GS550 ticking noise

[Guest]

I have a 1978 gs550. When i first start the bike up, it has a "tick". it's not a clang, or a knock or anything, just it just sounds like a tick. some days it is louder and worse than others, but normally only lasts a few minutes until the bike is warm. sometimes it'll last a little while, but it has always eventually gone away. i'm running mobil 1 10w40 synthetic. is it my oil or something? i've read not to run 10w40 oils in a bike where the engine oil goes through the trans. so yeah..that's where i'm at. any help would be great :]

thanks!

[tom203]

Lose the mobil 1 and put it in your car. Get 1 gallon of Rotella 15-40 diesel oil (yeah, diesel oil) for maybe $15 and help your air cooled engine survive the very high temps it sees and still get easy shifting with no clutch slip.

Have you pull the cam cover off ( as in valve checking) ? maybe your auto camchain tensioner is froze or set incorrectly so chain is too loose- better for you to find out than have it find you. Bad news to have camchain jump off sprockets- couple teeth out and the valves will strike pistons.

[Steve]

There is nothing wrong with the Mobil 1, as long as it does not have "Energy Conserving" in the API 'donut' on the rear label.
Yeah, the Rotella has a few more additives that make it better, but the Mobil 1 will not damage anything.

DKB, not sure who told you not to run 10w-40, but look at the oil cap on the bike, it says "10w-40". The thing you want to avoid is the "Energy Conserving" label on the back. It has more to do with the friction modifiers (usually found in lighter oils, like 10w30 and lighter) that damage the clutch, not the transmission. The diesel oils (like Rotella) still have more Zinc and Phosphorous that have been removed from automotive oils. Those are what keeps the transmissions alive in our bikes.

Have you adjusted your valves within the last 3000 miles? Might be a loose valve, but you won't know unless you check.

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[DamKevinBoyd]

I have not checked my valves..i've had the bike for about 3000 miles now actually. i'll look around on here and figure out how to do that, but if anyone wants to give me some pointers i'd be stoked haha.

side note, i just changed my brake pads by myself haha. not that big of an accomplishment..but this is my first bike. so i'm learning!

[Steve]

Just noticed your location.

Give me a call tomorrow (Wednesday).

Sending PM with contact info.

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