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Cam noise 08 XL1200L 105 anv

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Tech Talk' started by pigletrider, Aug 13, 2008.

  1. pigletrider

    pigletrider New Member

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    i recently purchased se 25649-01a cams and now i have lots of rattleing ,sounds like a worn out sewing machine. before these cams were put in the bike it had se 25197-04 and these cams had no bottom end power at all but did not make any noise and were from 4500rpm and above. the cams now are rated at 2000-6500 more realistic for daily driving. all valve train is stock. springs, pushrods, lifters ,pinion gear.all work was done at local hd dealer,
    they changed the oil filter 5-micron said would quiet down but is worse now.also said noise is normal but is louder than than it should be. but nothing else they can do . how would the bike run if pushe rods were mixed up and what choices of pinion gears are there? any other suggestions. thanks
  2. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    from your description, it sounds like excessive gear lash.....i believe there are different size gears to compensate for lash. possibley the dealer doesnt want to do the job over/correctly, as it would be on there dime........just my opinion..............:)
  3. ringo912

    ringo912 Active Member

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    I agree with Chuck, if you have to much gear lash you will get a loud ticking sound, kinda like a bad lifter. As the cam lobe starts to push up on the lifter there is pressure against the front side of the cam lobe. As the lifter stars to fall down the back side of the cam lobe, the direction of pressure is reversed. If there is to much gear lash the teeth slap together creating a ticking sound. This will eventually cause excess wear on the gears.

    Also, how much lift do the new cams have? Anything over a .510 lift requires a .610 high lift spring on your valves. If the spring does not have enough lift you can get coil bind. This happens when the spring runs out of travel when the pushrod is in the full up position. This will make one hell of a racket and can lead to a bent pushrod or valve stem.

    Now the intake and exhaust pushrods are different lenghts. I would think if they were mixed, the bike would run like crap, if it would run at all. Now if they installed adjustable pushrods and they are not adjusted correctly, they can be noisey, but again you should be able to notice this in how the bike runs. If they installed the pushrods and didn't allow the lifters to bleed down, they cold have bent a pushrod or valve stem. Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted on what you find.
  4. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    good points all

    1) improper gear lash, usually when changing cams I press the old original gears off the old cams and onto the new cams, these have mated over time and will maintain the same wear pattern and less noise, typically.

    2) Bad lifter or lifter bleeding down, usually a clacking noise

    3) Improperly set adjustable pushrod, assuming you used adjustables vs stock

    4) Valve springs are possible.

    Sometimes a more radical cam will result in more ticking noise, it's common for the higher lift cams like Woods to have a resultant tick tick tick.
  5. pigletrider

    pigletrider New Member

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    :banghead:

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