2007 Six Speed Noise

Originally Posted by GMan1313

My new 2007 Classic has a great powertrain, with minimal noise through the first 4 gears. In 5th gear there is a lot of the traditional HD clatter, and then it's quiet as a mouse in 6th. Anyone else experiencing this?

I heard that the same phenomenon occurs in 3rd & 4th gears of the 6 speeds on the 2006 Dynas.

Any theories?

I just bought a 07 Ultra a week ago and dislike riding the bike since 5th gear rattles so loud.The dealer and Harley say they are all that way.Not good enough for me.I have left it at the dealer waiting for an explanation of what HD is doing to fix it.HD sold an inferior design and expects buyers will over look the noise.

OK guys, listen up.
I wrote to H-D and even included some of the posts from this site. I went to Daytona and talked to a factory rep. H-D customer service in Milwaukee called me after they got my letter. Here is the bottom line:
1.They are aware of the problem and complaints, but consider it "normal"
2. The complaints are almost exclusivey from baggers. H-D says the bags and fairing amplify the noise.
3.They will probably work out something for the 2008's, and even though she said they would not leave the early buyers "in the dust", I do not believe it.
4. I now have about 2600 miles on it. No change.
5. The type of gear oil you use is of no consequence in this matter.

I STRONGLY URGE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU TO WRITE HARLEY, NOT CALL. TELL THEM HOW MANY POTENTIAL BUYERS YOU HAVE STEERED AWAY. WRITE TO BIKER MAGS, ETC. GET THE WORD OUT ALL YOU CAN. ONLY FALTERING SALES WILL BRING RESULTS. IF THEY FINALLY GET A BETTER TRANS, YOU CAN HOPE YOURS BLOWS UP AND THEN YOU CAN GET THE UPGRADE.
Please make your letter professional and intelligent. You want them to respond to you, not write you off as a whack job.

I am now officially done with this issue. I will unload this bike as soon as I can afford to take the loss.

Concerning the 6 speed noise and the overheating problem do not I repeat do not pay to fix this problem. Don't forget this is a Harley Davidson problem and they love you to pay for more of their products to fix their either planned problems or poor engineering problems. When does the consumer hold their feet to the fire to fix it.

dear all,

my name is fabrizio and I' writing from italy

I 've just retired my dyna 2007 superglide custom and i did around 170 mi this we.

My bike ride smooth and hot, no problem at all and the gear is perfect.
Of course i help it by using gas to maintain at the correct rev. speed the engine during change of gear, specially in going down.

regards

I have had a second call now from Cindy at HD "customer care".She was an attack dog trying to make me just go away saying the 5thgear noise is normal.BS.. She suggested I was at too slow an RPM.The owner's manual says to shift 5th to 6th at 55 mph.Much lower an RPM than I shift.Tell your friends to ride the actual bike they want (2007 6 speed) not just a demo.A dealer in Florida this week suggested a letter to Willie G and get above the attack dog level.
Truckerwillie

[KonaCall]

Originally Posted by truckerwillie

The owner's manual says to shift 5th to 6th at 55 mph.Much lower an RPM than I shift.

I ride an 07 Softail Custom and have had problems with the shifter which they fixed, so not complaining there any longer (fingers crossed). However, i ride with a few others that have 07's one is a Softail Deluxe and realized that after a few long rides, probably 6 to 10 different runs together, they were shifting sooner than I was, tonight i commented as to what gear they were in, being that i had recognized a difference in shifting over the last month of riding. I suggested we do a gear check on the road, we did and there appeared to be a difference to me from 3 to 4th. If I shifted when they shifted from third to 4th, I had a little clatter and felt that it was a shift to early for (MY) bike which caused it. His did not have any clatter at the time, mine did, so when he shifted to fourth, I stayed in 3rd for 10mph faster before i made my shift. We did not have the road to check 4, 5 or 6. with that being said, I do not have a Tac and wind noise interferes with my senses. End result of that small experiment, I'll stick with shifting at speeds that are higher which ends any clattering for me.


I checked my gear ratios, I am still waiting to hear from him as to what his bike gear ratio states.

07 custom Gear ratio 1=9.312, 2=6.421, 3=4.774, 4=3.926, 5=3.279, 6=2.790.

