Hayden M6 Install & Review

[banquo]

First of the winter projects is fitting the Hayden M6 automatic chain tensioner. Not because I can't be bothered adjusting the chain every 5000m, but in an attempt to reduce vibration from the chain whipping around with the required free play.
I looked at the M6, the Sohot Hydraulic and the Genuine H-D one.
I eliminated the Hydraulic one, not because I didn't think it was a good idea, but because nobody, including the manufacturers, could tell me how it actually works. They recommended fitting it so the chain was tight, and said a drone or whine was alright, and the tension was needed to compensate for future chain wear... on an automatic chain tensioner??? I figured that a rock hard chain was likely to cause premature wear on the drive side main bearing, which is said to be weak on '03 and later TC88s, and the clutch bearing, so decided it wasn't for me. The jury was out on H-D's own auto tensioner, as it hadn't been around for long, and a couple of posters on forums had claimed it had flown apart on them in use....
I don't believe all I hear, but there were many recommending the M6, and not so many for the H-D, so M6 it was...
The M6 looks pretty well made, with a professional looking shoe, welded up supports, and a couple of springs, shims and hardware. The instructions are less reassuring, with badly written and badly illustrated steps, and a fistful of special notes at the start, warning about how it might not fit your particular bike, and modifications may be required...
Yes.
Of course, you don't find this out until after you parted with your cash...
So, here's what you get in your kit:

Before you start, make sure you have a Workshop Manual with all the torque settings, and instructions for removing and replacing the outer primary cover. You'll need a quality torque wrench (down to 8 ft lbs and up to about 40 ft lbs) T27, T40 and 3/16" bits,and a 9/16" socket if your bike is the same as mine, but it might not be, so make sure you read your own manual before starting...
Disconnect the battery before working on the primary, just in case....
This is my experience - yours might be different - and this is an account of what I did, not a suggestion of what you might do..

First step is to get the bike up on a lift. You can do it on the ground, but higher's easier:

Make sure you place the bike lift in a position where you miss the drain plug on the primary, otherwise you'll have to do what I did, and start all over again... .
Always strap the bike to the lift, to prevent a third of a ton of bike landing on top of you, and make sure the straps clear the primary and the drain plug.


Here's the drain plug on the '03 Softails. Later ones have a flanged plug and gasket, but this one is the tapered plug type. It's supposed to sit proud of the casing, but due to bad tolerancing, or the dealer's ham-fistedness during the first two services, mine now sits flush. I use plumber's tape to assist sealing (as you can see).

Remove plug, and drain oil into suitable container. I always hold the container up to the drain hole when removing the plug, so it's guaranteed to go where it's supposed to go, then lower it carefully, as the oil is draining, to make sure the stream actually lands in the drainer.

Now it's time to remove the outer primary cover. You don't need to remove the derby cover, but you do need to remove the inspection cover, as two of the bolts for that go right through to the inner primary. You'll need a T27 Torx bit for the inspection cover, and a 3/16" bit for the Allen bolts on the cover. Undo them gradually, and be ready for the remaining oil to spill out when the cover is removed.

Note that I've used a bit of cardboard, and drawn the shape of the cover on to it. I poked holes in it to match all the screw positions, and that makes sure you get them all back in the right place. They're different lengths, so that's important. The extra screw in the middle's the drain plug.
This is what you see with the cover removed:

The stock tensioner sits in the middle, under the lower pass of the chain.
See the two black washers? These are 'tower gaskets' and they will either stay on the inner primary, as here, stick to the outer, or fall into the primary when you take the cover off. Check they are there before putting it all back together, and replace if damaged.

Using a 9/16" socket, remove the adjusting nut completely, with its washer.

Wiggle (technical term) the adjuster off the bolt, and out from under the chain.

These are the bits you removed:

Next, using a T40 Torx bit, remove the two countersunk screws that retain the slotted backing plate, that holds the coach bolt in place.


This is what you remove.

Keep the slotted plate and the two countersunk screws and set aside the coach bolt. Clean the two screws, as they will be needed again and will be Loctited into position.

According to the instructions, the next thing to do is fit the long coach bolt from the kit, to the slotted plate, and refit the slotted plate using the two countersunk screws, which is what I did.

Added a couple of drops of Loctite threadlocker, and torqued to 13 ft lbs.

Continued - 10,000 character limit not big enough for motor mouth...

[banquo]

Next, you're supposed to fit what they call the C Guideplate, which is what it all hangs on, and you find out pretty quick that it's easy enough to get it under the chain, but there's no way the coach bolt will go through, because the chain prevents the Guide from coming far enough forward.

Look at the notes on the instructions, and you see they mention this possibility....
So, you have to take it all off again, clean up the screws for a second time, and this time, fit the carriage bolt through the C Guideplate, before attaching the slotted backplate to the inner primary. Like this:

By angling the Guideplate off to one side, you can get access to fit the two countersunk screws, torqueing them down as before.
Next, you need to pick one of the thin shims from the pack, and try to fit it to the Guideplate.
If your is a 2003 FXST, it won't fit, and (as it says in the instructions) you may need to remove metal from the two wings at the back, to stop them fouling on the webs of the inner primary. What they don't tell you, is that you will (or may) need to remove metal from the inner face, that bears against the rear of the C Guideplate, because the shim fouls the weld on the plate. This is my shim, filed down to fit. Note that great care must be taken to ensure all burrs and bits of loose metal are removed (I used wet and dry paper, and washed it in the sink afterwards). You don't want bits of metal floating about in the drive.

