Is it worth it to remove the head?

[sedelen]

When mine gets noisey I just turn the radio up a little and ride on.

I do that with my car, works for me!

[tkent02]

They were as lean as they could be from the factory, fuel is different now. Maybe raising the needles by about .42 RCH might be worthwhile.

[Graham]

My bike has this annoying ticking under load up until about 3500 rpm. My uneducated guess is that it could be because of cruddy deposits built up on top the pistons causing pre-ignition (I know it's not really called that). So, I'm considering pulling the head and trying to clean off the tops of the pistons to see if it helps.

First, will I even be able to do a thorough enough job without pulling the cylinder block?

Second, is it worth the effort?

Thanks.

My GS1100GL had a little tick when I got it that would come and go. I thought it was valve but the valves check out fine. Maybe piston-slap and sure enough I had scared pistons and a cracked cylinder. After the top end I still had the ticking so I check the clutch. Sure enough only one broke spring left in the back of the clutch. After the new clutch basket the ticking was still there. What the hell I pulled the stator. Sure enough it was burnt up and a tooth was missing off the starter clutch gear. After replacing the stator and the gear the tick still remained. So after rechecking all my work so far it was time to check the crank. Sure enough number 2 rod was a little sloppy and just to make it complete the secondary gears were knurled up. New crank and gears and my tick is gone. After $1300 and over 100hours work the tick was gone. The whole time the run great and only had what sounded like a slight valve tick that came and went. I also discovered that all the valves had grooved valve faces and a stripped-out drain plug.

Yea it’s worth pulling the head for starters.

[TheCafeKid]

My GS1100GL had a little tick when I got it that would come and go. I thought it was valve but the valves check out fine. Maybe piston-slap and sure enough I had scared pistons and a cracked cylinder. After the top end I still had the ticking so I check the clutch. Sure enough only one broke spring left in the back of the clutch. After the new clutch basket the ticking was still there. What the hell I pulled the stator. Sure enough it was burnt up and a tooth was missing off the starter clutch gear. After replacing the stator and the gear the tick still remained. So after rechecking all my work so far it was time to check the crank. Sure enough number 2 rod was a little sloppy and just to make it complete the secondary gears were knurled up. New crank and gears and my tick is gone. After $1300 and over 100hours work the tick was gone. The whole time the run great and only had what sounded like a slight valve tick that came and went. I also discovered that all the valves had grooved valve faces and a stripped-out drain plug.

Yea it’s worth pulling the head for starters.

Hrmmm...I'm not saying it's not a possibility, but my 1000G ran (and still runs for it's new, nearly family, owner) and I've seen both the OPs and Dogmas bikes in person on numerous ocassions. If these bikes had the problems your did, after being put through the paces I and these other two have put them through (555 was a great trip btw) I think they'd have given up the ghost by now. None of them smoke a lick, and to be frank, I've not heard either of them make any odd noises so it can't be that loud.

I'd be looking into perhaps checking the timing with a degree wheel, or looking into carburetion issues before I went as far as tearing the motor down.

Obi-Wan Blowerbike has told me he's seen the factory timing off as much as 3 or 4 degrees when measured with a degree wheel. And Toms theory is just as plausible. Maybe investing in a stage one DJ kit for fine tuning the needle circuit is worth a try? Certainly can't hurt anything, and you might find a bit more power even if it doesn't remedy the noise.

Or if one of you wants to try em, I have some MiC Canadian spec adjustable needles you could look into...

Just my useless .02

[ddaniels]

Call me stupid, but I have trouble understanding how a carb problem could be causing this.

[Dogma]

Uh, have a look here. I can't remember the full explanation off the top of my head, or I'd just tell you. Something like insufficient fuel in the mix at low RPM to keep the chamber cool enough to prevent detonation.

[sedelen]

My GS1100GL had a little tick when I got it that would come and go. I thought it was valve but the valves check out fine. Maybe piston-slap and sure enough I had scared pistons and a cracked cylinder. After the top end I still had the ticking so I check the clutch. Sure enough only one broke spring left in the back of the clutch. After the new clutch basket the ticking was still there. What the hell I pulled the stator. Sure enough it was burnt up and a tooth was missing off the starter clutch gear. After replacing the stator and the gear the tick still remained. So after rechecking all my work so far it was time to check the crank. Sure enough number 2 rod was a little sloppy and just to make it complete the secondary gears were knurled up. New crank and gears and my tick is gone. After $1300 and over 100hours work the tick was gone. The whole time the run great and only had what sounded like a slight valve tick that came and went. I also discovered that all the valves had grooved valve faces and a stripped-out drain plug.

Yea it’s worth pulling the head for starters.

Looks like to me the more you dug, the more you found, hopefully you're able to quit digging and do some riding.

[Graham]

Looks like to me the more you dug, the more you found, hopefully you're able to quit digging and do some riding.

Riding now with a crappie paint job from the crappie painter I paid.

[sedelen]

Riding now with a crappie paint job from the crappie painter I paid.

Glad to hear that, beats having a static display. You can always work on cosmetics once you get all the bugs out.

[Dogma]

An update on mine: After a top end rebuild, this is almost completely gone. I can only induce the noise when the engine is warm, at about 2500 rpm, by whacking the throttle open farther than makes any sense (not much torque to be had down there).

I had new valve seats cut (valves ground to match, of course) and installed new rings with fresh-honed bores. No change to the carbs or ignition timing. I don't have any theories on how rings or valve seats could have been the cause of this noise. What did surprise me was the amount of carbon still present in the chambers after my steam cleaning experiment. In particular, the buildup on the valves faces was like glazed bathroom tile in hardness. Most of it chipped off with the blade of a screwdriver. I don't know if this stuff really can hold enough heat to cause pre-ignition, but it's my leading theory.

[Maddoglips]

Hi Guys

I've got almost identical problem on mine LOL and I'm 99% convinced its due to a lean circuit in 1 of the carbs.

To me it sounds like it's no2 cylinder doing it.

I'm starting by replacing the carb to head boots (No Air Leaks to lean out mixture) and looking at a propper exhaust system as mine are butchered absolute free flows.

Once the above is sorted, I'll play with the carbs mixtures/settings and see. I'm guessing, but almost sure no2 and 3 cylinders will need to be set a tad richer to compensate for the extra heat. this also won't cause any damage I think, so rather safe then sorry.

Good luck and hope you sort Ur hassles out.

Zane

[robertbarr]

By coincidence, the bike DDaniels is talking about in this thread is the bike I'm currently selling -- if anyone wanted more detail about the racket I mentioned in the For Sale ad.

[SqDancerLynn1]

If it is excessively lean it will makes it burn hotter