I’ve been having the same starting kickback issues you guys have been describing. I was planning in putting in a PCV to solve the issue by changing the fuel at start up, but from the sounds of it, that isn’t helping. Spending the cash on the compensator plus labour is sounding a bit rich for me, and Im doubting my dealer is care about the problem. I was wondering if anyone has installed a compensator on their own, and if so, how hard of a task was it?

 

I had this happen to me for the first time yesterday, and I am largly subscribing.

On a side note is it possible to subscribe without posting.

 

[QUOTE=tmcgeesr;6452363]Just what is a compensator? My dealer don't have a clue!



I think I would be looking for another dealer.

 

Got the bike back today. Excessive wear in all 3 of the parts that make up the compensator assembly. 09 and later bikes have a different compensator than earlier models I'm told. Less moving parts which can mean cheaper to Mfg. when asked if I could expect this every 25K I got a maybe. Like I said before, there isn't many 09's with 25K on them, and this may be an indication of problems on 09's and later bikes which will be showing up. Parts are going back to Harley for analysis. My bike had got to the point that it was kicking back every time I started it when it was hot. On the way home I ran it up to 80-90 mph for 5-6 miles in Mobile heat. Pulled in for gas and it restarted fine. I think my problem is solved. Good luck to the rest of you.

PS My dealer made the repair under warranty.

 

My '10 SG is totally stock besides the Nightstick. It does it when warm. This is the first time I have seen a thread on this, (guess I missed the others, sure sounds pretty common) I am taking mine to the dealer tomorrow evening for a Saturday morning appointment for the 1000 mile check. I am going to ask them about it, and see if they will do anything about it....

Glad I saw this before I take it in...

 

I replaced my stock compensator with the SE Comp 2 days ago , I was going to do a writeup after a few more miles , but to answer the question.......Can you do it yourself?
Sure , I read as much as I could and went over the factory service manual a few times.
I wanted to do the swap without loosening the inner primary housing , so I had to grind some material off it with a burring bit , and it went quite easily.
My dealer quoted me $250.00 labor , so I figured it couldn't be all that hard for me to do.
I did not have to touch (remove) the clutch basket at all , as I didn't take the comp off in 1 piece.
You assemble the new comp on the crank and have enough room to wiggle the last piece and the chain back on the clutch anyway.
I made a locking tool from a 1 1/2" x 1/4" steel flat stock 5 7/8" long with radiused ends.
You will need a 1 3/4" open end wrench to hold the new compensator and a 13/16" socket and torque wrench
to tighten the new comp bolt.
You will need a new primary gasket and 45 oz of primary fluid (for mine).
You also need a fairly strong zip tie for the tensioner
It took me about 2 hours to complete , but I could do it in an hour if I did another one.
I had to remove enough material from the inner primary to get the rotor off the crank , I did this very slowly and methodically so I didn't have to affect the sealing surface of the primary housing itself.
The shavings are non metallic so they clean up easily.
I made a shavings shield out of a large piece of cardboard with the new primary gasket as my guide , cut it out and poked a hole for the crank.
I wrapped a rag around the rotor and then put the cardboard shield over the crank while I ground the case.
I didn't want to pay retail , so I waited for a HOG day at my dealer and got 15% off the comp , gasket , and primary oil.
The results , I'm very pleased to say , were worth it to me.
No more starter "bang" nearly all primary noises are gone , and I can pull 6th gear from 50 MPH without a hickup.(not that I normally do this).
A funny note , the parts guy says " what's this going to do for you?"
He'd never ordered one before , didn't know what it did , and thought I was a little nuts.
I had my stock comp loosen last summer and it was never quiet after that , so I've been thinking about it since.
A very worthwhile mod in my opinion.
Mick

 

Mick, thanks for the reply and details of the job. As I had my 103 kit installed by the dealer when I bought the bike to ensure it was covered by warranty, and this problem may be caused or worsened by the kit, Im going to talk to the dealer about covering it under warranty. I'm thinking I try to pay the difference and have the SE compensator installed if its covered. If it is not covered, I'll be following your instructions and trying the install myself.

 

Advice that I got on this forum, indicated that the stock 96 compensator was junk (his words) and should be replaced with the SE compensator. I would have paid the difference this time for the upgrade but I was told 8-10 days to get the part. If it happens to me again I will definitely do it.

A local shop that does a lot of builds told me they replace the stock unit with an SE compensator on all builds they do.

 

i had the same issue. me and smokindave have the same build with the 10.75 compression ratio and the 359-E cams etc. we both got the screamin eagle compensator as well. a big difference. no longer does the motor sound like someone slapped the primary cover with a 1x4 piece of lumber. it's something that would cost harley about the same to make as the stock weak compensator. go figure. i guess it's their way of digging into our pocket for another $250.00

 

Thought I would give you guys an update and ask for some advise. I took my bike into the shop to look at the starter kick back issue yesterday. I just got a call from them that the starter was weak and they are going to replace the starter under warranty. When I took the bike in, I told them I had read online that this issue is likely fixed by replacing the compensator or upgrading it to a SE compensator. However, Im guessing that they did not take the primary apart to inspect the compensator.

The questions I have are:

1. Should I request that they take the primary apart and inspect for any further damage; and
2. Should I pay extra to have the high torque starter put in (not sure how much the stock starter is, but the HT one is $450USD).