can you identify this engine rattle? with vid link

[Guest]

Hi.
I have a 1981 gs1000 shaft drive. i think it has always had this noise, as it hasnt been ridden regularly yet, but its not a clunk so i assumed it was just a loose cam chain. or mabye the valves??? it has 60,000kms
tightened the cam chain tensioner..... it still made the noise, however it was slightly better.. i think.
rode down to see a mechanic, he reckoned ...
1. cam chains still loose and slapping around,
2. main bearing
3. roller bearing.
i cant really find the source of the noise, but he reckons its definitely the bottom. noise either goes away, or is silenced by revving. and it follows the revs in speed. its always there and is always repetitive and uniform, not louder or anything.
so.. what i need to know is...is this indicative of a big problem? the bikes not worth a lot to me and im not prepared to bust open the engine to replace bearings. and is there any tests I can do to determine if it IS, or ISNT any of these issues or something else. performance wise its fine, no issues otherwise
the link should take you to a video. you might have to fast forward to when the camera is facing the engine close up to hear it go "ta-ka-ta-ka-ta-ka"

[charlesandhisbeard]

ive found the same noise on this video. a few posters think its the cam thrust bearings?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVR3Sghsg4

[tom203]

"tightened the cam chain tensioner..... it still made the noise, however it was slightly better.. i think."

if this critter has the stock camchain tensioner, it's self adjusting or it's supposed to be! Why not remove the tensioner assembly and check for proper operation. Maybe it was installed wrong OR someone "tightened" the wrong hardwear.
My hearing is poor ,so I skipped the video.

[steve murdoch]

My initial thought is a clutch rattle as opposed to the cam chain.
Does it change the sound if the clutch lever is pulled in?
Have you synched the carbs recently?
Was the choke all the way off? If not the idle is a bit high.

[hillsy]

Easy way to tell if it's clutch rattle is to drop the idle as low as it I'll go and listen near the basket. It will get pretty noisy if it is. Plus if will change a bit when you pull the clutch in.

Sounds a bit like cam chain rattle or cam walk but it's always hard to tell from YouTube videos for me.

[charlesandhisbeard]

Because I'm lazy and was hoping muckibg with the Cct might magically fix it heh.

[charlesandhisbeard]

I haven't heard of a clutch rattle before. But will check with the lever in and low idle tomorrow. Carbs are synched. Chokes off but yeah idle is too high... Come to think of it I think I set it higher to stop the rattle..... Hmmm perhaps it is the clutch!. I'll check tomorrow... Great I won't be able to sleep now I'll be having bike dreams.
This forums so good for help!

[londonboards]

Take the oil filler cap off and run the engine. That'll tell you if it's the clutch.

There will always be a clutch noise, so don't be perturbed if it sounds loud in there. You just want to determine if it is the same noise as the one you can hear on the video. If it is the clutch, there are literally zillions of vidoes on YouTube about the famous Suzuki clutch rattle (have you heard one of those Ducati's with a dry clutch? Sounds like the engine is coming apart).

If you determine it's not related to the noise in the clutch housing, take a short piece of wood, place one end against the bone in your ear and go around the engine to find where the noise is loudest. This is a sure fire way to narrow down the source of the noise.

If you find it's up top, I would go with the mostly likely scenario of it being cam end float. Try running the bike tilted as far over to each side as possible and see if it goes. I have no idea if that would make any difference at all but I'm sure I wold try it if it were my bike - just for a laugh! Logic being that if the cam is floating about in it's journals and moving from side to side, leaning the bike over might just allow the cam to settle on one side and not rattle! Who knows!

Here is a more detailed description and the cure of the end float problem. Mostly people just put up with it!

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/..._float_mod.pdf

[Rijko]

I haven't heard of a clutch rattle before.

unfortunately it's a common issue on these GS bikes, the original nut is not that strong.
If this is the issue, re-tightening will solve it for a while but it will most likely return.
APE sells a stronger version of the clutch hub nut which solves the issue permanently.

[charlesandhisbeard]

based on what you guys have said, it must be the clutch rattle. when the oil caps off, its louder, and when the clutch is in its quieter. now that my engines quiet, ive discovered another noise!
every 10 seconds or so there is a ver faint "click-clack" noise that seems to come from the top end, im thinking it might be a noisy valve? does this sounds right? it seems to be timed pretty uniformly and is very faint, sounds like something opening and closing noisily. you can hear it on the video.

[jsandidge]

That click-clack noise is end float as londonboards suggested. It only appears when the engine is at a certain temp and the rpm's are below about 1500. It's not harmful.

[londonboards]

Do the piece of wood to the ear trick - then you will know for certain.

Hold the bike at a tilt too.

[charlesandhisbeard]

thanks guys. thats a relief. i thought she might be destined to be parted out for a minute.
cheers for all your help!

[Gorminrider]

(and thank you for decent videos! They were long enough to get into listening for what you meant. So many aren't! )