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Twin Power 34 Tooth Compensator Eliminator Install

37K views 51 replies 27 participants last post by  Zedbra 
#1 ·
Last week I installed the Twin Power 34 Tooth Compensator Eliminator Sprocket and the Twin Power Manual Primary Tensioner.

Installation:
Very easy, instructions were clear from Twin Power for both the sprocket and manual tensioner install.

I had to loosen the clutch pack which was easy on the 2016 Road Glide Ultra. Just remove the large snap ring in the center of the clutch pack, remove the large rod, then using the Jim's sprocket locking tool, loosen the clutch pack locking nut (clockwise to loosen and counter clockwise to tighten).

Make sure to loosen the SE compensator bolt first, but don't remove the compensator assembly when loosening the clutch pack nut. This made it easier for me to put things back together.

The Road Glide Ultra has the 3 1/4 inch compensator bolt and requires the use of the large tapered washer when installing the sprocket (large flat washer goes inside of the sprocket and against the rotor housing). The large tapered washer goes on the outside the of the sprocket with the tapered facing out and the flat side against the sprocket.

Torque to 145 to 165 ft pounds. I torqued mine to 160 ft pounds.

Install the large rod back into the clutch, reinstall the center thrush bearing (I think that's what its called), then reinstall the snap ring.

The tensioner install that after installing the sprocket. I didn't get that special wrench with this tensioner kit. No big deal, I used needle nose vise grips to gently move the adjusting nut, just below the tensioner shoe. The locking nut using a 9/16th open box wrench. Hold the adjusting nut with the needle nose vice grips, then use the 9/16th wrench to lock down the adjustment once you have the tension you're looing for. I adjusted my tension to 5/8" slack.

Performance: Well, I've had this now on for 500 miles. Testing is pretty easy as I commute 124 miles round trip every day to work. I will let you know that the tensioner shoe makes a whine initially for a few hundred miles, not anything obnoxious, but definitely noticeable. It settles down and you don't hear it too much. I hear it on start up and then the sound goes away.

I can definitely feel a difference in the friction zone. I feel more control of the friction zone with this Twin Power Sprocket. Before the friction zone felt pulsating and I would say this was due to the SE style compensator. Also acceleration, much more impressive now, very snappy, but not jerk your head snappy. I have 32,000 miles on my 2016 Road Glide Ultra and she performance like I've added cams or increased air flow. I had S&S easy start 585 cams and Arlen Ness Inverted Big Sucker. Had to remove the cams and other things due to water and salt entering the engine. That is another post for another time. I learned a lot from that experience.

Back to the Twin Power 34 Tooth Compensator Eliminator Sprocket - YES, that garbling noise in the primary is now GONE. She fires up immediately, no hesitation, no couple of cranks. NOPE just hit the start switch and vroom.... and potato potato... Nice.

I've attached the photos of my install, I can say I'm very glad and very happy that I made this switch! The only time I feel any engine pulses is when I'm sitting in my driveway, bike is in neutral and I'm holding the rear brake. My driveway has a slight incline and I can feel just an every so slight pulse.

Stop and go traffic seems to be much easier, the clutch is easier to engage, neutral is easy to find when she is running. The biggest difference, when I accelerate, she has no lag, no more compensator noise and very responsive.

I'll keep you posted as I rack the miles, but I expect this to continue to make me smile!

I hope you find this helpful if you are thinking about doing something similar.
 

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#4 ·
@Road dawg: I got the two parts at Eastern Performance. The Compensator Eliminator Sprocket was $179 and the Manual Tensioner was $195. Total cost $374, smile on my face, priceless! As for the adjustment on the manual tensioner, Twin Power recommends checking after the first 5,000 miles and then based on speed of wear adjusting how often review from there. I'll check in about another 4,200 miles, I'll take pictures and report the break in and wear.
@Smokey: Thanks, hoping someone can use the information. After 5,000 miles I'll be adding the S&S Easy Start 585 cams. Right now she scoots and with the 585, I should feel noticeable improvements from 3,000 and up on the RPM.

I'll take pics and repost at 5,000 miles.
 
