bike ticks

[JRas]

Ever since I've owned the bike it's had a tick to it. I thought just the valves needed to be adjusted but I had them checked by a friend. He said they were in spec, so unless he is wrong..what else could it be?

The bike has been down, from the previous owner and me. I could tell the clutch cover had been ground down and repainted in an attempt to hide it.

just asking to throw out some ideas why it may be ticking.

I'll try to record a video. I've been thinking about replacing the auto cam chain tensioner with a manual one.

bike is a K6 GSX-R600

[07R1ghost]

I'll try to record a video. I've been thinking about replacing the auto cam chain tensioner with a manual one.

bike is a K6 GSX-R600

What I was gonna tell you. Gonna order one for mine cuz its making noises. Noises=no bueno. But ya id try that.

[hellion_locdogg]

They are mechanical valves which means THEY MAKE NOISE. Don't read in to it or you'll go insane. If your bike becomes hard to start and or idles rough then you can worry.

[bored&stroked]

They are mechanical valves which means THEY MAKE NOISE. Don't read in to it or you'll go insane. If your bike becomes hard to start and or idles rough then you can worry.

+1 Mechanical cams have lash built into them. That means there is a gap between the valve and the cam. When the cam lobe comes around and starts up to lift the valve that gap is quickly closed resulting in the "tick" as valve and cam come into contact.
Its very difficult to figure out a tick just by listening to it. Normally you'll have to tear everything apart and look for signs or start measuring.

[ballisticn8]

thought for a second it said bike tits, lol... thought it was going to be an epic thread... :35:

[R6Woodsie]

thought for a second it said bike tits, lol... thought it was going to be an epic thread... :35:
^+5, I got excited over nothing.

[Turtleface]

+1 Mechanical cams have lash built into them. That means there is a gap between the valve and the cam. When the cam lobe comes around and starts up to lift the valve that gap is quickly closed resulting in the "tick" as valve and cam come into contact.
Its very difficult to figure out a tick just by listening to it. Normally you'll have to tear everything apart and look for signs or start measuring.

GSX-600? Noisy? Naaa, come take a listen to my 82 1100, you'd think the top end's about to come off!

He's right though, you will make some noise in the top end with the way it's designed, get used to the noises. When your friend checked the specs, are you SURE the engine was STONE COLD? I'm not talking about cool enough to work on, or cooled down for an hour or two. I mean not running, for AT LEAST 12 hours. I chased a valve tick for weeks before I found out how to check clearances properly. If engines been run recently, all the metals involved in open your valves have expanded. Ergo, if valves are checked while it's warm, your clearances will be too large when it's running, which MAY be your tick. Learn to adjust your own valves, so YOU know it's perfect. Beg, borrow, or steal a factory service manual. You can probably find a PDF of one online. It'll be worth it's weight in gold.

I doubt your cam chain adjuster is at fault. You can get a bit of cam chain "walk" out of 'Zooks, but it's more like a rolling/sliding rattle that usually disappears as the engine spools up a bit and the cam chain's velocity straightens it out in the confines of it's run.

A old mechanic's trick to figure out where something is making noise, especially internally, is to use a wooden pole like a stethoscope. Hold one end to the part in question, and the other end to your ear, and listen. Move the pole around the engine, listen to how it all runs and clatters. Harbor Freight also sells mechanic's stethoscopes for this purpose as well, handy to have if you're going to turn wrenches.

Tell us more about your noise. At what RPM is it present? Does it go away at a certain RPM? Get louder? Softer? Is it a constant noise? Does the tick increase as RPM increases, does the tick increase with wheel speed? Have you noticed any sort of performace change? Etc, etc, etc...

Wow, just looked at what's involved to check valve clearances for your bike. That looks like a giant pain in the ass. I've got two bolts and a seat in the way, you've got an entire motorcycle in the way. :)

[Wheeliest]

something is obviously broke inside your motor and its prolly going to lock up at any moment..

[JRas]

GSX-600? Noisy? Naaa, come take a listen to my 82 1100, you'd think the top end's about to come off!

He's right though, you will make some noise in the top end with the way it's designed, get used to the noises. When your friend checked the specs, are you SURE the engine was STONE COLD? I'm not talking about cool enough to work on, or cooled down for an hour or two. I mean not running, for AT LEAST 12 hours. I chased a valve tick for weeks before I found out how to check clearances properly. If engines been run recently, all the metals involved in open your valves have expanded. Ergo, if valves are checked while it's warm, your clearances will be too large when it's running, which MAY be your tick. Learn to adjust your own valves, so YOU know it's perfect. Beg, borrow, or steal a factory service manual. You can probably find a PDF of one online. It'll be worth it's weight in gold.

I doubt your cam chain adjuster is at fault. You can get a bit of cam chain "walk" out of 'Zooks, but it's more like a rolling/sliding rattle that usually disappears as the engine spools up a bit and the cam chain's velocity straightens it out in the confines of it's run.

A old mechanic's trick to figure out where something is making noise, especially internally, is to use a wooden pole like a stethoscope. Hold one end to the part in question, and the other end to your ear, and listen. Move the pole around the engine, listen to how it all runs and clatters. Harbor Freight also sells mechanic's stethoscopes for this purpose as well, handy to have if you're going to turn wrenches.

Tell us more about your noise. At what RPM is it present? Does it go away at a certain RPM? Get louder? Softer? Is it a constant noise? Does the tick increase as RPM increases, does the tick increase with wheel speed? Have you noticed any sort of performace change? Etc, etc, etc...

Wow, just looked at what's involved to check valve clearances for your bike. That looks like a giant pain in the ass. I've got two bolts and a seat in the way, you've got an entire motorcycle in the way. :)

I dropped the bike off to him, he let it sit overnight and did it in the morning so the engine would be cold. I have a manual but it looked pretty complicated and I didn't want to do it wrong. It's one of those things, I'd prefer to have someone show me who knew what they were doing.

the noise seems to be consistent in the rpm range. I still need to record a video.. thinking like a cold start, a warm idle, and warmed up some revving?