[Harley Rider]

My friend has a 98 electra glide with a fuel injected evo engine, He says he can hear a clattering noise after it warms up.
The Harley tech here says that there is nothing to worry about,that there is aways alot of noise in the heads of an evo,Would everyone agree with this? My friends glide has over 80,000 miles.But as he has not owned it for very long he has no idea of what has ever been done to it.Also the tech thinks that the engine has probability been overhauled once and that they may have put in either roller Tappets or roller Rocker arms as he says they will make your engine noiser, Agree? or Disagree? (about them making it noiser)
So i guess my question really is: Is there suppose to be a clattering sound in an evo or should it be quiet?(not counting the exhaust sound)

[scooter]

Hey, I'm no engine genius...but unless it sounds like someone left a 3/8 open end wrench inside there clanging around...I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Whether or not you have windshield/fairing makes alot of difference in the amount of noise you can hear, too.

I'm just glad when mine makes ANY noise, just about...'cause it means I'm out ridin'

scoot

[Seahag]

roller rockers will make more noise than stock. If the heads had been done with high tension springs, they may be exerting more pressure than the hydraulic lifters can handle, if the lifters are wore and need replacement.

[SPORSTERBOY]

Didn't We Just Talk About This Issue? Noise Is Normal, Try Putt'n Your Ear To A Pre-evo!

[bikerjim1]

As long as it's not TOO loud or dry, metal to metal sounding, it should be alright.

[chucktx]

i assume that your friend cannot contact the previous owner. noise to one person is not noise to another. this is hard to tell over the internet. if you are a bit mechinacally inclined, you could buy new rocker box gaskets and pull the front cover. you can also check the lifters. if you have a manual is will explain the process in pretty good detail. my ol'lady was hearing a noise in my engine....06 t/c.... what she heard was the timing chain noise.....which is different from what she was used to....65flh......so, the noise she heard was different from what i was hearing, and isnt a problem.......hope this makes sence........a second or third opinion doesnt cost to much either......a good indy or another dealer......have fun
chuck

[Texas Road Glide]

a freind of mine brought me his to ride....he sai it was making noise's..........after i rode his...i made him ride mine..........and mine madse more noise than his.......turn out his bike was just fine.......the fairing allows you to hear things you normally would not hear........i myself love that about our harleys.......no other bike has that sound........

[GreyBear]

Originally Posted by Texas Road Glide

a freind of mine brought me his to ride....he sai it was making noise's..........after i rode his...i made him ride mine..........and mine madse more noise than his.......turn out his bike was just fine.......the fairing allows you to hear things you normally would not hear........i myself love that about our harleys.......no other bike has that sound........

Just before Rolling Thunder, my ol lady surprised me with one of the quick release windshields for the SuperGlide. She said that since it like her sissy bar would pop off quick I might use it on trips...(She was opting for a Dresser, everytime we are riding and she sees somone on one she just sighs and wonders why she she picked me....but hey I did get rid of the rigid frames when I married her, *shrugs*) Anyway, with the windshield i start hearing all this noise I hadn't heard before....and when you put a helmet on theres even more.....so what ya say about hearing more with the fairing is correcto mundo. But I am with you, TRG, ahhh the sounds.......

[ridehard95]

Originally Posted by Harley Rider

My friend has a 98 electra glide with a fuel injected evo engine, He says he can hear a clattering noise after it warms up.
The Harley tech here says that there is nothing to worry about,that there is aways alot of noise in the heads of an evo,Would everyone agree with this? My friends glide has over 80,000 miles.But as he has not owned it for very long he has no idea of what has ever been done to it.Also the tech thinks that the engine has probability been overhauled once and that they may have put in either roller Tappets or roller Rocker arms as he says they will make your engine noiser, Agree? or Disagree? (about them making it noiser)
So i guess my question really is: Is there suppose to be a clattering sound in an evo or should it be quiet?(not counting the exhaust sound)

If it has roller rockers take them out They are junk and go with stock rockers. There is not a company that makes a roller rocker thats worth a sh#t.The geometry is all wrong on them. Your valve train will pay hell

[hotroadking]

Haven't had problems with any of the roller lifters I've installed, just use a quality product like S&S or RP and they are fine, in fact they shouldn't make more noise it should be less. Unless you don't check clearance on the rocker box covers to be sure they don't touch.

Ticking, tapping, clicking are pretty much in the normal range, if it's loud then it would be worth having someone check out.

