knocking sound in my 05' softail

[mosn28]

I am new to V-Twin, but I look forward to tapping the vast amount of knowledge that undoubtedly exists here. Well, for my first foray, I have an 05' FXSTDI and recently I have noticed a knocking sound which sounds like it is coming from the Forward Cylinder or head. It is especially noticeable when the engine is cold and at low rpm. I have about 8k miles on the bike. I am scared because I have heard that 05 had issues with their cams, although it sounds more like rocker or perhaps a lifter. I am just mechanically savvy enough to get me into trouble, although I really don't want to take it to Harley as my warranty ran out last year. Any sage advice would be most welcome, as it is my primary means of transportation at the moment (effing gas prices!).

Also, on the lines of the cam tensioner shoe issue, I would at one point like to switch to a gear driven system. Anybody have any reccomendations, I am a poor sailor, and am not real concerned with increasing HP, just want to make my bike last. When I switch my cams, I would also like a high capacity oil pump installed, any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance.

Mosn

P.S. Can anybody tell me about the "Knock detection sensor" that is supposedly installed in these things? I guess it retards spark to limit damage in case of a knock?

[nc-renegade]

Originally Posted by mosn28

I am new to V-Twin, but I look forward to tapping the vast amount of knowledge that undoubtedly exists here. Well, for my first foray, I have an 05' FXSTDI and recently I have noticed a knocking sound which sounds like it is coming from the Forward Cylinder or head. It is especially noticeable when the engine is cold and at low rpm. I have about 8k miles on the bike. I am scared because I have heard that 05 had issues with their cams, although it sounds more like rocker or perhaps a lifter.
Also, on the lines of the cam tensioner shoe issue, I would at one point like to switch to a gear driven system. Anybody have any reccomendations, I am a poor sailor, and am not real concerned with increasing HP, just want to make my bike last. When I switch my cams, I would also like a high capacity oil pump installed, any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance.

Mosn

P.S. Can anybody tell me about the "Knock detection sensor" that is supposedly installed in these things? I guess it retards spark to limit damage in case of a knock?

Have not heard of any issues with 05 cams. Not sure about a knocking sound...most knocking sounds in my mind are rod bearings or piston slapping (which occurs when the engine is cold). With those low miles and stock pistons, I would not think either one of these are your source of noise. Most likely your stack up on your compensator. There is a shim you can buy from HD that allows the nut to provide the proper tension on the stack.

You can try to locate it better with either an engine stethoscope or a long screw driver out and use that against your ear.

I would stay away from a gear cam drive and consider going to the new cam tensioner design. The cost is about the same and you will not have to worry about pinion runout and the noise that comes with the gears. Also, you get the new oil pump to boot.

The Delphi Ion sensing is described here: http://delphi.com/manufacturers/auto...gnsys/ionized/

Regards,
NC