intermittent ticking?

[timebombprod]

this does not relate to the intermittent skip i had a while back lol that has been long gone.

have an intermittent tick that i can pinpoint to the left side of the motor i think somewhere in the vicinity of the camshaft area, it sounds like a small metallic ting, almost like an electrical tinging but im not entirely sure. my bike does run fine and smooth, i operate on all 4, and nothing electrical that i have hooked up is being problematic. i dont have my horn hooked up and the wires are taped up on the left side of the frame right around the same area but i dont think thats it.

i will have a video soon enough but it may not be heard the clearest, therefore i will mark each time you can hear the sound. i will say i was idling at about 950-1000 when i could actually hear it, once im idling at the proper 1100+~100 rpm i cant really hear the noise so it couldve been there all this time but then again im not sure.

video will be added to post soon!

[fastbysuzuki]

950rpm is to slow if the noise disappears when the tick over is set at normal personally I don't see a problem ride and enjoy.

[Maddevill]

Probably just hearing a little valve tapping. Have valve clearances been checked ?

Mad

[timebombprod]

Probably just hearing a little valve tapping. Have valve clearances been checked ?

Mad

its been a while, nowhere near the service interval but i will probably be checking anyways within the month, took it to school today (hour 20 round trip) and bike was acting fine, sometimes it acts up in the low rpms but not enough to bother me as its not every single time im in those rpms, cruises at 70 just fine. the bike throws noises here and there but never affects how its riding. gonna hook a gopro up to the bike and put a mic right next to the engine and other areas to see if any sounds are alarming.

i guess the thing i still havent adjusted to is the fact my motor is right below me and exposed so i can hear all the sounds it makes versus a cars motor being enclosed and not able to be heard easily unless hood is open.

[Rob S.]

My roommate's girlfriend used to ride on the back of my Honda frequently. Intermittently she would tickle me or just grab my schlong. I would scold her about how dangerous that was, to little effect.

Wait, what? Intermittent ticking? Never mind.

[timebombprod]

My roommate's girlfriend used to ride on the back of my Honda frequently. Intermittently she would tickle me or just grab my schlong. I would scold her about how dangerous that was, to little effect.

Wait, what? Intermittent ticking? Never mind.

i would not be complaining about that lol

[Rob S.]

i would not be complaining about that lol

See "It's Always Something," by R. Rosannadana.

[fastbysuzuki]

gonna hook a gopro up to the bike and put a mic right next to the engine and other areas to see if any sounds alarming.

Fitting a camera/mic close to the engine on a air cooled engine will likely give you more to worry about you will hear noises you have not heard before. Ask me how I know.
I would still trust my gs to go on long road trips no problem.

[bobtail84]

I had a similar ticking that would go away if I picked up the revs even just a little, I was convinced it was a top end noise to the point I removed the cam cover and checked the valve clearances, they were all spot on by the way..

As I started the bike it kicked back and the ticking was worse but still reduced and disappeared as the revs were raised but the noise was definitely coming from the starter clutch side of the engine.

I pulled the casing and this it what I found.





All 3 bolts had sheared but all came out easily.



As you can see the ends of the bolt have been rubbed away and the filings will be on the magnets in the flywheel. 2 bolts look to have been rattling around for a while as the edges have been worn smooth and the last one was just beginning to wear away.

Replacement bolts sourced from Nick at SPS, thanks Nick by the way.



I cleaned everything up, replaced the bolts then put the whole shooting match back on the bike and no more ticking.

A top tip for removing the flywheel is don't waste money on pullies or genuine Suzuki unobtanium special tools use the swingarm to frame spindle and as you tighten the nut, tap the end with a hammer and the flywheel will come off the tapered end of the crankshaft.



And yes before anyone askes they are safety crocs....

[Phred]

I also had a ticking noise this summer that was intermittent. Then one day it got louder and the tach went wonky. Removed the tach cable and it had snapped, but was still engaging. I had overlooked lubricating it, and it had dried out.

[dorkburger]

Bobtail, I will be checking on this on my 1150 this winter. I've had an unfound and intermittent ticking in mine since 1999 and 29k miles. The starter clutch is one thing I haven't removed yet, although I did see a few marks on the ring from kickbacks.
The PO beat it, crashed it, and parked it long term with just 1200 miles 12 years before I bought it.

[bobtail84]

Bobtail, I will be checking on this on my 1150 this winter. I've had an unfound and intermittent ticking in mine since 1999 and 29k miles. The starter clutch is one thing I haven't removed yet, although I did see a few marks on the ring from kickbacks.
The PO beat it, crashed it, and parked it long term with just 1200 miles 12 years before I bought it.

Hey Glen, it's worth the time and effort to check the starter clutch bolts for piece of mind and it's a know problem with the GS engine.

Jeff

[dorkburger]

Thats the plan.
Short of pulling the engine apart, its the last thing to check. The bike came to me with a screw in a cylinder which ultimately bent two intake valves, and later I found a loose clutch hub nut and a missing missing thrust washer in the clutch basket that caused issues there. Each time I was sure I found the source of the ticking.....

[KiwiAlfa156]

Cam walk? Each camshaft uses one of its cam cap/towers as a bearing thrust face to locate for each camshaft against side float. Because the thrust face is alloy and not shimmed with a hard metal shim, wear on this face allows the camshaft to 'walk' stepping left and right as it gets small side loads from the cam lobes running over the valve bucket/shims, knocking against the cam tower/cap. This causes a knocking or ticking sound that is evident at idle and is affected by engine temperature and even if the bike is idling upright or on the sidestand. As the RPM goes up the noise goes away.

Here is a youtube of camwalk. Does your engine sound like this? BTW it's annoying but not detrimental to performance of longevity. There are mods (adding a shim) that will eliminate it. Search the forum for "cam walk".

[Burque73]

Cam walk? Each camshaft uses one of its cam cap/towers as a bearing thrust face to locate for each camshaft against side float. Because the thrust face is alloy and not shimmed with a hard metal shim, wear on this face allows the camshaft to 'walk' stepping left and right as it gets small side loads from the cam lobes running over the valve bucket/shims, knocking against the cam tower/cap. This causes a knocking or ticking sound that is evident at idle and is affected by engine temperature and even if the bike is idling upright or on the sidestand. As the RPM goes up the noise goes away.

Here is a youtube of camwalk. Does your engine sound like this? BTW it's annoying but not detrimental to performance of longevity. There are mods (adding a shim) that will eliminate it. Search the forum for "cam walk".

What a great explanation. I've never read exactly why and how it happens.
Thank you for that.

My 850 is approaching 60k miles and I still don't hear it I do however wear earplugs though. Maybe that's the simple fix here, Ian. Get some earplugs lol.