Post by mattb on Aug 16, 2007 7:21:08 GMT -5
There have been a few posts on this question, so sorry for asking it again, but I have some specific questions, and ones which others might find helpful.
I’ve had the SR for two months. I love doing the mechanics but actually have very limited knowledge for it. I’ve got a tapping sound in the top of the engine (though I have trouble locating it). Importantly, this sound only comes on, or gets worse, when the engine is hot. The noise is quite noticeable at that warmed up / hot point (toward the end of a long run it’s very noticeable), and has a kind of lightness to it, rather than a clunkiness etc – it could also be described as a ‘light metallic click’. It is regular and relatively in synch with the revs. I notice it more after I rev the bike hard (I’m gentle on it, but say if I go unusually hard from the lights). The bike has frequent oil / filter changes by me and the previous owner. The engine was reported to me to be a grey import of only 7000kms. I tensioned the cam chain recently, and had the valve clearances done by a mechanic this week ($90! :-( - I only paid them to make sure this 20 minute job was done right so as to isolate this problem).
Dilemma : this is my only transport so I need to keep riding it, and as I student I don’t have the money to throw at a general replacement of internal parts ; I have a loan on this, it’s my true love, and so I want to do whatever is needed to make sure this engine doesn’t explode (that happened last time – ouch!). So…
a) Without taking out and opening up the engine, what else can I do (or ask a mechanic to do) to diagnose the problem? (I heard talk of “piston to valve clearance” – is this such a check which can be done?)
b) If I do take the engine out and take it to a mechanic, what should I ask them to check and on principle replace?
c) I’ve heard it said that the SR engine is mechanically noisy (certainly the old SR185 is – really is! – and she just keeps going!). Have people ridden for extended periods with such a noise undiagnosed, and been ok, or should I *necessarily* be seeking it out, and avoiding bigger rides until this is sorted? (This is a question about people's experience, but also I'd like to ask : in principle can the typical sort of problems this might denote, assuming it’s not the cam chain and valve clearances, be of the sort that don’t destroy the engine, or at least not all at once as happened with my last bike? If so, which potential problems are yay and which nay regarding this?)
Thanks,
Matt
I’ve had the SR for two months. I love doing the mechanics but actually have very limited knowledge for it. I’ve got a tapping sound in the top of the engine (though I have trouble locating it). Importantly, this sound only comes on, or gets worse, when the engine is hot. The noise is quite noticeable at that warmed up / hot point (toward the end of a long run it’s very noticeable), and has a kind of lightness to it, rather than a clunkiness etc – it could also be described as a ‘light metallic click’. It is regular and relatively in synch with the revs. I notice it more after I rev the bike hard (I’m gentle on it, but say if I go unusually hard from the lights). The bike has frequent oil / filter changes by me and the previous owner. The engine was reported to me to be a grey import of only 7000kms. I tensioned the cam chain recently, and had the valve clearances done by a mechanic this week ($90! :-( - I only paid them to make sure this 20 minute job was done right so as to isolate this problem).
Dilemma : this is my only transport so I need to keep riding it, and as I student I don’t have the money to throw at a general replacement of internal parts ; I have a loan on this, it’s my true love, and so I want to do whatever is needed to make sure this engine doesn’t explode (that happened last time – ouch!). So…
a) Without taking out and opening up the engine, what else can I do (or ask a mechanic to do) to diagnose the problem? (I heard talk of “piston to valve clearance” – is this such a check which can be done?)
b) If I do take the engine out and take it to a mechanic, what should I ask them to check and on principle replace?
c) I’ve heard it said that the SR engine is mechanically noisy (certainly the old SR185 is – really is! – and she just keeps going!). Have people ridden for extended periods with such a noise undiagnosed, and been ok, or should I *necessarily* be seeking it out, and avoiding bigger rides until this is sorted? (This is a question about people's experience, but also I'd like to ask : in principle can the typical sort of problems this might denote, assuming it’s not the cam chain and valve clearances, be of the sort that don’t destroy the engine, or at least not all at once as happened with my last bike? If so, which potential problems are yay and which nay regarding this?)
Thanks,
Matt
That's kind of answering one of my main questions : whether others experience these sounds and don't blow up?! Actually, my engine is quite noisy compared to my experience of inline four engines - it only worries me when there's anything like a metal tapping/striking metal sound! But you can otherwise hear a kind of healthy movement of parts in there.