WHAT'S THAT SOUND????

[Small55]

Hi guys,

First day, first post. So hi to all. I'm hoping y'all can help me with a clutch/transmission issue. I originally thought it was a chain/sprocket issue but increasingly sure that the noise was coming from the engine I took front sprocket and chain off yesterday to run the engine and shaft to see if it made a noise itself. Please see link below for a vid of the countershaft running. If any of you have any idea what it may be, any advice ould be much much appreciated. Other than the sound making me go bonkers with trying to figure out what it is, I'm planning to do a tour of the south-east in a couple of weeks and of course only want to go if it's deemed safe enough to run the distance. Thanks in advance for any viewpoints.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-UFKjoPiAE[/b]

[steven_191]

Can you hear if it's coming out from the clutch side or the drive side? Probably best to start by stripping the clutch side down and check the clutch and bearing.

Check it again in neutral without the drive shaft spinning. Put the chain and wheel on to hold it still. It could take that out of the equation.

[Small55]

It's difficult to say. Initially I thought the sound was definitely coming from the shaft just behind the front sprocket but it's equally loud on the clutch side. Almost as if it's coming from the centre of the transmission. If I opened the clutch up what would I be checking, the pushrod bearing?

[Robby]

It sounds more like an exhaust blow to me. Either a seriously fucked exhaust gasket/loose header bolt, or a hole in a downpipe/collector.

Exhaust gaskets are a pain in the arse. When they're blowing just a little bit, it sounds like metallic tapping noise. Many people have stripped their engines looking for the noise when the problem was a 50p gasket. And several hours of swearing and drilling when the exhaust manifold studs snap in half.

[mysterious_rider]

Sounds like clutch slap to me. Its quite loud though! Is something wrong when you ride it?
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[Small55]

If that were the case would it still sound like it's coming from the transmission, and would the clatter still stop when the clutch lever is pulled in?

[Small55]

Nothing wrong when going along, rides like a dream....currently.

[FlightRisk]

Sounds like a Honda.

So it goes away when you pull the clutch in?
I believe that signifies the common Honda clutch basket rattle.
Learn to love it?
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[SpencerJ]

It is an odd sound.
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[RhynoCZ]

[Small55]

I could quite easily learn to not be bothered at all. The bike's done 46k, so could be an age thing. Always been loved, always looked after, but even so. Just don't want it to be the countershaft bearing or anything that's gonna throw me off going down the A303 and impale my head on a passing duck.

[Ariel Badger]

It stopped when you pulled the clutch in so it is transmition not engine. I would start by looking at the clutch as it is easy to get to.
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[Small55]

But what would I be looking for exactly, failed pushrod bearing?

[Ariel Badger]

Worn plates and basket is my guess. Does the noise fade under load?
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[Small55]

With pillion it actually seems to get louder, though that could be the chain.

[bikenut]

csn and y.....everybody knows whats going down.......

not able to hear/see your video.....

the clutch basket well be "loose", ie, have play and rattle somewhat.....centrifugal oil filter on this, is the centre nut loose in it ??

you have a manual and know of cmsnl for the exploded views, which will help !

clutch cover off means new clutch cover gasket ( oil way ) ......

does the output shaft have any up and down play, also in and out play ( it will have some but only a very small fraction in and out, very very very slight ) and does it fell "rough" when being rotated by hand in neutral.

how is the chain ?

exhaust blowing, does the engine make a "pop" noise on the overrun ?? that's when slowing down with the throttle closed....check this out first ! then chain, then shaft then clutch.....
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[bladeblaster]

Does it stop when warm? If so I would agree with the Honda diagnosis.

I had an X11 that honestly scared me to start it sounded that bad when cold, but nothing ever went wrong with it, and after a few minutes of warming up the sound always disappeared.

[Beehive Bedlam]

The faint crackle sounds familiar. My FZS sounded like that to start with but I left it until my ears started to bleed by which time it sounded like a spitfire.

This was the problem.

https://i.imgur.com/4gAlooj.jpg

[Small55]

Thank you all for your help and advice. I'm handing it over to a mechanic tomorrow for a deeper delve as I'm out of town for a couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure it's a bad bearing of some sort connected to the main output shaft. Will update all when I hear back. Thanks again.

[mentalboy]

[Small55]

So, I've heard back from the mechanic and apparently the sound is coming from the cam chain and tensioner. They're not planning on replacing the cam chain and tensioner itself as they reckon it would come to £700 including labour. In my daze this morning I was over the moon, no bad bearing etc. But now thinking about it, I'm wondering if they've identified a different sound altogether (I'm abroad on work so am relying on email contact for diagnosis). Is it possible that the sound from a malfunctioning cam chain could sound as if it's coming from the transmission? I would've thought that sound would just be heard from the left side above the clutch housing.

[doggone]

Camchain may well need attention but I'd agree the video doesn't sound like that's the main issue - hard to be sure from a video audio though.
Trouble is you might soon spend more than it's really worth

[Ariel Badger]

In your video you pull in the clutch at 24 seconds and the noise stops at 30 seconds it returns when you let the clutch out. How is that cam chain?
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[winz]

Sounds like clutch basket rattle. Both my Hornet and Blackbird do it with the clutch out in neutral.
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Previous: Honda CBR929RR, Honda CBR1100XX, Honda CB600F

[Fizzer Thou]

£700 to replace the camchain and tensioners?? As those components are reasonably accessible with everything on the right side it would not be that big a job.

My first thought would be to check the carb balance.If one carb is out of sync it means that the others are working against it.As soon as you pull the clutch lever in then this is a classic symptom.And it would not cost anywhere near £700

Many moons ago a friend had a Honda CB750K7 which,when he pulled into the pub car park sounded like a bag of nails had been poured into the engine instead of oil.Ben said that a bike shop had quoted him £500 to replace the camchain and tensioners,which on one of those bikes is engine out/complete engine strip/crank out etc.Having experienced camchain rattle myself I knew a trick or two,so I offered to do it for him if he bought me a pint.By the time he came out of the pub with my beer the engine was running as sweet as a new bike and quiet as well.When Ben asked what I had done,I just said that the tensioning procedure in the owners manual was incorrect and that with it done with the engine static then the tensioner works correctly.

Ben had a distrust of bike shops after that.Needless to say he did not return to the previously mentioned bike place
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