Anyone who is privy to Harley Davidson motorcycles is aware of the incredible amount of noise (NOT including some of those obnoxious exhausts out there) these engines make. Ticks, rattles and odd-ball noises are just a part of motorcycle life and rarely will you get the same exact noises from engine to engine regardless of brand! So its not all bad for Harley engines :)
However, there is one situation where certain HD engines have a tick due to the rockers. In short, Rocker Lockers (get yours from DK Custom Products! ---> https://www.dkcustomproducts.com/sportster-rocker-lockers-reduce-top-end-ticking-noise-dk-rl-spt.htm) are something that aren't engineered into the stock engine directly from HD and I just don't know why not. It must come down to $$$ and changing their mfg. lines, but this is one consistent ticking that CAN be addressed with an inexpensive set of Rocker Lockers.
This installation is straightforward in theory, but in practice its challenging to say the least and takes some patience and understanding of the engine stroke. Misunderstanding whats required can have detrimental effects...loose parts or misaligned parts on the inside of your engine = bad news...that being said this will not be a step by step situation Blog post. Thats what the directions are for. Just some pics and information to help guide anyone along if they are considering some Rocker Lockers.
If you are unsure about this modification find help or pay the shop to do it for you. This is the first installation on my Blog that I have recommended paying an expert because of how serious of an install this is for your safety and your engines safety.
I will post some photos below of what things look like when they go wrong (Pic 1 and 3). You will see that when you don't have the Rocker Lockers aligned properly and the engine stroke is not at TDC (Google "Top Dead Center Sportster") they get "stuck" and crimp. That is not good and you must stop immediately, remove them, and go back to step 1 in the directions. Pic 2 and 4 show what they should look like as they are going in and when they are completed fitted. See below!
