Author Topic: My bike is ticking... (Read 11447 times)

Dead Eye · « **on:** 07 October 2012, 04:07:44 pm »

Hi all, went to go out for a spin today (nice Sunday afternoons are rare) and as I started the bike there is a rather loud ticking coming from the engine. Now my first thought was maybe the cam-chain tensioner, but I would have expected this to come on gradually, not to all of a sudden appear. After that I suspected something lose in the front sprocket area so removed the cover to find everything fine. After that I figured I would ask you guys before doing any potential damage

It sounded as if it got a bit better when it warmed a little, but not significantly.

John Silva · « **Reply #1 on:** 07 October 2012, 05:47:33 pm »

Sounds like a cam-chain rattle to me.
Does it sound better when the engine is warmer.

His Dudeness · « **Reply #2 on:** 07 October 2012, 06:54:52 pm »

sounds like cam chain to me too but can't be certain with just a video. sounds like it might not be running on four cylinders as well. its a bit chuggy if you know what i mean. are all the exhaust heating up at the same rate?

Dead Eye · « **Reply #3 on:** 08 October 2012, 01:07:05 am »

It definitely sounds a bit worse than usual if disregarding the rattle. Does the cam chain remainder really degrade that fast? I understand that it should go away instantly when the chain finally tightens a bitch, but the wear should be gradual. As i mentioned before, there has been no sign of this noise at all until i started the bike today and its only been sat for a few days. I guess I'll have to take it for a ride and see what happens. I will check the pipes as well (whilst being careful

)

His Dudeness · « **Reply #4 on:** 08 October 2012, 12:52:38 pm »

if the tensioner failed you might get a sudden increase in noise. thats only a guess though. but i think you should be very careful running that bike it sounds quite bad to me. i'd say get it to a mechanic

yamahasan · « **Reply #5 on:** 08 October 2012, 01:01:27 pm »

in almost 90.000 miles with my 02 fazer 600 the only inconvenient I had was something like that; but once opened the problem wasnt an over-used cam chain but just a stuck spring on the tensioner.
I doubt I will ever have a bike as reliable, not even my fzs 1000

yamahasan · « **Reply #6 on:** 08 October 2012, 01:04:47 pm »

now I watched the video: sounds pretty wrong....... hope is nothing too serious. good luck!

Dead Eye · « **Reply #7 on:** 08 October 2012, 07:05:40 pm »

Yeah it sounds upset

I took it out today, more out of necessity than choice. The noise does calm down and appears to go away one its warmed up. However, it was back instantly when I restarted it 5 minutes after parking up at my local B&Q. I checked out the downpipes and two of the cylinders (the two on the right hand side if sat on the bike) were a lot slower to warm up than the others. I also noticed something odd when I got home - when I pull the brake lever, the brake lights come on (obviously) and my headlights noticeable dip a fair bit. I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen...

Thanks for everyone's thoughts - the tensioner seems to be the likely suspect at the moment, the bikes on about 24,500 miles at the moment for what its worth. Going to have to sort it out next week now as I'm moving to Essex this week so nowhere near enough time.

scottyboy2203 · « **Reply #8 on:** 08 October 2012, 07:17:07 pm »

sounds like you need to balance carbs, check spark on 2 cold cylinders and try resetting cam chain tensioner. It can come on suddenly, at least it did on mine, and then disappear just as fast. Apart from ticking it sounds like a very rough idle, does it pickup easy and smooth when you rev it or does it bog down at all?

Dead Eye · « **Reply #9 on:** 08 October 2012, 08:43:17 pm »

I'm pretty certain it needs the carbs balanced, I've been trying to convince my bank account that I can afford the necessary tool (I prefer to do the work myself). It picks up fine and revs freely once its warmed a little, it never starts on just the button though, I always have to give it some revs when starting even if I use the choke.

How do I attempt to reset the tensioner? I tried doing a little bit of Google search but came up empty

markbubble · « **Reply #10 on:** 08 October 2012, 08:54:00 pm »

read the manual or posts on here to reset tensioner or do as i was told go for a fast blast(at legal speeds of course!) and it might get the tensioner into the next click!worked for mine as went back to normal noise ,as for ballance carbs its deffo worth doing,has a mate or member close to you got a set of gauges they can loan/help you with?saves buying your own and much cheaper getting a mate a beer or two for the help,hope your move goes well

Dead Eye · « **Reply #11 on:** 08 October 2012, 11:04:22 pm »

The only info i've found is regarding the whole put it in gear and push the bike backwards trick. I'll give it a go and if not see if a bit of a blast helps it.

As for carbs, anyone in the Chelmsford area fancy letting me borrow some gauges? :P I have no friends who own bikes or even own any tools for that matter come to think of it... Maybe after my move I might be pleasantly surprised that it didn't cost me anything - hears to hopes and dreams

His Dudeness · « **Reply #12 on:** 09 October 2012, 12:18:05 am »

you have to move the carbs out of the way to get at the tensioner so its a bit of a faf. take out the battery, loosen the air intake screws, move the air box back, loosen the carb intake screws, pop the carbs out. next you want to set cylinder one to tdc so take out the spark plug, take off the generator cover, rotate till you're on tdc on cylinder one. then take out the big centre nut on the tensioner to release the tension. then take out the two allen head bolts. the tensioner will stay in the same position so you can check how far advanced it is. count how many notches you've got left on it and check for any irregular wear or damage. if it all looks ok then reset the tensioner and put it back in the bike. you should hear a click, click, click as you're tightening the centre bolt on the tesnioner. reassemble all of the rest of it in the reverse order and cross your fingers.

marksfazer · « **Reply #13 on:** 09 October 2012, 08:50:50 am »

And watch out for the ball bearing which is pushed down by the centre bolt.
When you take off the tensioner via the 2 hex bolts, keep it level as you withdraw from the engine area. Don't do what i did and point the tensioner downwards as you will be searching the garage for a small ball bearing!

