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Squeaks, chirps, and rattle from the head tube on 06D

4K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Mromaus 
#1 ·
Just getting used to my 2006 VRSCD I bought a few weeks ago. My first Harley, and my first vehicle ever built after 2002.

I'm noticing a consistent squeak/chirp from the front of the bike when there are any bumps in the road. Even tiny bumps...so the sound is pretty much constant, but is more pronounced based on size of bump.

It sounds exactly like one of those twisty Audubon bird calls.

Also, when hitting larger bumps at any kind of speed, I think I feel the front assembly shake/rattle a bit in the head tube, if that's the right description. That front assembly doesn't feel solid enough. If it's moving, it's maybe 1/8 of an inch or less. Not a ton of movement, but I want no movement.

I'm still getting familiar with the bike. Anyone seen this before? If so, what was the fix, or where can I start looking? Can I tighten that baby? I want to address it before I make something worse. Thanks from Utah!

PS... working on ordering an FSM, which I'm sure will help with this kind of thing.
 
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#2 ·
You might need the steering "clunk" fix. It's a service bulletin MOCO put out to replace the steering neck nut with a beefier one. As for squeaks and chirps, you'll need to localize where that is coming from. That could depend on the condition of your bike and how well it was looked after over the years -- e.g. stored outside, etc. Doesn't hurt to have your neck bearings checked for front end play.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for this. Excellent to know. It's only got 8000 miles on it, and it's been stored inside the whole time (with a lot of time between rides), but time does take its toll regardless. I think I might just take it to my excellent local HD mechanic and maybe have the 10k service done early. I'll definitely ask him about the "clunk" fix. I'll also spend some time trying to isolate the chirp.
 
#3 ·
Advice -get a genuine! Harley V-rod shop manual, comes very handy, Ebay. Check out steering neck bearings, named "fall away", lack of lube out doors at MoCo.
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
#10 ·
Hey Team. On my cold, cold ride in to work this morning, it hit me that I never followed up with my questions on this thread, so I thought I'd close the loop a bit.

The chirps did indeed go away after more riding, a little tightening, and more riding. All is well there.

The clunk still happens once in a while, but I've determined that it's just the little fairing piece bumping into my headlight. My mechanic looked at it when I had my 10k service, and said it was nothing to worry about. My local dealership said there were no applicable recalls. So, no worries.

Thanks for the excellent comments and advise. It's been just over a year, and still loving the ride every single time!
 
#11 ·
RE: " My local dealership said there were no applicable recalls. So, no worries."
there is a Svc Bulletin.
Do they know hat you have a Alum. Tripe tree?

I've got the same bike, same year.
I did the Flanged nut upgrade.
Mine Clunked pretty good once in a while.

* SERVICE BULLETIN M-1215 STEERING STEM NUT KIT- REPLACE
06-08 VRSC Models with Aluminum Triple Tree Stem new flanged nut 8193
kit 45736-07 = 50 Bucks.

I would do it if you have not.
You can tighten down the big Nut but you won't get quite enough torque..I think.
Can wear out the Fork Bearings cause its a little loose.

I let the shop do this job, because IIRC, you should adjust the Fall-Away after and that involves the loosening the Pinch bolt. I 'll try to do the fall way next time.
 
#13 ·
I would say to any one who has purchase a '06 Night Rod that they need to take apart the head stock and inspect the neck.

The two that I have, both had medium for sandblasting in the neck. The crap was covering my bearing and triple tree. Thankfully the races were not in bad shape, I cleaned that crap out, re-greased the bearing with marine grease and reassembled. No issues since.

I would bet that this was not an issue that HD addressed, so its possible that there are many Vrods out there with sand in their neck.
 
#14 ·
You should have replaced those races and bearings. With sand penetrating the bearings they wont last long.
 
#15 ·
I would typically agree. At the time, I didn't want the bikes to be held up so I just slapped them back together and hoped to get a little while out of them.

To my amazement the head stocks are still tight and turn freely... that was two years ago!

I ride my bike through rain and shine at least once a week. Pretty amazing.
 
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