Valve chatter

[Guest]

I have noticed that my 650 is really noisy for about 5 minutes after start up and I am pretty sure it is the valves. It resembles conditions I have seen on many trucks when the oil gets low and the valves just click away. Just to note, I have plenty of oil in there. I just did an oil change and the clicking doesn't last quite as long or loud, but its still enough to catch my attention and get me nervous.

Is it normal for the valve gremlins to do their tap dancing or is there something else to look into?

[timt794]

valve chatter

Same issue but only on exhaust #3. checked clearence and good very loud and after engine gets good and warm goes away. Scary to me

[Nessism]

I recommend rebuilding the cam chain tensioner just to be safe.

[Big T]

I recommend rebuilding the cam chain tensioner just to be safe.

Ditto

No hydraulic lifters to pump up on a GS, not like a truck engiine

[tom203]

Same issue but only on exhaust #3. checked clearence and good very loud and after engine gets good and warm goes away. Scary to me

How do you determine that #3 is the loud one?

[tom203]

I recommend rebuilding the cam chain tensioner just to be safe.

At least check it to make sure that it's free to slide and not locked in position by previous mechanic.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Also make sure the cam bucket turns freely

[Turtleface]

+1 on the tensioner rebuild. It's easy to accomplish, it's cheap, and once it's done, you're good for another 20-30 years. It's also an exceptionally common source of a few different oil leaks.

[JCSkokos]

At least check it to make sure that it's free to slide and not locked in position by previous mechanic.

It seems to be able to move fine, and the timing chain doesn't have much slack in it anyway.....

also, Big T, I thought it was just a lack of oil lubing it at start up causing this. The trucks I am talking about are the spring lifter ones, unless I misunderstand the concept of hydraulic lifters.

[tom203]

It seems to be able to move fine, and the timing chain doesn't have much slack in it anyway.....

How did you determine that it " moves fine" ?- I hope you don't mean that the knurled knob moves easily, cuz it could do that if the sliding shaft was rusted in place.

[JCSkokos]

How did you determine that it " moves fine" ?- I hope you don't mean that the knurled knob moves easily, cuz it could do that if the sliding shaft was rusted in place.

*head falls to desk*

yeah, thats what i meant...

So I looked all over B.C.'s website and the mega welcome and couldnt find any info on the tensioner. How would I go about 'rebuilding' it or at the very least, cleaning it and freeing it up?

[fishfarm]

*head falls to desk*

yeah, thats what i meant...

So I looked all over B.C.'s website and the mega welcome and couldnt find any info on the tensioner. How would I go about 'rebuilding' it or at the very least, cleaning it and freeing it up?

http://www.bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

[chuck hahn]

And when you reset it on the bike, the proper way to "adjust" it is to turn the center screw in till it just hits the rod..then back off about 1/4 turn and tighten the jamming nut.

[Steve]

So I looked all over B.C.'s website and the mega welcome and couldnt find any info on the tensioner.

I guess it's time to look again.

Click HERE to go to BassCliff's home page. Look just below the second picture of a bike, you will see:

Mr. bwringer's fine tutorials- carb sync, cam chain tensioner rebuild, intake O-ring replacment, tach cable seal replacment, etc.

.

[Ghostgs1]

It seems to be able to move fine, and the timing chain doesn't have much slack in it anyway.....

also, Big T, I thought it was just a lack of oil lubing it at start up causing this. The trucks I am talking about are the spring lifter ones, unless I misunderstand the concept of hydraulic lifters.

On the GS, there are pockets that hold oil after shutting down, this ensures you have oil on the cams when restarting. Ray