mysterious engine noise

[G13]

I winterized (first time since I bought the bike in the spring) my 82 850G on Saturday...among other things I put stabilizer in the tank. I ran it for a few minutes to get the treated fuel through the carbs and after about 3 minutes of idling, the cam chain "rattle" that I know and have loved all summer disappeared and the engine knocked a couple times before I hit the kill switch.

I haven't started it back up for fear that the knock is serious and I didn't have the time to look any deeper into the cause of the sound.

Any thoughts? Is this normal?

[Alan Schlosser]

Well, I can tell you it's not the stabilizer. I've been using Stabil for years.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I'm assuming the the rattle was always there but not the knock?
Since you say the rattle seemed to go away and was replaced by the knock makes me think it is tensioner related.
At the very least before starting again, I would break out the manual and perform the tensioner advance action check. If ANY doubt as to smooth operation, I would remove and inspect/service the tensioner and then again the procedure. Be aware that the seal and o-rings can leak after being disturbed.
For this reason I suggest ordering the gasket, the seal and the two o-rings inside. I'm sure the part numbers are available if you do a search here. I've provided them before.

[bwringer]

Cam chain tensioner pics, part numbers, instructions, etc,:

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

[G13]

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestion and direction...I'll let you all know how it works out.

[johnrregan]

we need more info

to be honest, you didnt give enough information, ok, so the engine started knocking when it was tiching over, but did it do it if you revved it, and did the knock go away if you pulled the clutch in? have you riden it, did the noise stay or go? before you start stripping anything down, you really need to diagnose what the noise is and try to eliminate the usual suspects, gs motor, knocking on tickover, i would first look at rattly clutch basket, in which case balance the cabs to quieten it down, also look at the generator rotor, ive seen more than one work loose in m time.