a loose Heat shield clamp when I looked it over a few weeks ago.  I was hoping that might be it, but I'm not that lucky.  Good idea to go over it with a mallet....I'll start with a rubber one.  It sure would be nice if it was just something loose, But like I say, the only kind of luck I've had with this bike has been bad.  If I don't find anything loose, I guess I'll start by taking a look inside the right side transmission cover, since it only makes the noise with the clutch out.  If anyone has something to add, please chime in.

Thanks

Favorite Yogi Quote: "No one goes there nowadays, it's too crowded."

[fleetmechanic]

Right side door area, check the trapdoor bearings on the right end of both shafts.  We have an '08 FLHTP that acted like this and is was a bad trapdoor bearing on the mainshaft.

[DanThe Man]

My 07 Road King was doing today after I left the house. I had forgot to tighten windshield quick release bolts after screwing around with mounting my fairing the other day. Doh!

[Colorabee]

Hey guys, Just a quick update on the status of my noise issue.  I have the Bike on my lift and the outer and inner primary case torn off.  I think I found the problem.  Looks like the transmission main shaft bearing lunched.  I'll post some pictures when I get it torn down some more.  Looks like I'll have to pull the gearset in order to change the bearing.

[Colorabee]

[attach=0,msg1293515]

[Colorabee]

Hi all just wanted to let you know what I found.  Once I got the inner Primary cover off, I noticed the Belt drive sprocket nut had come loose.  You may be asking yourself, as I did how this could happen with the bracket holding it in place?  The only answer I could come up with is something must have given way behind the sprocket.  Possibly the Main shaft bearing?  Only way to find out was to tear it apart.  After removing the gear set I was pleased to find that all the gears and bearings looked fine.  However there is a spacer that rides between the main bearing inner race and the sprocket that turns out to be the culprit.  If you look closely at the picture in my previous post, you will notice the excessive wear on the surface that mates with thinner bearing race.  This in effect allowed the spacer to walk in, releasing the pressure on the drive sprocket.  I will replace the spacer along with the Main shaft bearing and a new inner primary bearing and race for good measure while I'm in there.  Thanks to all for your help.  Just thought you would like to know what I found.

[les]

I've seen that many times and I always replace that spacer if I do a job that takes me in that deep.

[Norton Commando]

I've seen that many times and I always replace that spacer if I do a job that takes me in that deep.

So the spacer is failing in compression, suggesting that the material is too soft. If the new spacer is made from the same soft material, it will fail the same way as the original spacer. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it may be best to reuse the original spacer. The reason being is that it has undergone a certain amount of work-hardening and as a result may resist further compression.   

Jason