[JacktheBagger]

Got a very lightly used one from JayKS a few weeks back , finally changed the primary oil yesterday , and swapped it out with the HD unit ..

First start up got a very noticeable whine , which they say you should expect . It clicks into first instead of clunks into first , shifting is definitely improved and the bike even rides smoother .. Rode a few miles to meet wifey , and on second start up , no whine ..

I'm difficult to impress , but I am

JtB

 

[dbell66253]

Interesting, I have one that's been sitting around for almost 2 years, I started to install it recently when I changed my clutch, but since everything looked fine, I'm still putting it off. Please check in for the next few thousand miles and report how it's working.

 

[Big_gary]

I had mine in over 10 k and all seems good. I will pull the primary cover in a few months for the yearly check up, this will be the second time I had the cover off since I installed the M6.
It did take a few k to lose that whine.

 

[OldNerdGuy]

Interesting, I have one that's been sitting around for almost 2 years, I started to install it recently when I changed my clutch, but since everything looked fine, I'm still putting it off. Please check in for the next few thousand miles and report how it's working.

How about 50,000 miles, or more? I've had one on mine for quite a while. Things are going great. The stock Harley tensioner is a cheap shit piece of crap. It only allows for ratchet adjustments, and only tighter at that.

Here is my before...


Here is my after...


Notice the difference in the slack at the top. The Harley POS can only make things tighter, until it gets too tight. Then it can ruin bearings. The Hayden is spring tensioned, and can allow for less slack in the chain because the springs manage the slack. It also makes the primary quieter, with no chain slapping around inside.

Put it in, put it in now, you will not regret it.

OBTW, that whine is the chain making a groove in the shoe. Nothing to worry about. Once it seats, it is good.

 

[roadie13]

I've been running mine for about 12k miles and also have one in the wife's fat boy lo for about 8k miles, very happy with both. No problems with either, running redline in the tranny in both and shifting is much smoother, especially in the softail. I still occasionally get the clunk on a shift into first, but rarely. The wife's did have the whine for quite a while, mine only a few hundred miles if that.

If you follow the other forums, the Hayden has got beaten up a lot in the 08 and up touring bikes - a lot of guys felt the chain tension was too tight and one person even had a broken spring. I opened both ours up after 2k and 5k of use because I was paranoid after seeing some of those posts. I was below the recommended 3/8" space on both installs, but the chain didn't feel overly tight at all and wear on the pad wasn't excessive (more on the softail than on mine, but not excessive IMO). Hayden came out with new springs (same strength but shorter length than the original) a few months ago, I presume to address the overtight issue that some are discussing. I called and they gave me two free sets so I installed them and replaced my pads (even though they really didn't need it) while I was doing other winter mods.

Some folks may have had issues, but I think they are a much better solution than the stock unit. Maybe I just got lucky with mine, but very happy with their performance so far.

 

[ironmark]

The last time I was in my primary I checked my primary chain tension with the Hayden tensioner in and it seemed to be too tight. The Hayden was in for about a year and didn't show much wear but I swapped it out and put the stock HD tensioner back in.
There didn't seem to be any damage to the primary components so I don't think there was any issue using the Hayden and I may put it back in someday.
I didn't use any shims when installing the Hayden because there was no need to but I may give Hayden a call and see if I can get the updated springs.

 

[Big_gary]

I recall hearing Hayden said it was okay to use only one spring before they re manufactured the double spring.

 

[roadie13]

I recall hearing Hayden said it was okay to use only one spring before they re manufactured the double spring.

I've heard people mention that as well, but didn't think to ask when I contacted them about the new springs and it's not in writing anywhere on their site. From what I remember those that went with only one spring used the bigger one and left the smaller one out. FWIW, I don't know what the HD spec is for chain deflection or exactly how the proper amount of tension is measured, but with the Hayden in I can still easily push the chain down by hand and I don't have any slack in the chain like the pic above with the stock tensioner in.

 

[mitchdm]

Running mine with the double spring for about 40k or so ~ I snapped one of the shoes in half after I installed it ~ but have had no issues with the second shoe which has been in the primary for almost 35k now. Each time I have been in the primary all is well.....

 

[rlaf75]

I've had the Hayden tensioner in for about 8k Mikes without any issues. I'll be pulling the primary cover off in a week or to for a quick inspection for the the season but I'm pretty confident everything will still be good

 

[modot66]

Interesting... So they updated the springs? I bought one 2 years ago and put it in for 1k miles but took it out after rechecking chain tension (which was way too high). I might need to give it another look if they updated the springs. Concept was always good, just felt that for the 08 and up touring it put way too much tension on the chain.

