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Progress

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blueandorangefish
  • Start date Start date
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Blueandorangefish

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Whew, after hitting that point where I never thought I'd get over the hump and start putting my bike back together, rather than pulling it apart more and more, it's finally starting to come together...

LINK
 
I started it for a few minutes last night for the first time since last august. That clip was from tonight before I went for my first ride of the year. Gotta love those superbly designed engines!!

Now, if I could just get that stupid neutral light to work properly. It seems to stay on randomly, but seldom when I'm actually in neutral. 8O
 
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.......and, the stupid battery stranded me today. :???:
 
It sounds good. I'm amazed at how much the Ninja 500R bikes look like those. Maybe that's just me. Keep up the good work!
 
Sorry to disagree with jola, but that bike sounds BAD to me; cam chain or maybe something in the valve train seems to be clattering something fierce. I suggest serious caution against running the bike if the video truly sounds like the bike.

Other than that, nice job on getting it running.
 
Nessism said:
Sorry to disagree with jola, but that bike sounds BAD to me; cam chain or maybe something in the valve train seems to be clattering something fierce. I suggest serious caution against running the bike if the video truly sounds like the bike.

Other than that, nice job on getting it running.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Something ain't right. Valves? Exhaust leak?
 
it does sound very clattery, but it could be the cameras inability to pick up lower frequency sound....
 
No, it pretty much sounds like that, though the microphone seemed to pick up on the clatter a bit more than you hear in real life. I plan on getting the top end redone as soon as I can afford it. Thankfully, it's broken down with enough regularity these days that I'm not putting very many miles on it. I have mechanical abilities, but I've never redone a top end before, and frankly I wouldn't trust a professional mechanic who was doing his first motorcycle top end, how could I possibly think I could do it properly and really trust it. It idles very evenly and really revs smoothly, just not with a huge amount of gusto.

Oh, I discovered that my petcock is shot too. While it was sitting with a dead battery it started pouring fuel out of the air box. Turns out, the petcock was letting a continuous stream of fuel flow regardless of the position it was in. I probably lost four gallons this afternoon before I could get off work and grab a truck/trailer to get it home. Grrrrr
 
Pull the valve cover off and have a look inside, will only cost you a gasket. Also, check the cam chain tensioner to make sure it's working properly - that should be a cheap fix as well if something is wrong.

Running the bike as is will only lead to more damage inside. I suggest fixing it now.
 
I checked the cam chain tensioner the other day and it works fine. Once I get the valve cover off, what should I be looking for? Is it possible that there are some parts such as the rockers that simply need to be tightened?
 
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Is that still an 8v motor? Shimmed valves or no? Definately sounds bad. Sounds like cams, or cam chain. Have you adjusted the valves at all? Im not entirely sure on THAT motor, what it looks like inside, some of the guys on here would know better, but Id look around the valve train. I dont think its exhuast leak, but it *might* be. That would be easy to tell of course. Stick your head up there and listen, or feel (dont touch the pipes) and see if you feel it puffing around the header clamps.
 
16V motor. I guess since I am without a working/reliable petcock I should take the opportunity to take a look at the valves.
 
Indeed. Id check the clearances on them all. Also check that you're getting oil up there. That sounded, having listened to it a few times now, cos im crazy like that. (Trust me, ask Steve. I go NUTS over noises my bikes make) It sounds like metal on metal to me. There is a very distinctive "ticking" in there, a ringing tick, that sounds like metal on metal. It could also be a valve not returning from the cylinder far enough, and the piston tapping it. THAT would be bad...
 
I was thinking the exact same thing when I heard it....metal on metal. Glad I wasn't the only one.

Sounded to me more like piston knocking, but it could be valves. It's just that the knock had a bit deeper "ring" to it....causing me to think it was thicker metal. Valve ticks seem like a higher resonance to me.

Regardless of what it is, I agree that it needs looked into a.s.a.p. A little time and elbow grease now may save a lot of time and money later.

By the way blueandorangfish, it's LOOKING great! Good on ya....
 
When I first saw the video, my sound was not turned to optimal levels, and I was thinking that was a nice 500, not a 550 (I read the title wrong, too). Hearing it run, I heard some apparent loose valves, then I saw that it's a four-cylinder bike. Now it doesn't sound so good. My hearing (or computer speakers) is not as good as these other guys, I only heard loose valves, and not all four cylinders running.

It looks GREAT, though. :smile:

.
 
I removed the cam cover (turns out they designed it with a re-useable rubber gasket! :-) ) Everything looked good in there. I tested the cam chain and the tensioner, and it seemed to be in good order without too much deflection. Next, I checked the for loose nuts and bolts. I did find one bolt that was beginning to strip out, so I replaced it. Everything else seemed fine. I haven't checked valve clearance yet. As I manually turned the engine, I could hear the air escaping from each cylinder, though the number 3 cylinder wasn't nearly as noticeable when the exhaust valve was triggered. I think I'll do a compression check on it this weekend.

What I did notice, however, was that the noise was much easier to locate when I was manually turning the engine over. I found that there was some play, a very small amount, in the camshaft as I was turning it with a wrench (you have to not listen to the sloppy noise from the wrench to hear the clicking).



The clicking noise was localized in the crank case housing.




Any ideas?
 
So I got tired of the tired and beat up look of the frame and decided to test what I'm considering to do with it when I do a full tear-down this winter...

Best "before" shot of the frame:
IMG_0195-1.jpg


Rattle can as of today:
IMG_3506.jpg

IMG_3523.jpg





This weekend's project includes checking valve clearance and doing the re-wiring of the power to the coils. I also have to figure out a temp fix for my exhaust that cracked to last me until I can replace it.
 
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