3 week old ultra here, and I to, aint happy with the way the motor sounds when puttin between 55 and 65 mph. nasty whirrr in fith, and engine knockin in fith and sixth,, this tranny wasnt desigend for the north east, no 80 mph roads around here, I was at NH/VT HOG rally talkin to a rep from the Mo Co, he says that this is a noise ya GOTTA LIVE WITH!?..... {W.T.F.}.. HE ASSURED THAT ITS BUILT TIGHT AND RIGHT... we have a 2 year warr'ty. so" run it, like ya stole it". as far as oil,, I was told it comes from factory with motor oil, for break in,, I switched to Syn at 1000 miles, now I have their tranny/prim'y oil,, still same noise, Love the bike, cant deal with the "ready to explode" noise,, tis a bit comforting knowing its not just my bike..... lets keep this discusion goin!!

 

07 Ultra here too. Yes the transmission whines in 5th gear.Everyone I've talked to so far say all the 07's do it. It really lets me know when I'm in 5th. As for the engine noise. I figure they all make noise. The bike has plenty of power and runs good.

 

I would say there is a problem with yours and the others I have read about, because I have a 07 Ultra Classic and I don't have the tranny noise and i have allready done the 1000 mile service and It now has 1300 on it and still no tranny noise... (THANK GOD)

 

I read in a magazine that the 1-4 th gears are diffrent dont remember the term used I will look for the artical but 1-4 th were cut diffrent to reduce noise maybe its the diffrence in the gears that everyone seems to notice?

 

I started this thread and have been actively persueing this for the past month. A rep at the MoCo in Milwaukee called me to discuss this problem. They admit the problem exists and I'm NOT talking about the whine in the Tranny. That whine is because 1st and 5th gears are cut gears and interface differently producing the whine. That I can live with. The clatter I can not. They said it is NOT the tranny but they don't know exactly what it is yet. They can produce the noise on any FL model. I asked how and got a laugh, won't tell me because then everyone will do it. The tranny on all 07's are the same including the Softails that don't seem to have the problem. As I understand it they can swap tranny's and the noise stays with the bike not the tranny. At this point I can't disprove their findings so I will believe them until there is some facts to prove them wrong. Hopefully they speak the truth.

I asked what it could be, what is different about the FL's than the others. The oil pan is larger, the exhaust is all new with new routings such as the cross member over the starter, the Softails have the 96B engine with a balanced flywheel (because the engine is not mounted on rubber) and something else I can't remember. None of which seem like they would be the cause, at least not to me. The MoCo has taken everyone off development and placed them on the problem so they consider this critical enough to invest that many resources. I asked for an estimate on when they would have a fix and was told if they knew that then they would know the cause. They said to keep in touch with your dealer because they will be notified as soon as they have a fix.

Keep in mind they are NOT fixing the whine which is inherent to the cut of the gears. They are trying to figure out the clatter. If I hear more I will update this.
Duke

 

Thanks for the update. It is greatly appreciated. I tried to get back to customer service today but it is always a 10 minute hold on the phone and then they will call you back.

I have a 07 RG with 1500 miles. It has the same clatter. It is fine when engine and transmission are cold but the hotter it gets the more noise. Somebody suggested that it could be the "new" automatic primary chain tensioner and this makes sense to me. There could be additional slack in the chain or not enought tension is being applied. Since it happens at relatively low rpms and it more noticeable on the rubber mounted engine seems to hint at the additional vibration causing primary chain clatter.
I would definitely like to try the old style fixed tensioner to see what effect this had.

Thanks again.

 

07 Ultra here with 2000 miles. Ive noted a little more noise in 5th gear but she really quiets down in 6th. My former ride was a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. I know all about noise. Straight cut gears 1 thru 5, man that sucker was noisy. My starter is shot but tranny is fine.

 

I have an 07 SG and approaching 1000 miles... yeah, same whine & noise in mine. The noise "sounds" like a bad clutch basket rocking on the trans shaft and then a loose primary chain...yeah I know,... but thats the best description I can come up with.

I can make mine do it in 5th around 2200-2400 rpm...like lazy shift from 4th to 5th & just cruising along. The 5th gear whine is loud at those rpms but quietens down the faster I go.

I have talked to two Serv Mgrs and a couple Good HD Mechanics ( guys I know personally from my shop days ) and the factory does know about it and is working on something to fix it. One Serv Mgr told me that 75% of all new bikes sold recently have come back in to complain about this same problem. One PHD Mech told me he totally disassembled the owners 07 SE tranny to try to find the cause and even installed different parts but couldnt get rid of it. He did say that he switched the fluid over to Redline Shockproof and it helped the whine some. Most agree that it appears to be a design issue but have no "fix" for it yet.

Tomorrow I do my 1000 miler and it will get M1 V-Twin & Redline Shockproof .. .. figure it cant hurt...

Friday Im off on a weekend long road trip.....maybe it just needs more miles.....

ps: I have a really nice 1998 FLHT For Sale ... nice quiet Transmission too....check web site below

Reno
www.FastAire.com

 

A member on another board that I frequent had his '07 tranny lock up at about 25 mph last week. He only had 1600 miles on it.

 

If they figure it out before the dealer sells my bike let me know. I would like to keep it. They replaced my tranny and it is clattering in 6th now even worse.