Recently bought a 2010 Fat Boy with 32.000 km on the odo. The bike is great with the exception of a horrible grinding noise when starting cold. Often the engine will not start then and a second attempt is neccessary, at which it always starts. This doesn't occur every time, only every 3rd or 4th start at an average and much more seldom when engine is warm.

Took it back to Harley Davidson Alicante (Spain) since it's under warranty but was told that "this problem is a characteristic of this model and a few others and can only be fixed by replacing the compensator with the Screamin Eagle version". Since they regard that to be an upgrade, it would be on my account!

It sounds to me that they may be trying to get away from cost, but cannot be sure. Would appreciate input(s) to shed some light on this problem.

 

No grinding noise is normal - ever.

Since it is under warranty, tell them to fix it properly or refund your money.

 

Check this thread and verify if it's the same noise...

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...his-issue.html

Reason/solution is in the thread as well...might help you with your dealership if it's the same issue.

 

Could it be the starter gear be sticking just throwing out a thought

 

Thanks but no. Noise on my bike have nothing to do with the fuel pump coming on but only appears when running the starter.

 

Talked to Harley Davidson customer support in Milwaukee and they say they don't produce bikes with this problem, i.e. the dealer have to fix the bike under warranty. Also the dealer have to use stock parts to replace stock parts and not SE parts.

I'm going back today to give them that message. If they don't like it, they have to deal with Harley Davidson and not with me.

 

The HD shop replaced the compensator free of charge and the engine now starts smoother than ever - every time. It appears they were right that this was a common problem on the 96 cubic inch engine on 2009/2010 years bikes but the compensator have since been improved by HD.