Engine sound and vibrations - excessive noise from chain and valves?

[AGSTS]

Hi everyone,

Over several past weeks I'm doubting my ears in terms of engine noise.
Firstly, the bike has done 45k km but has no problems idling, going or stopping.

However, it has annoying vibrations going through most of RPM range, starting from 4k.
Going through the posts here I've checked spark plug caps (one had the wire loose), changed spark plugs, oil, air filter, throttle bodies are about to be synced, however I'm still waiting on Morgan Carbtune which I ordered 3 weeks ago.

Other than that, after reading on ticking and cam chain noises here, I'm starting to convince myself my engine sound isn't the crispiest too.
Since it has done 45k KM and I have no records of any sort of service done to it, could it be time to check valve clearances? The ticking sound is more prominent when the engine is warm (video is of a cold engine) and I can hear the ticking when going at slower speeds. I tried to get closer to cam chain too for you to listen if you hear anything unusual. This is my first FZ6 and I've read that they're quite noisy, but I like taking care of my bikes and cars, so I want it to be in as good condition as possible.

Video link:

IMG_0306

Watch "IMG_0306" on Streamable.

streamable.com

 

[trepetti]

Welcome to the forum.

Even at it's best, the FZ6 is not the smoothest engine. But it is important to keep up on the maintenance items to make sure it runs at its best. I have an 05 that just turned 68,000 miles and I have learned the hard way...

Some things that make for a buzzy engine are:
- valve clearance
- throttle body sync
- spark plug wire problems

I have found that the sync and the spark plugs are the largest contributors to a buzzy engine. But you are due for the valve clearance check, so you need to pay attention to all 3. While you are at it, if you even remotely suspect the cam chain tensioner, replace it. Safer to make the mistake of replacing a working part then to keep a bad part that you think is working.

For the spark plugs, I tried the 'cut and reconnect' the caps, but I found a better solution. See the post from @buzzbomb here: https://www.600riders.com/threads/vibration-a-cure-for-bad-vibrations-spark-plug-caps.48874/page-10

Follow the thread and you will see that I did the same mod to install coil-over-plug modules, and they are GREAT! If you can crimp wires, this mod is mechanically simple to do.

As for the throttle body sync, it ALWAYS gives you some positive result. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but always good. And it is an important thing to do when you complete any valve adjustments (which you may have to do because of mileage).

Anyway, good luck and be sure to post any questions you may have....

 

[Motogiro]

Welcome to this great forum!

I'm not hearing any ticking but I think I'm hearing cam chain noise although it doesn't sound like it's abnormal noise.
I agree that if you do suspect unusual cam chain noise, replace the tensioner.
If you're doing the throttle body sync and the valve lash service, do the valve lash first.

@trepetti Those coil overs look great! I bet they're a better solution in every way. Great work!

 

[trepetti]

Thanks Cliff, they are really great and all that I needed to do was crimp some wires. No more cutting high tension leads, etc. For the final touch, I used a Furukawa 4 position connector to interface to the FZ's harness. Waterproof and solid connections. Honestly, the easiest mod I ever did. All the work was done on the bench.

Ant it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention that @buzzbomb did all the hard work. I just followed his lead.,

 

[AGSTS]

Thanks for your input guys. Right now I've got technical and safety inspection coming up for the bike next week, so probably won't get on this right now. I'll eventually get to it, since shipment of anything takes so long nowadays, still waiting for carbtune!

 

[turbodan]

Valves get tighter and quieter with mileage. If they get too tight they'll burn up, you'll get no audible warning of that. This is why valve adjustment intervals should be taken seriously. My 5,000 mile 06 I just picked up has more valve noise than I remember from my last one with almost 40k on it, though it's not an alarming amount.

A certain amount of mechanical noise is normal. Some tapping and ticking from the valvetrain. As reliable as these motors are, the only thing that is likely to fail eventually is the cam chain tensioner. That sounds like this:

As long as you don't have anything like that going on I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[AGSTS]

Well mine sounds nothing close to the one in this video, turbodan. More like the "after" clip. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on this, thanks for posting!

 

[AGSTS]

I was reading the threads posted here through the years and found one talking about buzzy vibrations. One suggestion was to re-torque the engine mount bolts, which makes sense. I bought my FZ6 with frame sliders attached, so it's going to be a hassle to remove bolts #1 and #2 I suppose.


Also, are the top slider mounting points near the forks are supposed to be there or were they made by the previous owner? Didn't really notice if those mounting points are there on FZ6's that have no sliders (yellow marker on the photo)

Anyways, the previous owner did not seem to care for it too much apart from necessary maintenance, so I want to re-check engine mounting bolts as well.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

That "top mount" is not (from the factory) an engine mount.

That spot is used for small brackets to secure the rear of the fairing.

Also, for retorquing, just crack the bolts loose and re-tighten. I'd also crack loose and re-tighten the entire exhaust system..


.

 

[AGSTS]

That "top mount" is not (from the factory) an engine mount.

That spot is used for small brackets to secure the rear of the fairing.

Also, for retorquing, just crack the bolts loose and re-tighten. I'd also crack loose and re-tighten the entire exhaust system..


.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, I completely understand that the "top mount" is not an engine mounting point, it clearly isn't!
I was just wondering if those mounting points are from the factory.

Thanks for the tip on exhaust system, I think there's a thread around here on that.

 

[Gary in NJ]

Be careful when loosening the nuts on the exhaust header. The nuts & studs are usually rusted and the studs are prone to breaking before the nut lets loose. I would plan ahead and soak the nuts with penetrating oil for 24 hours before attempting to loosen them. Two or more applications a few hours apart is best.

 

[AGSTS]

Back to the engine mounting bolts - I'm wondering how will I reach the bolt which is also holding the slider in place and is it ok to remove it if I want to remove the sliders to repaint them?

 

[Gary in NJ]

I'm wondering how will I reach the bolt which is also holding the slider in place and is it ok to remove it if I want to remove the sliders to repaint them?

Yes, of course it's ok to remove that bolt/hex...the only thing it's doing is attaching the crash bars to the frame. A 6" (150mm) socket extension should do the job.

 

[AGSTS]

Isn't it the bolt #1 which is an engine mounting bolt just going through that crash bar?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Correct, bolt #1 is an engine mount, 40ft lbs..

All your bolt holes are factory. The very top mount, by the triple, was for the fairing bracket mount but is now used for your crash bar.

.

 

[Gary in NJ]

Sorry, I just went out and looked at my bike. That is an engine mount bolt with an 8mm hex head. You can remove that without consequence to remove the crash bar.

 

[AGSTS]

So removing bolt #1 is okay if I want to remove the crash bars? Wouldn’t it release some of the engine weight onto other remaining mounting bolts?

 

[trepetti]

So removing bolt #1 is okay if I want to remove the crash bars? Wouldn’t it release some of the engine weight onto other remaining mounting bolts?

You can remove it safely. I have just reinstalled some frame sliders, so I had to remove a bolt on either side of the engine. I would not recommend removing more than 1 bolt at a time, but you can certainly loosen all of them at the same time to un-stress the frame.

 

[AGSTS]

Great, thanks for the tips, I’ll get on it.

 

[AGSTS]

Got some new insights on one specific buzz coming at around 4k RPM. It's coming from headlight area and since the bike has fallen on its left side, the left mounting bracket is a little bent. While dismounting the headlight, I've noticed that it doesn't have the #7 grommet, which is what possibly is causing the buzzing at specific and very narrow RPM range.