#8 ·
Sorry for the late reply, was out of town for work and unfortunately couldn't take the Road Glide for my travel. Would have been nice, Fredericksburg, VA to El Paso, TX.
@Road dawg: I did have a lot of noise with my compensator. I had 31,000 miles on my 2016 Road Glide when I swapped out for the Comp Eliminator Sprocket. Around 15,000 miles I started noticing a lot of metal on my dimple magnet plug when pulled off the outer primary. I started to change my primary oil every 5,000 miles instead of 10,000 to see if the condition continued. The very fine metal continued to be noticeable on the dimple magnet plug. I've own this Road Glide since new, only had 2 miles when I bought it at the Blue Spring Harley Davidson in Kansas City, MO. Road her back home to Fredericksburg the first week.

I will say that I have over 900 miles now on the new compensator eliminator sprocket and tensioner. The whine has almost disappeared, the start up and shut down is extremely smooth and the roll on acceleration is AMAZING! Very quick acceleration from 65 to 90 in almost what seems just a second or two with no hesitation.

So far, couldn't be happier with this upgrade! I'm going to change the primary oil again at 5,000 and take off the primary cover. I'll also take a picture of the dimple magnet plug and post. I'll take a picture of the compensator that I pulled off my 2016 Road Glide and post too.

I'll keep everyone posted!
 
#14 ·
@eddienelson: if you hear gravel sounds in your primary as you start your engine, or you hear what sounds like the chain hitting the primary when you accelerate, those could be indications. Check your magnet plug on the primary to see if you have a lot of fine metal. I've also learned that sometimes the compensating bolt can be loose by a 1/4 turn and if you tighten, that could also fix the compensator issue. Mine wasn't loose and I opted to replace with the Compensator Eliminator Sprocket.
@Eddie Haskell: Twin Power does make a 32 tooth compensator eliminator sprocket. You will have to use a different primary tensioner. JP Cycles sells the kit which you can find here: https://www.jpcycles.com/product/160-0452/twin-power-32t-compensator-eliminator-kit . I'm sure Eastern Performance has the kit too. I almost thought about going with the 32 tooth, but decided to try out the 34 tooth first. I can say that I'm very happy with the 34 tooth, I'm sure I'd be happier with the 32 tooth if I spent more time in the 4k - 5k rpm range. I really don't get there on hard acceleration when I'm merging on a high way.
 
#18 ·
So today, I decided to check my pinion shaft run out. Its been about 1,500 miles since I installed the 34 tooth compensator eliminator. Unfortunately, I didn't check my pinion shaft prior to the installation of the original equipment upgrades.

I used the fueling 9015 pinion shaft measuring tool. Total play came in at 0.0048. I also decided to put the new camplate, oil pump and S&S 585 cams. Going to run this for about 20,000 miles and then take a measurement again.

Mrmoto95: with 48,000 on the road glide, no need to upgrade the clutch with the comp eliminator. I had 32,000 miles when I put my compensator eliminator and don't see any issues. Good luck!

I'll pull the primary off at 5,000 miles to see how the Twin Cam Tensioner is settling.

I will add that my Road Glide is very responsive with the compensator eliminator! I'm still very happy with the upgrade and I'll report back on the performance with the S&S 585 after a few hundred miles.
 
#19 ·
Hawkeye1, I'll be following your progress as well. I have a '09 Road King 96ci, Hayden automatic tensioner, with the pre-SE compensator (the flat pancake-looking one) that is failing. I've found very little talk on the internet about using a compensator eliminator sprocket. Most "speculate" failures of crankshafts, transmissions, clutch, etc. But hardly anyone that is actually using one is sharing posts like yours. And with pictures! Looking forward to your next post. Thinking of going this route myself. I'm not what you would call "hard on the equipment." Just want something reliable.
 
#28 ·
Been running a solid sprocket for a few years and it is everything Hawkeye says. The acceleration difference from a stop is very noticeable. The one thing to keep in mind especially for those of you running the stock crankshaft is you are taking away a good bit of the buffer between the rear wheel and the motor which is going to put more stress on the the crank. If you are the kind of rider that likes to downshift to come to a stop this is not a good move for you unless you modify your riding style. Clutch in and use your brakes. It becomes more important to match gear/road speed/RPM's than when running a comp. Lugging the motor is also a big no no.

Not trying to scare anyone away from this, but just some things to think about before you jump in.
 
