Can some one educate me on Inner primary bearing when you are having problems?Before the bearing failed completely was there any vibration through out the drive train?At certain speed or rpm? as I have an 07 RK and have noticed a constant vibe in the drive train,and worse between 70-75 goes away at 80..As I have never had this bike at a Dealer..{just hate to take it to them} I am scheduled to bring it in next week,and they said they would check motor mount,s etc...Bike has 26,000 miles..

 

When mine went earlier this year, I don't recall any excessive vibration, but it did make enough noise (especially in neutral) to know a bearing was going bad....

 

Had one go on a 06 Street Bob. It made a noise like a bad throw out bearing in a car.It got progressively louder. Don't remember vibration.

 

Captain Itch: My brother's 07 SG had a bad inner primary bearing. It was manifested by noise. The noise initially started while in neutral and would disappear when geared. Eventually, it was present all the time. The vibration you describe sounds similar to what I had experienced; it turned out to be a bad front engine mount. Might be worth a try to check that out.

 

Mine failed at just under 28K. I started a couple threads on the subject so you can do a search for my threads if you like.

I didn't notice vibration but I did notice noise in neutral that went away as soon as I shifted to 1st or if I pulled in the clutch.

Also, I was getting a small amount of metal on the primary magnet ever since the bike was new. When I pulled it down, the bearing race has a bad section and the bearing had 4 failing rollers. I did catch it before total bearing failure.

Before I tore it apart, I contacted a fellow forum member who owns an 07 Street Glide. His inner primary bearing started failing and making noise at 27K.

So, what does all this mean? I think the magnet can tell you a lot about what is happening. If you have metal, then you may have a problem. If you have metal AND noise, then you for sure have a problem.

JM2cents

Steve

 

I had mine fail.
No vibration issues at all.

I heard a whine or squeal and by the time I stopped and figured out were it was coming from,it was too late

 

If you occasionally had a loud bearing-rattle sound only when taking off from a stop in first gear, as you're letting the clutch, would this come from the primary bearing?

 

I doubt it. From my experience and from my buddy told me, the noise is most noticable when the bike is not under load and in neutral.

Mine started making the noise while I was on a 2 week riding trip in Arizona last Christmas. I ignored it because I didn't want to deal with it on the trip. So, I probably put 1000 miles on the bike after I first noticed the noise. When I got home and drained the oil, there was a considerable amount of metal filings on the magnet. From the "growling" noise it was making in neutral, I knew something was wrong. My buddy confirmed that when I talked with him.

After that, the only sure way to know for sure was a tear down and visual inspection. All was confirmed in about an hour of work.

My job cost just over $500 DIY because I installed a chrome inner primary cover as well as a new primary chain tensioner. I changed the tensioner for peace of mind and also because there was an updated part available. I also suspected that the original tensioner may have had something to do with the bearing failure. There is a lot of debate about this but for $90 I did the change anyway. I also had to buy the tools to remove and install the bearing race.

Now, I guess I'm up to 4 cents. LOL

 

Other than the constant vibe part, that almost sounds like wheel balance is off...

Mine had a bad vibe at 75-80, but not constant before. Over 80 it smoothed out. Balanced front wheel, smooth from 0-110...

 

I am almost starting to lean this way myself..Have almost 1000 miles on my second set of E3s with dyna beads...
Guys Thanks for all your help..very much appreciated..