Can Walk Question

[Guest]

At idle, my '83 GS850 rattles like a screw is bouncing around in a cylinder and has since I bought it some time ago.
My questions is, with cam walk, is it the cam that is machined improperly or the head? If it were the cam, would trying a used cam be a possible solution? If so, would the chances of eliminating the noise be better by using a GS1000 cam?

[tkent02]

The GS 1000 uses the same cam as the 850. I don't think it's a manufacturing defect, just a poor design.

Not sure, not the cam expert.

[bwringer]

Ear plugs.

[tkent02]

On second thought I don't think the screw bouncing around in the cylinder is what the cam walk sounds like. You may have something else going on in there. Might be time to look inside.

[FZRCraig]

I've had the valve cover off, checked the cap bolts, adjusted the valves, sync'd the carbs, rebuilt the cam chain tensioner, checked the starter clutch and the clutch, placed a rod all over the engine to listen to try to figure out where the noise is coming from and nothing. From what I understand it's classic cam walk symptoms - metallic rattle noise after 5-10 minutes of warm-up, nothing before and goes away above 2,000 to 2,500 rpm. It has less than 15,000 miles on it.
This is an OCD issue for me as it runs great but the noise may force me to get rid of it.

[isleoman]

I've had the valve cover off, checked the cap bolts, adjusted the valves, sync'd the carbs, rebuilt the cam chain tensioner, checked the starter clutch and the clutch, placed a rod all over the engine to listen to try to figure out where the noise is coming from and nothing. From what I understand it's classic cam walk symptoms - metallic rattle noise after 5-10 minutes of warm-up, nothing before and goes away above 2,000 to 2,500 rpm. It has less than 15,000 miles on it.
This is an OCD issue for me as it runs great but the noise may force me to get rid of it.

Friend at work would swear he could hear a cam noise in his 2006 Kawasaki ZX-14. There's no internet history of this being a problem with ZX-14s. Four other knowledgeable bike owners standing around the bike and none of us or two other Kawasaki dealer mechanics could hear a thing, other than normal operating noises.

He traded it for a 2001 V-Max which has many more problems that everyone can now agree on. He's a much happier OCD because its no longer his imagination and we're happier observers because we can now confirm the problems. Win/Win

[2BRacing]

Mine has done this since new in 1981. Never got any worse and still runs fine today.

I have learnt to ignore it and just ride it.

[tkent02]

Mine has done this since new in 1981. Never got any worse and still runs fine today.

Would you say it sounds like a screw is bouncing around in a cylinder?

[2BRacing]

Would you say it sounds like a screw is bouncing around in a cylinder?

No, I do not think it has such an "irregular" sound like that. It has a more regular tempo, like: tap, - tap,tap,tap; tap, - tap,tap,tap; and so on.

More pronounced when good and hot after a long, hard run.

Valves have always been adjusted regularly, so maintenance was not neglected. Performance has never been affected.

[loud et]

Haha mystery sounds from an old GS.....
One time I had a buzzing ound driving me crazy......

Turns out I only had 1 screw in my starter cover and at certain rpm's it would buzz wildly.
Good luck

[Steve]

My wife's bike came to us with about 42,000 miles on it. It had a noise that was later diagnosed as "cam walk". Almost sounded like a rod slapping 5 or 6 times, then would go away for a few seconds, then come back and repeat.

The bike now has about 67,000 miles on it. The sound is still there. It has not gotten any better, despite all the routine maintenance, neither has it gotten any worse.

If you really want to get rid of it, one of our members devised a way to do that, via some extensive machine work. I think it is posted up on BassCliff's site.

.

[bwringer]

Seriously. Wear ear plugs.

Cam walk (assuming that's what the noise actually is) is just about the least important thing possible to waste time worrying about.

My GS850 is fine when it starts up. After a few minutes, it makes gawdawful cam walk noises. After about eight to ten miles, it's fine again -- I think the main issue is that the steel and aluminum parts heat up and expand at different rates. Once everything is up to temp, it's (somewhat) quiet again. Stop for lunch and fire it up, it's noisy for a while because everything is cooling at different rates. Every engine is a little different.

All that said, make very sure that it's cam walk you're hearing and not clutch noises or something that might indicate an actual problem. Once you've verified it, ignore it -- stuff in some ear plugs and ride the wee out of it for many years to come.

Getting rid of this completely harmless noise requires some very detailed and expensive machine shop work:

http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/docs/Camshaft_End_float_Mods_GS550.pdf