bad rattle under 2011

[moonpilt]

I've got a bad rattle underneath the back of the TriGlide which is a very solid one when I hit bumps. some days it's worse than others for some reason. what ever is causing it is intermitant. It's really bad when I first start it in the morning, but as I ride for a while it's not as bad. Some times it's not there at all. For some reason when the dealer rides the bike he doesn't hear the problem. they checked the pipes and they aren't hitting anything. I've only got 500 miles on it and it's driving me nuts. maybe it's my brain rattling ! anyone with some ideas?

thanks.

[Bruce]

Its not a loose baffel in one of the mufflers is it?? I had one that did that when it was cold and when it warmed up it stopped. Before I found the problem it had loosened up enough that it did it most of the time -- take a rubber mallet and tap on each muffler when the trike is cold.

[trikeleader]

I had a simular problem a number of years ago, I finely figured out that the intermitant rattle was only heard when my wife was riding with me...LOL

[jimmy]

anything in the trunk?

[msocko3]

There is 4 tamper proof torx bolts on the rear cross members which hold down some metal bars see if they are loose.

[1550vt]

Mike....that is a conundrum. How can a tamper-proof fastener be tampered with.

[moonpilt]

This is a real solid rattle. A good comparison is it sounds just like a rod rap,( which it isn't). thanks for the comments guys. I'll check them out.( no junk in the trunk). Laying in bed last night looking at the ceiling it came to me maybe these guys that can't hear what I'm hearing becaust they are all wearing full helmets. I've got loud exhaust. comments??

[1550vt]

We had a fellow-poster here on the forum that chased a rattle for days. I am not going to divulge his identity, because he knows too much stuff on me. Anyway.....he finally pulled his carpet back enough to find a shock air line connector flopping around between the carpet and the trunk wall. The installers duct-tape had finally gave-way to the wear-n-tear and the line fitting was dangling in a place not readily visible.

Just keep a keen-eye on your handling. If the right thing comes loose under there...you could wind up in the ditch. I would jack her up and make sure all the connections are tight and nothing real important is loose. Just do a general nut-n-bolt tightening routine to make sure nothing major is about to leave the trike. If you don't find anything in the running-gear....it will just be a bothersome noise until you find out what it really is.

[10rhrk]

Have you checked the rubber sleeve bushing's on the bracket's that bolts to the rear of the muffler's? Give us an update when you solve this.

[pettifogger1]

"This is a real solid rattle." Is this one of those oxymoron things?

[msocko3]

Mike....that is a conundrum. How can a tamper-proof fastener be tampered with.

I know what you mean, don't know why the MoCo wasted the time putting those fasteners in.

[Oldmsocko]

I'm going to take a stupid stab at it. Could it possibly be your reverse motor coming loose? Someone just recently lost theirs.

[TriGlide]

I'm going to take a stupid stab at it. Could it possibly be your reverse motor coming loose? Someone just recently lost theirs.

I was thinking the same

[moonpilt]

We had a fellow-poster here on the forum that chased a rattle for days. I am not going to divulge his identity, because he knows too much stuff on me. Anyway.....he finally pulled his carpet back enough to find a shock air line connector flopping around between the carpet and the trunk wall. The installers duct-tape had finally gave-way to the wear-n-tear and the line fitting was dangling in a place not readily visible.

Just keep a keen-eye on your handling. If the right thing comes loose under there...you could wind up in the ditch. I would jack her up and make sure all the connections are tight and nothing real important is loose. Just do a general nut-n-bolt tightening routine to make sure nothing major is about to leave the trike. If you don't find anything in the running-gear....it will just be a bothersome noise until you find out what it really is.

These are some more things that I'll check. The trike has less than 1,000 miles on it.

The dealer did some GPS wiring under the fairing and found the speaker screws only half tightened. I wonder what else they didn't tighten.

[Hawkeye]

+1 on 10rhrk's suggestion. I had exactly the same thing on one of my trikes. It was a "hard rattle" and turned out to be exactly what he said. Tightened it up and it never happened agian.

[moonpilt]

I'm taking the trike back to the dealer this Tuesday and going to leave it there. they are going to ride over some rough road again.I'm going to suggest the helmet thing to them. It really rattles when you first ride for some reason. all other times I had to ride ten miles to the dealer. I did the rubber hamer thing with no results. I really can't get to everything till I get setup properly to jack it up. will keep you informed. wouldn't wish this on anybody. buying a new bike is supposed to be a pleasent time not a pain in the butt.

[Oldmsocko]

+1 on 10rhrk's suggestion. I had exactly the same thing on one of my trikes. It was a "hard rattle" and turned out to be exactly what he said. Tightened it up and it never happened agian.

+1 on that. I also had that problem. All you need to do is grab ahold of the exhaust in the back and see if it moves . Mine sure did.

[moonpilt]

+1 on 10rhrk's suggestion. I had exactly the same thing on one of my trikes. It was a "hard rattle" and turned out to be exactly what he said. Tightened it up and it never happened agian.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be checking everything as soon as I can get the back end up in the air without bending something.

[BlueTrinity]

Mike....that is a conundrum. How can a tamper-proof fastener be tampered with.

VT - Is that there "conundrum" one of them things that keeps a Harley from gettin' AIDS ?

[1550vt]

It will protect against aids, but none of the other diseases inherently built-in. Some of the Harley conditions are hereditary in nature and cannot be cured.