It looks like "nevil" came up with the best suggestion to check the engine mounts, especially the front. I didn't even have to put the bike up on the motorcycle jack to see signs of degradation of the front engine mount. This is what it looks like.



My guess is that is the source of the clanking sound. I can't believe that after only 7,000 miles, this kind of "normal" wear and tear damage should occur. That shouldn't happen until 30,000 or 40,000 miles. I suspect it is out of warranty since I bought the bike new 1 year and 3 months ago.

 

I could be wrong(i'm sure someone will correct me)but the Warranty is 2yrs,from date of Registration.
Graham.

 

Rocknrick may have it. I had an annoying rattle on my Heritage. The rim was a loose fit on the shell and the glass was slightly loose. A little silicone RTV and all's well.

Wups, shoulda read to the last page.

 

I'm hopin thats just dirt and not rust.....but it does look like that puppy needs replacing. I would definitely be taking that problem to the dealer....quite possibly still under warranty or possibly some sort of recall on a part that fails so quickly.

 

Ok, I guess I don't know what a good one looks like, but I don't see anything that looks like it's whacking anything else. There might be a small clean spot on the left side which could be contact of the mount to the frame crossmember. But???
I need to so look at mine and do a comparo. When the sun comes up.

 

Mine went bad after 4000 miles. When it was installed at the factory there was too much space between the mount and frame, and the mount was stretched out when bolted up. This left no room for it to flex and it just ate itself up. When you get a new one it should be shimmed. If it's under warranty (2 years from date of purchase) and the dealer won't shim it, do it yourself. Run a search and you'll find how to do it.

 

"00spy" had the answer. I saw other replies that mentioned to check for loose tank bolt, but a hand tight check and twisting the tank by hand made me think it was firmly bolted in place. It took just a few seconds to put a 1/2" socket on the cap nut and 1/2" open end wrench on the hex head bolt. It was at least 1/4 turn loose.

I backed the nut completely off and added a drop of Locktite 721 high strength and bolted it up tight.

Then I took it for a short 2 mile test drive, trying to hit all the bumps in the road, and not a single clank or rattle.

This is a photo of the tank bolt that looked and felt deceivingly tight.



Although the clanking sound is gone, and the bike handles like new, I'm not 100% satisfied that all is right with my Street Bob. After doing a 1/2 a$$ job of cleaning off the road dirt from Arkansas State Hwy 220 (yes, it is a dirt road), I took another photo of my front engine mount. As one other reply mentioned, we don't have a new one to compare it to. This is what it looks like today after 7,000 miles.



Here is a close-up of the crack in the rubber on the right hand side.



That doesn't look right to me.

I canceled my plans to trailer my Street Bob to the Harley shop this afternoon. Now that the clanking sound is gone, I will assume things are OK until the engine drops out. :-)

 

Well, at least you now have a baseline on the mount's condition. Keep an eye on it.

 

to me that isolator/motor mount doesn't look too bad. Hell i can stick my pinky finger in mine . That didn't sound right

 

Yep - it's always the easy stuff! Mine was the same way - the tank didn't feel loose and the bolt felt snug, but I was able to put a 1/4 turn on it with a wrench, and that's all it took. I had visions of the steering stem bearing being bad, something wrong with the forks, a bad mount, just about everything. All I can say to anyone that is experiencing a front end clunk - DON'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL YOU PUT A WRENCH ON BOTH TANK BOLTS! IT'S THE EASIEST THING OF ALL TO CHECK AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE PROBLEM!