#21 ·
4,000 Mile Update

So I've logged 4,000 miles now on my 2016 RGU with the twin power 34 tooth compensator eliminator sprocket. I have about 1,000 more miles and I'll pull my primary off and take pictures. I'll take picture of the dimple plug, twin power manual tensioner, and sprocket.

First noise: I don't get any whine what so ever at start up. I don't get any garble or clunk when I start or stop.

Starting the engine: She first right up with no issue and when I turn off, she's quiet when I turn off the ignition. When I had the compensator, at shut down, I could hear almost like a swoosh back and forth, that's gone.

Performance: Well, I'll use the Harley Technician's words, "Wow, your bike is really responsive..." In fact the technician took my bike around the parking lot twice...

Traffic: So I ride in DC traffic and on the highway every day. I have no issue with the compensatorless sprocket. Neutral is about as easy to find as before, not easier and not harder... about the same. Shifting though seems to be much smoother, I don't get the clunk when shifting. Not that I did before, but I could certainly hear it much louder with the compensator.

I can accelerate hard when entering onto the highway and if I'm not holding onto the handle bars really good, I could easily get pushed back... with a smile of course.

I have absolutely no complaints and wish I had done this much earlier. In about 2 weeks I'll have logged another 1,000 miles and will take pictures and provide a visual update.

I might be able to do a video so you can experience the acceleration from 65 to 90 and how fast this happens! I've had her up to 129 with no issues and she seems to still have more room. There is a nice BMW 1600 GTL that I sometimes ride with and we turn up the speed when the express way is clear, he's surprised how quickly I can accelerate with him! A thumbs up from him says it all>:)

In another 15,000 miles I'll check my pinion shaft. Last measurement with logging 1,500 miles it was around 0.0048 run out.

In my opinion, this should be stock on all Harley Road Glides!

I'll provide another update in 2 weeks, and with pics. I know we all love pictures!!:grin:
 
#22 ·
5,000 Mile Update and Pics!

What we all have been waiting for, the 5,000 mile update!!!!

I have to say that I'm very happy with the performance and feel of the RGU with the Twin Power Compensator Replacement Sprocket. Ok, without further annoying words...

1. Drain plug had a lot of metal (see pic), this was the same with the compensator.
2. I used a separate magnet to show how much extremely fine metal (graphite fine).
I think some of it is from the remnants of the compensator in between the clutch plates (guessing, don't know)… Anyone want to take a guess?
3. A more slack in the chain, so definitely settled into the manual tensioner.
 

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#23 ·
General observations:
1. The sprocket and the clutch assembly looks perfect, no issues there.
2. Manual tensioner and chain definitely settled in nicely.
The chain evenly settled, more in the front and rear, and less in the center. It has a lot more wear to go before needing replacing.

Next is the clutch to look at.
 

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#24 ·
One of the things I was worried about with the Compensator replacement sprocket would be the wear and tear on the clutch plates. Would it cause faster wear and tear?

The next set of pictures is of the clutch plates. They look just fine at 36,480 miles.
 

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#25 ·
The Virdect

Well... I'm happy with the change. If you install the Twin Power Compensator replacement sprocket, you'll notice a difference in the responsiveness.

The Twin Power manual tensioner, definitely requires adjusting after 5,000 miles. Wear on the tensioner is even and has a lot more use left. One person had asked if there was enough bolt left to hold the shoe.

That was a good question and I examined how much I had to turn the bolt to remove the shoe... It took a lot, even after setting the tension correctly to remove the bolt, so I'm not worried about the bolt anymore.

The shoe can be replaced, assembly and disassembly of the shoe from the tensioner body is easy. The shoe slides off the metal plate (see pic). I used my needle nose vice grips and a 14 metric wrench. The instructions say 9/16, but the 14 seems to fit better, the 9/16 was too loose.

I will check again after another 5,000 miles to see if the tensioner has more wear, faster or slower, or the same wear.

I'll check the pinion shaft run-out at 25,000 miles. I checked it at 1,500 miles and measured 0.0048 and maximum per the manual is 0.012.

Ok, that wrap up the 5,000 mile review of the Twin Power Compensator replacement Sprocket and Twin Power manual tensioner.
 

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