Mark.

Dead Eye · « **Reply #14 on:** 09 October 2012, 02:31:28 pm »

Just a quick update - I removed all the plugs this morning and attempted to reset the tensioner and then went for a blast along the A4174 (Bristol ring road). Let the bike cool down once I got home and restarted it and nothing has changed. The ticking is still present and cylinders 3 and 4 are still warming up significantly slower - do the coils control 1+2 and 3+4 or 1+4 and 2+3? Just something I randomly thought of. In any case, before I put all the plugs back I checked plugs 3 and 4 and they are both sparking fine so potentially a fuel issue with the carbs?

I think I'm going to suck it up and buy a Morgan Carbtune since it pays for itself on the first use. Then, next week when I finally have a garage to work in, I'll dismantle everything and check the tensioner and balance the carbs. Out of interest, what can happen if the carbs become significantly unbalanced? Is it simple poor performance and power distribution?

One final note, does anybody have any specific ideas regarding the light issue I'm having? i.e. when the brake lights come on, the headlights (and dash lights) dim significantly. I'm tempted to suggest a generator / battery issue due to the other problems I'm having but could it also be a crossed wire or something somewhere? The rear brake light switch was sticking last month but this was sorted during its MOT

His Dudeness · « **Reply #15 on:** 09 October 2012, 03:19:08 pm »

if you have to take the tensioner out then you might as well give your carbs a clean while they're out if they haven't been done in a while and then balance them. the coils fire 1+4 2+3. the lights problem is most likely a dodgy earth

darrsi · « **Reply #16 on:** 09 October 2012, 03:37:55 pm »

I had my carbs balanced a couple of weeks ago, before that the most noticeable problem was rough/ropey running at low revs, in my case between 2-3000rpm in any gear, and i noticed a lot of popping on decelleration. Above 3000rpm was absolutely fine.
After balancing, sweet as a nut!

wheats40 · « **Reply #17 on:** 09 October 2012, 06:56:19 pm »

Well my 98 Frazer has rattled on tick over for more than a year and that's after a can tensioner was replaced. Strangely yesterday I started it from cold and the year old rattle has gone and it sounds like a brand new engine? Very weird.

darrsi · « **Reply #18 on:** 09 October 2012, 09:27:35 pm »

@wheats40, Depends how you ride it, it may have just needed an extra click but i s'pose if you were to take things very easily it could refrain from doing so, that's why people say go out and thrash it to click it to the next setting.

Dead Eye · « **Reply #19 on:** 09 October 2012, 10:04:15 pm »

Mine has never really liked it below 2.5k ish and I've known its a carb balance issue, I have no real excuse for that.

I'm guessing its going to be a case of getting to the tensioner, giving the carbs a clean and balance and tracing the electricals - I have no problem with doing the jobs apart from the electricals. Like most it seems, I hate having to deal with vehicle electrics

Thanks for all the advice, will keep you guys updated

His Dudeness · « **Reply #20 on:** 10 October 2012, 10:35:58 am »

at a guess i'd say if the problem that you're having effects ever light then the fault must be with a wire that is common to all of them. so look at the wiring diagram in the workshop manual and see what wire is common to all of the lights and where it starts and ends. then you can check the connectors for that wire. you'd be looking for a melted or burnt connector or wire causing higher resistance

Dead Eye · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 October 2012, 08:18:04 pm »

Well after a fairly busy week I finally got round to doing some work on the bike and managed to get the carbs off. The worst part seems to be the throttle cables, which I'm dreading trying to get back on.

As they're off, is there anything I should check? Obviously I'm trying to get to the tensioner at the moment and figured I'd have a go at checking the Valve clearances. I plan on cleaning the carbs but I have no idea what I'm doing

I have heard mention of people sending theres off for an ultrasonic bath etc but is there a home solution that is advisable? If the cost for the ultrasonic bath isn't ridiculous then it might be something I'd consider (Google searching shall commence...)

I also decided to bite the bullet and bought myself a Morgan Carbtune, so at least I can finally balance them when everything gets reassembled.

andybesy · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 October 2012, 08:48:40 pm »

Hi,

Not specific to the Fazer, but some great vids I found showing how to clean and balance carbs here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0557182BD945AE00&feature=plcp

Also if you checkout the channel there's some others showing how to check battery and other electricals for faults.

Hope this helps, Andy

His Dudeness · « **Reply #23 on:** 16 October 2012, 10:32:05 pm »

i've found it easier to put the cables back on with the carbs still off and then pop the whole lot back in.

the hardest thing to do when you're cleaning the carbs is getting the crusty screws out of the bowl and the diaphragm cover without damaging them. if they're stuck badly i use a rachet with a screwdriver attachment and the right sized bit. it might sound a bit weird but i put the carbs on the ground and hold them between my legs, then put all of my weight on to the back of the rachet and slowly turn it at the same time. they've cracked free for me every time using that method. you get a lot more torque with a rachet than just a screwdriver. or if you've got an impact wrench it would do the job. a good spray of penetrating fluid also helps

once you've got the covers off its just a case of being careful when removing the jets. they're brass so they are quite soft. you have to have the correct size screwdrivers or you will damage them.

markbubble · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 October 2012, 06:22:57 am »

carb cleaner is also you friend with carbs,give good clean outside(cover holes etc 1st)before you strip/remove parts and wear gloves as it stings like a foccer in cuts etc!