Perhaps the rocker boxes were not clearanced or aligned correctly and a valve spring is touching a side, TC rocker boxes have a lot of room to move when installed, you'd think HD would have dowels to align them...

Also a loose pushrod, or a tappet that is bleeding down.

Again it could be nothing more than the sound of the motor, like it was said over the net it's hard, sound travels, windshields and fairings multiply sounds.

[Tomflhrci98]

Originally Posted by Harley Rider

My friend has a 98 electra glide with a fuel injected evo engine, He says he can hear a clattering noise after it warms up.
The Harley tech here says that there is nothing to worry about,that there is aways alot of noise in the heads of an evo,Would everyone agree with this? My friends glide has over 80,000 miles.But as he has not owned it for very long he has no idea of what has ever been done to it.Also the tech thinks that the engine has probability been overhauled once and that they may have put in either roller Tappets or roller Rocker arms as he says they will make your engine noiser, Agree? or Disagree? (about them making it noiser)
So i guess my question really is: Is there suppose to be a clattering sound in an evo or should it be quiet?(not counting the exhaust sound)

I agree with what the dealer says and everyone else that responded here, but we are assuming a lot since we don't know what is in your buddy's engine.

You need to find this out first! And let us know since I, for one, am curious now.

I have the same engine as your buddy does and I have been chasing noises for the last 9 years on this thing. Some noises are normal and some are not. The only one that got me was the rod knock noise. But, that noise was very distinguishable from valve noise.

After I had the engine rebuilt I have had none of the normal valve noise I used to have. Now I have a different noise that I am still working on getting rid of but it is long exercise in process-of-elimination.

Straight 50W helps keep the noise down I found.

[ridehard95]

Originally Posted by hotroadking

Haven't had problems with any of the roller lifters I've installed, just use a quality product like S&S or RP and they are fine, in fact they shouldn't make more noise it should be less. Unless you don't check clearance on the rocker box covers to be sure they don't touch.

Ticking, tapping, clicking are pretty much in the normal range, if it's loud then it would be worth having someone check out.

Perhaps the rocker boxes were not clearanced or aligned correctly and a valve spring is touching a side, TC rocker boxes have a lot of room to move when installed, you'd think HD would have dowels to align them...

Also a loose pushrod, or a tappet that is bleeding down.

Again it could be nothing more than the sound of the motor, like it was said over the net it's hard, sound travels, windshields and fairings multiply sounds.

I have sean alot of problems caused by roller rockers. The geometryis all wrong

[mwelych]

Straight 50W is probably the best oil for an older/high mileage EVO. My father in law uses Straight 50W on his '03 Night Train. Swears by the stuff!!!

[ReeseSS]

Hotrodking is saying roller lifters, and ridehard is referring to roller rockers, just want to see if we are on same page......
As far as roller rockers and noise, with a normal rocker, it is all one piece and any slight side to side flexing does not make any noise. With a roller tip, any side to side flexing slams the little roller into the side of the roller mount. There has to be some play on the sides of the roller and it "slaps" with any twisting, and there is always some twisting.

[hotroadking]

Reese mine was a typo I meant roller rockers, however roller lifters from S&S are very good as well. I have been putting in S&S travel limiters as well to help quiet down the lifter and reduce bleed down.


yes there are some bad rollers out there, a company was selling them cheap as dirt on ebay, people were snapping them up and finding they fell apart and trashed motors.


All it takes is one ahole to screw up a great product.

The tolerances on the roller rockers I've used from S&S and TP have been very good I've seen them in 113 elbrutos, to 95 inch twin cams.

The key is to not skimp on the product and buy some taiwanese crap being sold on ebay.

[ReeseSS]

I have always been a fan of rollers, just less friction and stress on the drive train. I have not seen a geometry problem, looks to me like the roller tip rides back and forth off the center point of the valve stem just fine, but have not seen any first hand but S&S and Jims. Crane offers the only set of true rollers I have seen that has roller bearings on the shaft instead of a bronze bushing, as well as the tip. Includes hardened shafts with the rockers as a kit, would really like to check a set out!

[hotroadking]

TP ,makes a good set a bit more budget mined than S&S and I have S&S on mine and the 113

Same thing on the geometry I haven't seen any issues regarding that, other than the fact that the evo's geometry is a bit off to begin with, I wouldn't doubt if you've seen some of the knock offs that things were way off, but not with the S&S, Jims or TP stuff, top notch, well made rollers.

Reese they are pretty nice especially as you get up there in lift, running 640 on my 124 it's not that noisy well as far as valvetrain LOL