SE Compensator Review (A bit lengthy)

M

Mr Hex Vision

New member
ive had some new observations after installing the se comp.and getting some time and miles on it. Seems to have its own sounds like makeing a little clatter untill warmed up aswell.all in all like it just a new observation.
 
I filed an online complaint with the NHTSB. Easy to do, and then you have a record of the complaint. Enough complaints could result in a recall. HD don't want to mess with the feds. Ask Toyota.
 
Harley seems to rely on its so-called "mystic" instead of reliability and quality to sell its motorcycles. The standard issue compensator they used was known to be a problem. I believe they continued to use it because they had a big supply of them and wanted to use them up...at the customers' expense of course. Also I don't believe this is the first time this kind of thing was done. Remember those cheap orange plastic timing chain tensioners? They weren't covered under warranty either. There goes $600 plus of your hard earned money! The younger riders, and a lot of older ones, don't seem to be all wrapped up in the Harley "mystic" thing anymore. Perhaps that's why they turn to metrics. After all, who wants to spend $20,000 to buy a motorcycle needing a few thousand dollars worth of manufacturing corrections to make it run right? The MOCO execs need to change their ways or lose their company. And they need to do it quick!
 
Just a thought. We're demanding of our choice in motorcycle manufacturers, but they are just the same as our car builders; TSB's everywhere. Price is no longer a measure of a quality product. A sad day for the U.S.A. A long thread could be started with just things that shoulda been right from the start. I've been bite too!



Don't sweat the petty things-pet the sweaty things...
 
On installing the SE compensator on a 2010 Limited, I find it is not possible to tighten the engine pulley/spring package retainer bolt (the 140 ft/lb spec bolt) while still allowing the gear sprocket any movement at all. The instructions state to "make sure... some rotation by hand is possible" after the bolt is tightened. I find the toothed gear impossible to move after torquing the bolt.

My concern applies if the engine and transmission should be connected only by spring pressure (exerted by the ramps) as the pulley wheel is rotated. With the entire package sandwiched so tightly tightly that the toothed pulley is fixed in place, that cannot happen. Has anyone found it possible to follow the instructions on this point and been able to allow some movement in the toothed pulley wheel?
 
I wasn't able to get any movement either. Then again, with the amount of spring pressure on the new set up, I would have been pretty stunned if I had been able to. Just bolt it up and go for it.
 
Next time you have it apart, you will see wear on the ramps that prove there was movement. They are a rough casting when assembled, but will polish up with wear.

Another reason some break in is needed before getting the full effects of the compensator. I have plenty miles on mine now, and it rides very smooth.
 
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