Ready to replace the compensator on my 2011 Flhx,but one question I wanna ask.Is it common fir the comp sprocket to travel this high up the ramp?...That's too close to the peak of the ramp the way I see it.Sprocket has severe wear,maybe weak springs or loose comp bolt?..getting the comp on Thursday from Kutter HD.Riding this way coulda messed up something in primary,maybe even worse?

 

I can't help you, but Mark@Baker DriveTrain (that's his user name) should be able to.

Soft02 could probably offer some assistant also.

 

Thanks Southpaw,maybe this new compensator will make it right.

 

Sadly that looks pretty normal. Replace as needed. This is a maintenance item till someone starts making one that will last. Best combo is the 2014 comp with the compusaver from GMR. Join the club.

 

That's what I'm doing. We'll see how the stock on my 13 looks with 30K in a few days.

 

Reason the twinkies have the comp problems they do is the high tooth count the factory is using to compensate for other issues in the drive train and make those a nice low rpm smooth ride for you boys. Not uncommon for the ramps to actually jump over completely and guaranteed it does it every time you get on it hard . Nature of that mechanical design.

 

How many have you seen do the "jump over" thing?

 

Harleys have been doing it since they started using the spring loaded compensators back in the panhead days , the issue is compounded by the higher engine to trans ratio the twin cams use. When you change up powered drive ratios there's always a downside in the system just a matter of where and what the effects are. This case to get the smoothness at higher highway speeds you get the advanced wear on the comp. also why the engines are growing in displacement , helps overcome the loss of low end torque with the heavier bikes.

It's always a give or take deal and what drives the booming aftermarket parts industry coming with real world fixes for the short changes the factory put's out. It's an old dance with these things. Shovels & evos had their issues with it too just not so pronounced.

 

Thanks for posting the photos. Now I know what a worn compensator looks like. 60k on my original.

 

Not seen the comps skip tho I might expect that the early ones that were fed by drip (pans and early shovels) might wear the nubs out due to lack of lube.. Not seen a late model skip tho it might if the comp nut came loose... The comp cam bumps would almost have to be gone and spoke half worn through for the a late comp to skip.. Maybe the sliding cam splines are gone? Worse I've seen is the Bellville springs loose tension and the comp rattles.. Also seen the early 6 speed comps loose the sheetmetal around the springs.. SE comps seem to not last long on trikes..