i have noticed that my primary is howling this season and just got my new crome prime cover( 22.00 bucks on ebay with small and well hidden scrap under derby cover) so i have read though the manual about the self tensioner seems very vage about free play in the chain any thoughts would be great. i am pullng apart in about a hour.
thanx agian

 

The self tensioner will adjust for proper slack. If you think you have too much slack and that is causing the howling, I think it is something else. Too much slack usually results in either a slapping sound as the chain hits the case or when you add throttle and let off you have a lot of free play in gear. You might check your chain alignment though. What are you running as a lubricant in the primary and how much?

 

I am runing harley primary oil think that it is 80 wieght not sure but i get it at the dealer so should be the right stuff. also i am thinking that the chain might be to tight. i will check pully alignment once stock cover is off also i will check the secondary belt tension just incase.
thanx agian

 

I just went to the auto tensioner on my Deuce a few weeks ago. As for tension being too tight, it will tear your tension shoe apart. Been there done that and have the pieces to show what happenings on a tight chain, hence the reason I went to the auto tensioner. Did you install yourself or did it come with the bike when you purchased? Are you running a quart of oil in the primary?

 

Check the tightness on your comp nut. What year is your bike?

 

ok all done with today's project. yes the bike came with stock self tensioner 2007 fxst. the tensioner was too tight ( a few to many hole shots, after installing ubs III i got about 15 extra horses it's hard not to play with it.) but once the primary was off it was almost to easy to readjust, simply take out the two bolt holding it in. more the wedge all the way back and siptie reinstall under chain and tighten then cut siptie. dealer said 3 hard accel and brake should do it. well the whinning is a bit better but think that i might look into belt primary. i've gone that way on older bikes and it worked out much better, quieter.
thanx for the input. here are some pics of finished job and pages on tensioner
thx