Chirp!

[Serious Tim]

Maybe someone has an answer to a question that's long been puzzling me.

Every once in a while I hear a CHIRP coming from my '82 GS850GL at idle, and I can feel it on my legs as a pulse, coming from the side covers. What the heck IS that?

[SabreJim]

My churp is a blown head gasket

My little chirp got worse and I noticed that it is a head gasket leaking....
Mine chirps because its sucking air through a small hole or path through the gasket. Its hard to determine what your churp would be... it could be anything. See if you hear it any other time other then idle, like when it has a load on it going up a hill. Thats how I figured mine out, plus it started having a little oil seap down the head bolt near the leak.

[Serious Tim]

It's never done it but at idle, ever, and it doesn't happen all of the time, just once in a while. And it'll just be one chirp, say, when I'm at a light. Almost feels like a relay kicking in, or something. Strange.

[nabrams]

To discover if there may be a head gasket leak do a compression test. If you get really low compression on one or two cylinders and you know your valves are to spec, then it may be a head gasket leak.
My "chirp" was only at idle and I ignored it - bad mistake.
One thing is for sure: If it is a head gasket leak then it will get worse over time, and you'll hear it at higher RPMs, and your bike will be nearly impossible to start.