'94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
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10-31-2006, 03:16 AM
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'94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
Hey guys,
Wondering if some of you might have an idea of what this might be.... I've had my bike for nearly 2 yrs now.. when I bought it it had 69,000kms on it, now it has 73,500 so that gives you an indication of just how little i ride her... anyway roughly 1,000kms ago i had the cam chain and tensioner replaced as it would make loud rattle when cold.. shes sweet as when cold now... but over past 1,000kms another noise has surfaced, and has gotten a little louder with time.... it isnt there when bike is cold, but once warmed up, it becomes apparent.
The best way to describe this noise is a tick.tick.tick.tick.tick .... and the ticking gets faster with slight increase in revs.... now.. when its most pronounced / at its loudest is when the bike is under load at low rpms... perfect example is when taking off at a set of lights as you slowly let clutch out... "tick.tick.tick.ticking" is louder under the strain....
HOWEVER, once rpms are above around 3,000rpm? appears this ticking seems to dissapear, though that could just be due to the loudness of the higher rpm engine note washing out the ticking.
Reason i dont feel its CC or tensioner is because i just paid $1000AUD to have these replaced a mere 1000kms ago, plus ticking isnt there (or at least, it a hell of a lot quieter) when bike is cold..... I asked a mate with good mechanical background if its valves ticking, he said nope valves make a tinnier sort of noise but this is a more wholesome "TICK" (if that makes sense?) .. plus 1000kms ago included not only cam chain / tensioner but carbys cleaned and balanced, valve clearances, and stacks of other typical maintainence work done.
Bike's been sitting a lot.. for up to 2 months at a time... engine oil was also changed when all the other work was done... but this is going back around 9 months ago i think (possibly longer) with most of that time sitting... i checked condition of oil, still very new / light brown looking... i run a mineral oil in this bike by the way ... "Shell S4" .. apparently with the cam chain / tensioner issues on these and just the type of design these engines are (being an older bike) they far prefer a mineral.. synthetic can make them even noisier... true/false?!
But getting back to ticking noise.. what are your thoughts on what else it could be? - I wonder if its relative to whats talked about in the following thread (complete with a guide with pictures further into the thread on what to do) ... should i try this or is it likely NOT the cause?!
https://cbrforum.com/m_161016/tm.htm
This seems to fix whats known as more of a 'rattle' rather than a 'tick.tick.tick' noise...... which makes me wonder if its relative to my problem.......
I've stopped by 2 different bike shops (one being Honda) and neither of them could directly say what it was... in fact Honda said it might be pinging... but why does it do it in neautral with slight revs? (ie. no load) .. it seems mechanical to me! The guy at the other bike shop just said these CBR1000s have a noisy motor... they always make a bit of funny noise its just the way they're built... i'm sorry but i dont entirely buy that as the bike never used to do it.
/at a loss.. HELP!!
Wondering if some of you might have an idea of what this might be.... I've had my bike for nearly 2 yrs now.. when I bought it it had 69,000kms on it, now it has 73,500 so that gives you an indication of just how little i ride her... anyway roughly 1,000kms ago i had the cam chain and tensioner replaced as it would make loud rattle when cold.. shes sweet as when cold now... but over past 1,000kms another noise has surfaced, and has gotten a little louder with time.... it isnt there when bike is cold, but once warmed up, it becomes apparent.
The best way to describe this noise is a tick.tick.tick.tick.tick .... and the ticking gets faster with slight increase in revs.... now.. when its most pronounced / at its loudest is when the bike is under load at low rpms... perfect example is when taking off at a set of lights as you slowly let clutch out... "tick.tick.tick.ticking" is louder under the strain....
HOWEVER, once rpms are above around 3,000rpm? appears this ticking seems to dissapear, though that could just be due to the loudness of the higher rpm engine note washing out the ticking.
Reason i dont feel its CC or tensioner is because i just paid $1000AUD to have these replaced a mere 1000kms ago, plus ticking isnt there (or at least, it a hell of a lot quieter) when bike is cold..... I asked a mate with good mechanical background if its valves ticking, he said nope valves make a tinnier sort of noise but this is a more wholesome "TICK" (if that makes sense?) .. plus 1000kms ago included not only cam chain / tensioner but carbys cleaned and balanced, valve clearances, and stacks of other typical maintainence work done.