 

[wicked world]

it puts way less tension on the chain than the stock piece of crap. i swapped mine out last year and the bike shifts better and starts better (no more clash). i had one on my 2004 road king and put over 100,000 miles on it, trouble free. great product, wth is wrong with harley davidson that they aren't using something so simple and great?

 

[RDCRIS]

Anybody know if warranty would be voided if they see this aftermarket part in there?
I have 15 with 2000 miles I just bought 2 days ago and hear the clank everyone talks about.

I had an new 07 RG, never had a problem with the stock set-up.

 

[Smarty]

Anybody know if warranty would be voided if they see this aftermarket part in there?
I have 15 with 2000 miles I just bought 2 days ago and hear the clank everyone talks about.

I had an new 07 RG, never had a problem with the stock set-up.

That clank is the compensator, they still don't have it figured out. Baker just came out with a new design that looks like the old ones from pre 2007. I here they have it fixed.

 

[Big_gary]

Anybody know if warranty would be voided if they see this aftermarket part in there?
I have 15 with 2000 miles I just bought 2 days ago and hear the clank everyone talks about.

I had an new 07 RG, never had a problem with the stock set-up.

The 15's have the newer compinsator but still use the old chain tensioner. If something go wrong in the primary, and you have aftermarket chain tensioner in there , they will try to blame that part. By law they have to prove the aftermarket part caused the damage , ( Magnuson - Moss law ) .You will have to fight them though. So the answer to your question is no and yes .

 

[RDCRIS]

The 15's have the newer compinsator but still use the old chain tensioner. If something go wrong in the primary, and you have aftermarket chain tensioner in there , they will try to blame that part. By law they have to prove the aftermarket part caused the damage , ( Magnuson - Moss law ) .You will have to fight them though. So the answer to your question is no and yes .

Understood, don't like it but understood. I think it's worth the effort to install the Hayden to fix the problem. I hate when the dealer/mechanic say it's "normal" when they know it's a problem with no factory fix. Guess their hands are tied with some things. Off topic here but found another problem with the radio losing the paired blue tooth to my phone when I shut off the bike and restart, the clock too. So I'll let them look at both problems, see if they can figure out what's going on.

Thanks

 

[DC-3Mek]

I'm gonna have to find it and post pics of my Hayden. I put it in before SWIII and never got rid of the whine. 7,000 miles later when I got back home, I did an inspection and found the foot eaten almost through. When I took it out you could see the nylon looked like Swiss Cheese. It had large outgassing bubbles in the plastic. If it shows up you'll see the normal wear look of the flat shoe and then the bubbles opened up below that surface. Aside from that, I don't think it's as good a design as stock. The foot area of the Hayden is much smaller than the stock, therefore, it's gonna take more punishment.....not my opinion, just plain ol' physics.....
I'll see if I can find it and show y'all.

 

[Smarty]

I'm gonna have to find it and post pics of my Hayden. I put it in before SWIII and never got rid of the whine. 7,000 miles later when I got back home, I did an inspection and found the foot eaten almost through. When I took it out you could see the nylon looked like Swiss Cheese. It had large outgassing bubbles in the plastic. If it shows up you'll see the normal wear look of the flat shoe and then the bubbles opened up below that surface. Aside from that, I don't think it's as good a design as stock. The foot area of the Hayden is much smaller than the stock, therefore, it's gonna take more punishment.....not my opinion, just plain ol' physics.....
I'll see if I can find it and show y'all.

There were some problems with certain bikes newer than 2011 with using the Hayden adjuster. Some of the bikes when installed, the chain was too tight even with the adjuster fully bottomed out. Hayden dressed it and decided it was the inconsistencies with Harley primary chains not being the same lengths hence being too tight and wearing the shoe out and whining.

 

[DC-3Mek]

There were some problems with certain bikes newer than 2011 with using the Hayden adjuster. Some of the bikes when installed, the chain was too tight even with the adjuster fully bottomed out. Hayden dressed it and decided it was the inconsistencies with Harley primary chains not being the same lengths hence being too tight and wearing the shoe out and whining.

I hear ya, but in my case ( and it may be isolated to my case only ) but I used to be in manufacturing and I can tell ya what I have looks like something wasn't evacuated before it was molded or it's severe outgassing of the nylon.
To be fair, it looked perfect when I installed it.

 

[tdkkart]

I've had Hayden products in my last 4 bikes and not had any primary drive issues, other than the crappy new style compensator in the '11. Very likely the '15 will get a Hayden when it gets to its 5000mi oil change. Right now it's got 2800mi on it and the primary is noisy as hell already.

BTW, just because a chain has all it's droop taken out doesn't mean it's too tight.....