I cruise in 4th at 50-55, I rarely shift to 5th until I am pushing 55 throttling to 65. I hit 6th gear around 65 to 70 when throttling to 70 and higher and do not have a problem. I cannot ride 6th at 55 and feel comfortable, it is too slow at that gear and looking at the gear ratios 6th is actually an overdrive gear and 5th is not far from it, I think I am right about that, well fairly certain of it. Now if I am going zero to 75 or faster my shifts may be faster but I am throttling a lot harder and shifting faster, so it is not an issue in that type of scenario. I am at already at 70 or higher when I get to my cruising speed in 6th.

In my humblest OP, the Owners Manuel was reviewed by attorneys hence the shifting sequence 5 to 6 at 55????but yet the downshift is listed as 6 to 5th at 50?? A mere 5 mph difference, lol with a 5=3.279 vs. 6=2.790, 4=3.926 vs. 5=3.279, and a 2=6.421 vs.3=4.774 difference! That has ATTORNEY design written all over it! So to get power at 50 to pass you need to be in 5th at 50 and throttle. Huuuummmmm! Sorry dude, I'll take 4th then power to 5th and pass at 70 hitting 6th as i am going to 80, if falling back to 60, back in 5th and then stableizing at 65 probably 6th for a long highway cruise moving up to 75. You think HD legal department would authorize that? I don't think so, lol. Although, they sign off on a Keep it Safe and Simple Manuel. Go figure. Makes no sense with a 96 cubic inch 1584 cc engine with a gear ratio of 2.790 for 6th and a 3.279 in 5th??? and a 4=3.926. However, it would make sense for HD liability when reviewed by a civil attorney. Cover Your A%% seemed appropriate as an explanation for the manual gear shifting instructions. I'll stick to my higher speeds when shifting and keep the clatter out of my ears!

KonaCall

[adphotoman]

Greetings folks,
Newbie here. Geez, am I glad I found this site. I had planned to go to the stealership this week for an '07 Ultra. I decided to do a general search this morning to see if anybody was finding themselves with payment difficulties so that I might pick up one a little cheaper and, lo and behold, I find this site. I wanted the '07 for a tour this summer for the displacement and tranny upgrades, but now you guys have me wondering. I bought wifey an '07 FLSTN last week that was three months old and I did notice some tranny noise on the trip back here from Atlanta but what you guys have said about the sound being amplified by the body work on the tourer makes a lot of sense. Now I really don't know what to do. Thanks for being here.

[adphotoman]

I'm not sure what you mean. If you're talking about Harley's "Enthusiast" mag, I haven't seen anything in there that addresses the noise issue. Did I miss an article that addresses that concern? Are they discussing a fix? As much as I enjoy skimming that mag, I don't find it to be a great source of unbiased information and independent thinking. ;-)

[KonaCall]

Originally Posted by 04RdKing

the gear ratio's changed, all across the board.

Refer to my previous post. I'll stick to my higher speeds when shifting and keep the clatter out of my ears!


KonaCall

You will not find anything in the Enthusiast mag about the 5th gear issue. What you will see is their promotion of an item that is obviuosly ruining their reputation (Damage Control). I think that eventually they will realize, but not admit that they have made a mistake, and hope the issue will just go away with ownership "acceptance" of the noise. If you notice the cutaway, the 5th gear is straight cut as opposed to beveled. The gears in a car tranny are bevel cut, with the exception of reverse. That is why reverse whines and sounds like it has slack in it when you back up. It is the sound of the gear teeth slapping against each other instead of meshing smoothly. I have absolutely no idea why HD designed it the way it is, and would love to hear the explaination! My guess is that they tried to incorporate the tranny with the bigger inch engine due to competition, without enough research on the tranny prior to manufacture. I personally would have been quite happy with the extra cubes and a 5 speed box. The reason most of the pressure is from the bagger riders is that the fairing and bags reflect engine noises, and the rider is more aware of them. I bought an 05 Electra Glide Classic just before deploying to Iraq, and was thinking that since I am over here I might get an 07 for the upgrade, and sell my 06 when I get home. Looks like that might have been a bad choice. To all, thanks for the dialogue, and I hope you get satisfaction from HD. And to HD, I will act very cautiously in the future based on the way you are handling this present situation, and the possible outcome.

Ride on, I'll catch up when I get home!