2010+ come with all the upgraded parts i.e. SE comp and improved IPB.

 

I had this issue on my '07. Hot start kickbacks were horrible. I replaced the compensator with the SE version at about 25K miles and things got better...for a short while. Starter symptoms started getting worse. I think the damage to the starter clutch had already been done at the point where I changed the comp. Once I replaced the starter clutch, all was well and no more hot start kickbacks for several thousand miles until I traded for the '11. I really think the weak compensator beats up on the starter to the point where IT fails.

Incidentally, I have 3K on the '11 now and haven't had a single hot start kickback.

 

28K miles on my '09 FLHT. Been doing the hot kick back for a while. Then horrible grinding sound. Now, starter spins but does not start bike. Bad started clutch and compensator? How much does that cost to fix?? Sometimes I hate friggin HD with their crap quality. Got 60K+ miles out a Honda 750 with no problems whatsoever, and the bike cost $3000... Just sayin..

 

Yea I replaced 2 starter clutches and finally replaced it with a Lifetime clutch then fella ed my comp with the SE one when it distroid itself. 90,000 and no more issues!

 

Paid 140.00 foraftemarket starter clutch and 207.00 for SE comp. Worth every penny! Though it should have came stock that way.

 

We have all become compensator experts. What is really happening? Well, if you ever started a crank and yank lawn mower, i'm sure that at somepoint, you pulled the cord, and realized the engine was at top dead center, and instead of trying to pull start it, you just pulled the cord slowly so that the engine could go past top dead center, and then you recoiled the cord, and started the engine right up.

well, after shutting down your bike, most of the time, it stops at top dead center. thats becuase the compression stroke, just before the power stroke, provides the most resistance.

with the engine hot, the rings are seated, oil is in the rings furthur providing a tight seal, the valves are also fully seated.

simular to the difficulty you would have trying to crank a lawn mower at top dead center, the started on your bike has the same problem.

so the starter tries to engage, the engine won't give, the compensator attempts to prevent the rotational motion into transfering into an axial one, and eventually, two things happen, the compensator tops out and the starter teeth grind.

A stronger compensator spring is able to prevent the rotational motion from transfering into an axial one, and instead, the toruqe is transfered to the engine crank, and the motor spins. the bike starts.

the buisness of playing with the start button before the fuel pressure builds up is simply beating the voltage drop that occurs waiting for the fuel to spin up, since you also have all your lighting on. New batteries are less likely to crank bang grind, so battery state of charge seems to be a factor.

bumping the bike works. when you bump the bike and roll the engine, your basically moving the piston out of top dead senter position, which affords an easier start senerio.

starting a hot bike in gear with the clutch in also works, not really sure what is different about the clutch compensator relationship in gear vs in nuetral, but you can give that a shot.

compression release works well too.

so back to the question about the clutch . reparing the clutch 2 or 3 times and/or replacing the starter 2 or 3 times, only puts you bak to where you were, which is with a bike that has a design issue. a design change is needed to resolve the problem, hence the upgrade to a stronger spring compensator.

I agree with the folks who believe the stock compensator is probally adequate with a new spring. but its the same work to replace a worn spring with a new stock spring as it is to replace the stock compensator with an SE one, so it makes sense to do the job that will last the longest.

And you all are right about all the work going on on the newer bikes. The EPA requirements have these bikes running hot, and heat does not contribute to reliability.

 

Deleted, next time I'll read all the posts to get my answer.

 

Well I just had an experience relating to all this, first I had a badly worn compensator replaced last fall. I took it in because whenever I would crank on the throttle it made a bogging noise(whaaaa). At the time it was under warranty and they were out of stock on the regular part so in order to get me home they used one they had pulled from doing an upgrade..
I had experienced some noisy clanking when starting prior to the repair and afterwards this spring/summer the starting it continued to get worse..at the Hog rally in Geneva I got looks when starting with a warm bike in the parking lot. On the way home we went through Gettysburg to see the bike week and got stuck in the hot traffic in town...
Took it to the dealer after calling and ordering a SE compensator from the dealer. I have extended warranty and upon arrival at the dealer i told them that the compensator was probably the starting problem and that I wanted them to do the upgrade to see if it fixed the problem. While they worked on it they discovered my stator was bad and they thought my bike had experienced some overheating which may have contributed to the problem. My heavy duty gear oil(75?-145w Amsoil gear in primary) was sticking to everything and had started bake onto some of the parts and they recommended switching to syn3 in the primary. They buttoned things back up-test drove it and now it starts fine when hot..Repair cost $52.52.
Hoagie

 

that makes sense to me...75-145 i equiv to 20w50 , 90-110 is equiv to 10w40

 

Great info to know and re-freshen this thread!
Thanx.