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What might cause this ticking noise?

Jack Klarich said:
You could have valve damage in that cyl, that could explain the noise and debris, A burned valve, weak or broken valve springs, and worn valve guides worn out valve seals ALL come to mind from running TOO lean, Hope I am wrong, A compression test would be next, if you do it yourself, remove BOTH plugs and hold the throttle wide open for best readings, rem,ember to ground the plug wires and disable the fuel:s
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Thanks Jack,

I hope you are wrong too. I am only assuming it was running lean, but it seems to be a pretty good assumption.

I will defiantly post once I find out.

Thanks again,
Bob
 
Sounds like a typical valve train noise inherent with all Vtwin engines. It's been reported that synthetic oil contributes to valve train noise and many have gone back to conventional motor oil which in many cases has eliminated most of the noise....I had the same problem and eliminated about 65-75% of the valve noise by going with 50w in overnight temperatures 60degrees> and 60w in temperatures 80degrees>......these oil viscosities are called for in owner's manual and is nothing new.
Now, if it sounds like marbles in a coffee can then it's likely pinging and that's another subject...
 
Tucci,
Interesting, no one else has mentioned this. I always thought the 20W50 oil seems like a wide range of temperature coverage for an air cooled engine, but what the heck do I know. That is what they recommend, soooo. What would dino oil have to do with it, vs syn, or do you think it is the viscosity?
It does not sound like a can on marbles.
Hopefully, I will get it to HD this week.
Bob
 
Rod Stewart said:
Anytime you have the head pipes off its a good idea to check the nuts for tightness after each ride, for 2 or 3 rides.

Rod
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Also (while talking about exhaust and exhaust leaks), always replace the exhaust gaskets. I see time after time people skimp on the price of the gaskets and then they ask me why is my bike ticking. Often the leaky exhaust is ticking. I always buy extra gaskets, I always change them and I never have leaks. My two cents.
 
futurerider said:
Tucci,
Interesting, no one else has mentioned this. I always thought the 20W50 oil seems like a wide range of temperature coverage for an air cooled engine, but what the heck do I know. That is what they recommend, soooo. What would dino oil have to do with it, vs syn, or do you think it is the viscosity?
It does not sound like a can on marbles.
Hopefully, I will get it to HD this week.
Bob
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Sorry it took so long to reply Bob, I'm still getting used to this forum...Well, synthetic seems to thin out more than conventional oil and find bikes running on it are noisier. The manual says nothing about using dino or synthetic oils just the weight. It also says if the temps are 60>overnight you can go straight 50w, and if 80> (very common here in PHX) you can go 60weight. So the multi-weight is either an issue or the combination of multi and synthetic. All I can say is I am experimenting with Valvoline VR1 50 racing oil and the valve train noise has quieted down considerably. I used to hear it at warm up but not anymore. I plan to run the 50w during the winter since I rarely ride below 60degrees and plan to run 60w during the 80+ degree temps common from June to October....
 
TUCCI said:
Sorry it took so long to reply Bob, I'm still getting used to this forum...Well, synthetic seems to thin out more than conventional oil and find bikes running on it are noisier. The manual says nothing about using dino or synthetic oils just the weight. It also says if the temps are 60>overnight you can go straight 50w, and if 80> (very common here in PHX) you can go 60weight. So the multi-weight is either an issue or the combination of multi and synthetic. All I can say is I am experimenting with Valvoline VR1 50 racing oil and the valve train noise has quieted down considerably. I used to hear it at warm up but not anymore. I plan to run the 50w during the winter since I rarely ride below 60degrees and plan to run 60w during the 80+ degree temps common from June to October....
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futurerider said:
Tucci,
Thanks, not sure if that is my problem or not, but I like your explanation.
Bob
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I had a 1960 FL I ran Kendal Nitro 70 weight oil in, 2 reasons it leaked and was VERY noisey. I found the previous owner had the rear tappets in wrong, A very common problem on the PRE Evo motors if you dont pay attention
 
Jack Klarich said:
I had a 1960 FL I ran Kendal Nitro 70 weight oil in, 2 reasons it leaked and was VERY noisey. I found the previous owner had the rear tappets in wrong, A very common problem on the PRE Evo motors if you dont pay attention
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Jack, I had a 1977 Lowrider Shovelhead back in 77/84 era. We used to use Aeroshell 100 airplane oil in them to quiet them down some. It was formulated for air cooled airplane engines and worked quite well. Even though they called it aeroshell 100 it was a straight 50 wt. I have never tried it my twin cams though. I have been using Amsoil because Mobil 1 Vtwin 20-50 Synthetic is almost impossible to find here in Canada now? Walmart had it but doesn't carry it anymore? I found when I ran HD 20-50 dino oil it was quite a bit quieter but I like synthetic?
 
CalgaryBikeBum said:
Jack, I had a 1977 Lowrider Shovelhead back in 77/84 era. We used to use Aeroshell 100 airplane oil in them to quiet them down some. It was formulated for air cooled airplane engines and worked quite well. Even though they called it aeroshell 100 it was a straight 50 wt. I have never tried it my twin cams though. I have been using Amsoil because Mobil 1 Vtwin 20-50 Synthetic is almost impossible to find here in Canada now? Walmart had it but doesn't carry it anymore? I found when I ran HD 20-50 dino oil it was quite a bit quieter but I like synthetic?
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:s Yep, back then the tolerances were SLOPPY at best, thicker oil was the answer:s But the engines were alot more forgiving and easier to diagnose and work on
 
I finnally was able to get the bike up to the local HD dealer to look at it for me. Turns out THEY ALL DO THAT! Who would have thought that was the problem.

I gotta believe him because they checked a few minor items, oil / trans levels, then they had 2 mecahanics, and the service writer test ride it, all together they put 50 miles on it, the all said the same basic think, these motors make noise, yours is a little more than most, but they all do that. They probably have 2 - 3 hours involved and there was no charge.

I have the 7 year warranty (in effect until 2016). He could open it up and still not find the problem, however he would not recommend it, plus the warranty would not cover it just to look around. So there is no incentive for him to not tell me the full truth as he sees it.

He started his bike up for me to listen to, and it does sound alot like mine does.

The thing I do not understand is, why has this happenned now and not since it was new? His explanation was, no idea, if something IS wrong, it will break and then we can fix it.

For now I am happy. I will take his advise and run the heck out of it until it breaks......this was not sarcassim, he does not think anything is wrong.

Someone here suggested (I do not know who)......These are mechanical items, they make noise, ride it and have fun. i think I will do just that.

Thanks to all of you for the thoughtful advise and suggestions. Now time will tell I guess.

Bob
 
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