When it's right, the front face of the shim should be flush with the front of the C Guideplate, with the two wings sticking out in front of it.
You can see the shim fit on the next photo, where the shoe has also been fitted. There are two springs, and the smaller diameter on fits inside the larger. Fit the two springs into the recess in the underside of the plastic shoe, compress the springs with your finger, and slip the assembly under the chain, so the upper face of the shoe bears on the chain, and the springs bear on the upper face of the shim.

Next, you need to measure the distance between the underside of the shoe and the top of the shim. It's easier to do this if you fit the nut on to the coach bolt, and screw it down until the C Guideplate is held in place.
The correct clearance is 5/8" (16mm).

There are three possibilities. If you're lucky, the reading will be pretty much 5/8", as on the photo. If it's more than that, you need to add another shim, or change to the thicker shim. If less, you need to remove the thin shim, and keep it for later, when the chain has stretched.
5/8" is for stock engines. They say you need 1/2" for strokers.
Next, you fit the outer plate from the kit, with the grooves facing the shoe, and attach using the nut on the coach bolt (no washer used) tightened down to 33 ft lbs (more than the H-D manual recommends).
The outer plate will locate in the U-shape at the front of the shim. You can check the adjuster working, by pressing on the top strand of the primary chain. The shoe will move downwards, taking up the slack automatically.
You will then notice the next problem, when it becomes obvious that the outer plate is sitting lower than the primary case, and there's no way you'll be able to get the outer cover on.
Again, if you look at the notes, it will tell you of this possibility...

Nothing for it but to take the outer plate off, and file or grind it down until it clears the case.

Again, ensure all traces of swarf are removed, and polish the surfaces with wet and dry, and wash thoroughly, before refitting.

And that's the job done, apart from replacing the covers, torqueing down the outer primary bolts in the right sequence, and to the right torque, and the inspection cover bolts too.
Points to note: they always say you need to replace all the gaskets. My experience is that the metal gasket can be reused several times, if handled with care. Check the condition of the rubberised bits, and if torn, it'll be time to fit a new one. Expensive.
The inspection gasket covers are cheaper, but I've still managed to get 10 uses out of them.
Careful when torqueing the inspection cover screws, They are a really low torque value of 8 ft lbs.
I always degrease the primary cover, inside and out, hose with clean water and dry it thoroughly before refitting, just in case any nasty stuff found its way in there whilst it was off. Better safe than sorry.
Don't forget to fit the drain-plug, and refill with oil!

As I was uncomfortable about buying this accessory, and having to file lumps off it to make it fit, I e-mailed the manufacturers to ask for comments, and to provide reassurance that everything is OK...
Will post answer when I get it.
Reading between the lines, this piece of kit was designed for earlier models, and rather than facing up to investing in updated versions, they have continued with an old model, and left it up to us, the customers, to get it to fit....

Here's the reply: make of it what you will, but on the positive side, a reply by return's better than you get most places...

"Your installation is wonderful. You are good to go.
Sometimes (not always, so it's hard for us to do it all or know when it will happen) - inner primary cases have casting nubs or bumps or just plain too much materials. We don't want you to have to grind on your bike, so we have you adjust the M6 whenever it might be necessary. What you have described is pretty normal. You have done everything right. Most bike may have to do one or two of those things, but rarely all, and you got them all. But, REST ASSURED, you have done it right, your installation looks great and I would like to keep these pictures and possibly add them to our 'Frequently Asked Questions" section of our web site. It will help others that may run into one of these things.
Now, keep in mind, you will eventually have chain stretch and need to add another shim. Keep them where you will know where to find them because it may easily be 20-30 thousand miles before you will need to add it. Once you use all three shims and we can no longer pick up the slack, you will be due for a new chain, but you will probably be around 100K miles by then. If you forget about shimming it, and the gap becomes too wide, the springs can start dancing around and may cause a spring to break, so keep in mind to check it whenever you have the primary open or at 20K miles.
Happy riding
Kathy Roberts
Business Manager"

[BaZa ®]

Nice write up worthy of the quin.

I have been happy with mine since last winter.

Some people prefer the hydraulic ones but if a bit of swarf got into the chamber it would cease working!

[robbiemac]

What a great write up Banquo, thanks for that. Good clear pictures, worth thousands of words.

Will you get royalties from them using your artwork

[girlyglide]

You did remember to disconnect the battery, didn't you?

In my youth I managed to run my middle finger between the ring gear on the clutch and starter sprag clutch on a shovel. It hurts, produces a large puddle of blood and you have to hold your hand above your head with the damaged digit pointing skyward, similar to a well known salute.

It did, however, remove the need for me to be told ever again to disconnect or remove the battery before playing in the primary.

[banquo]

Have to admit I didn't Phil, but I have edited the post to add that. Thanks.
Can the starter work with the ignition off and the alarm in transport mode (apart from a fault condition that is)?

[nick_dj]

Thanks for a great installation write up
What are the main advantages and dose it make a difference to changes, vibration etc?
Anyone got any long term use to see how well they stand up to prolonged use?
Nick

[BaZa ®]

The M6 makes a smoother ride by reducing annoying vibration. Your transmission will 'click' into gear instead of 'clunk'. Improves shifting performance and extends the life of your primary chain. You'll swear you just rebuilt your clutch and transmission. Easy installation (generally less than 1 hour for the non-mechanic), not necessary to remove the primary chain.

[banquo]

Originally Posted by nick_dj

What are the main advantages and dose it make a difference to changes, vibration etc?
Anyone got any long term use to see how well they stand up to prolonged use?
Nick

Not back on the road yet Nick, but will report when the time comes. Plenty of folks on here have one, but if you want answers, better to search on the tech forums, or post a query on there.
Not enough traffic on here to get you a full response.

[dantheman]

good write up, da' you should send that into the quin, im sure it will help a few folks