I took my bike to the dealer after reading the threads on the noisy 5th gear in the 07 models. I asked that a technician take it for a ride and listen. When he returned they brought it right in the shop and an hour and a half later they told me that the engine was not aligned properly and they re aligned it.

I suppose it was nice of them to do that, but I thought it was strange they didnt consult me first. They took it right in ahead of other bikes and performed sugury like it was life and death.

By the way, they showed me a letter from HD that said something to the effect that the new noise in the 07's was normal. I am just keeping it documented for the future.

 

The motor not aligned??? Wow that's interesting, but let's see what the more experiencedmechanics on here have to say about that one...

 

The whole thing was a bit strange. The mechanic brought it back from his ride, 3 other mechanics, looked at it, pointed at stuff, mumbled things, the the top dog mechanic touched it and said get it in the shop. I didnt see it or hear about it again for 90 min. When I got it back I didnt notice any difference, but they tell me it is how its supposed to be now.

 

they installed an 88/5

 

they added oil

 

Being as tranny and engine are firmly bolted together there really can not be any misalignment of those drive train parts (engine sprocket and tranny sprocket) to create noise.
Unless the primary drive chain is out of alignment inside the primary case because of wrong
machining or shims.
However the engine and tranny as an assembly can be out of alignment with the frame, which would cause handling problems.

so just what was wrong with your bike that they "decided" it was out of alignment. and what did this supposedly correct?

My opinion on the noise. If it appears to be excessive to you the rider, then it is NOT normal.
You should NOT need louder pipes to drown out the noise or to turn up the radio, or earplugs.

 

The tech didnt like the way the bike idled, he and others saw and felt something wrong. When they took the bolts that hold the motor in place, one was too tight, it had to be forced out, they said it should not have been that hard. The tech refered to some "special tool" that they used to align the motor. Upon realignment, it sat the way it was supposed to.

Now I am not a mechanic, but they took alot of thier valuable time to do this job I didnt ask for so I can only assume it needed to be done. I would have been none the wiser if they had told me it was just fine.

 

Strange, very strange.

 

Did it make any difference as far as the 5th gear noise goes?

 

No difference in the 5th gear.