Being a new Thumper owner (2011 bought from the dealership in 2012) I have found a wealth of information on this site - Thank you guys !!!  

I plan to keep this bike for awhile (wife says it is my last one), so I want to stay on top of any issues that could come up.  Since it is still under warranty I have been just riding and enjoying the bike.  So far have been putting on about 500-600 miles a month with no issues.

I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask :

I did the seat lift mod and it worked out great for comfort, but picked up the speedo rattle.  I took it back to the dealer and they blamed the seat mod for the rattle.  That did not seem right to me, but does that sound right to you guys ?  I guess I will be doing the speedo rattle fix at the next oil change.  

I am not sure if I have missed it or not, but what mileage do I need to start to think about the cam tensioner and adding Verslagen’s modified cam tensioner.  Does Verslagen still make the modified tensioners ?  From what I have read it seems to be the best way to go for minimum hassle.

yeah what dave posted. dealer is being a dealer and trying to weasle out of any repair work if possible. I would get in line for getting a cam tensioner and have it ready for when your warrenty runs out. I would install the modded tensioner immediatly after the warranty is out so you won't have to worry about it in the future, but that's me.

I didn't tell him about the seat lift he noticed the extra rubber spacers and went from there about the rattle, as it changed the mounting of the rear of the tank according to him.  Since the spacers are above the rear tab on the tank, I questioned his logic.

I agree my dealer leaves a lot to be desired.  I have several others in about a 40 mile radius, so I may check one of those out.  Got the best price on my bike from this local guy as he had it in the shop for a year and it was the color I wanted.  I have worked in the diesel world for the last 30 years and would get fired if I dealt with customers the way they do.

Verslagen are you still doing the modified tensioners ?  I only have 2500 miles on the clock at this point, but wanted to make sure I was stay ahead of the curve on the tensioner.  I had read through the treads and post and did not really see a mileage to start wondering about it.  I will have to work with my right ankle since there is not anything to feel yet, so I am guessing I will feel a vibration or click when it starts to fail.  I will probably go in and look when the warranty is out next spring as that should be around 10,000 miles or a little less.

Thanks guys for all of the information it is appreciated.

It highlights the problems associated with any owner mods while the bike is under warranty. Mods give dealers a long deep worm out hole.

Go home, pull the risers, see if it still rattles. It still rattles, I bet, then, take it back.,

Id be curious to hear his logical explanation on the mechanism by which raising the seat makes the speedo rattle. I would want to ask if taking the rear wheel off makes it fly out.. should you secure it before removing the wheel?
If you had raised the speedo, would that have made the seat rattle?

There are words to describe such people, & ya just cant use them here,,

BUT! I can say this,

If someone was gonna circumcise him, Id say theyd need a Guillotine.

dikkhead, wadda jerk..

The things that men will do to keep a woman around...

I pulled the risers yesterday and the rattle is still there, just as you said Justin_o_guy2.  It is less noticeable though / may need to look at why that is a little bit. I am going back by the dealer this morning to see what words of wisdom he can shed on it now.  I have been down this path before with various dealers on cars, bikes and diesel engines and from both side of the fence.  Did not really feel like a big contest yesterday, but today is a different story.

The reference to my last bike has been said before to no avail by my wife.  I hope she was not using it as a reference to my age and last bike this time though.   I am one of the old guys too, there seems to be a few of us on the site. I learned a long time ago to keep her as happy as possible and my life will be happy also.  

WD – I change the oil at 1500 miles along with the filter.  You are right that is cheap insurance for the longevity of a motor.  Thanks for the info on the valves also, I was wondering why they wanted them checked every 3500 miles.  That seemed a little obsessive to me.