Bike's been sitting a lot.. for up to 2 months at a time... engine oil was also changed when all the other work was done... but this is going back around 9 months ago i think (possibly longer) with most of that time sitting... i checked condition of oil, still very new / light brown looking... i run a mineral oil in this bike by the way ... "Shell S4" .. apparently with the cam chain / tensioner issues on these and just the type of design these engines are (being an older bike) they far prefer a mineral.. synthetic can make them even noisier... true/false?!
But getting back to ticking noise.. what are your thoughts on what else it could be? - I wonder if its relative to whats talked about in the following thread (complete with a guide with pictures further into the thread on what to do) ... should i try this or is it likely NOT the cause?!
https://cbrforum.com/m_161016/tm.htm
This seems to fix whats known as more of a 'rattle' rather than a 'tick.tick.tick' noise...... which makes me wonder if its relative to my problem.......
I've stopped by 2 different bike shops (one being Honda) and neither of them could directly say what it was... in fact Honda said it might be pinging... but why does it do it in neautral with slight revs? (ie. no load) .. it seems mechanical to me! The guy at the other bike shop just said these CBR1000s have a noisy motor... they always make a bit of funny noise its just the way they're built... i'm sorry but i dont entirely buy that as the bike never used to do it.
/at a loss.. HELP!!
#2
10-31-2006, 04:38 AM
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#3
10-31-2006, 11:11 AM
RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
I agree with Mark R, I would first check for an exhaust leak where the head pipe meets the head. An exhaust port leak would make that sound and go away as RPM increased. As you load the engine down at take-off te RPM drops and the ticking would get louder.
If it were me I would loosen each pipe separately and listen to it as I re-tightened the two nuts with the engine running. You should hear it seal, or you will hear ticking.
You could also take a tube and stick one end in your ear and place the other end near the area around the exhaust port being careful not to melt the tube. listen to each port area for ticking.
If it were me I would loosen each pipe separately and listen to it as I re-tightened the two nuts with the engine running. You should hear it seal, or you will hear ticking.
You could also take a tube and stick one end in your ear and place the other end near the area around the exhaust port being careful not to melt the tube. listen to each port area for ticking.
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10-31-2006, 11:16 PM
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RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
Nice guys i'll focus on what you've both said above and go from there.
Forgive me for my lack of mechanical knowledge but when you say "stick a tube" up to each of them.... what kind of tube are we talking about?? the first thing that came to mind was a drinking straw
Forgive me for my lack of mechanical knowledge but when you say "stick a tube" up to each of them.... what kind of tube are we talking about?? the first thing that came to mind was a drinking straw
#5
11-01-2006, 01:39 AM
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RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
I'm curious!
Was the ticking noise there before you started letting the clutch out, or was it only when the engine had a load on it??? My first thought if its under a load when the ticking happens and its metallic sounding, maybe your sprocket on the motor. But you would hear that if you were coasting with the bike idling and the clutch in. I had a screw come loose on my front sprocket one time, and it made a ticking sound when rolling because the nut was scraping the clutch cover plate. Took me a day or so to find it, but that noise was driving me nuts. It seemed to only make the noise when its hot too. The noise seemed to go away for me as well at higher RPM's but when you slowed down you could definately hear it.
But if its not something like that, I would be a little worried. If they set your carbs, and made her too too lean, she would definatly make a "tink" noise, and that would be pre-detonation. That would occur much more when she was hot than when the bike was cold, and under load it would be much more prounounced! If that is the case, your killing your pistons and starving your engine for power. It could definately cause a hole to be burned in a piston! Resolve that immediately! Try running a higher octane gasoline and see if the noise goes away. If the noise goes away, you could be running too low of an octane causing the pre-detonation. If this is the case, the higher octane fuel will give you quite a boost in power, and it should accelerate without the pinging.
Just trying to give ya some ideas, not trying to scare ya.
Brent..
Was the ticking noise there before you started letting the clutch out, or was it only when the engine had a load on it??? My first thought if its under a load when the ticking happens and its metallic sounding, maybe your sprocket on the motor. But you would hear that if you were coasting with the bike idling and the clutch in. I had a screw come loose on my front sprocket one time, and it made a ticking sound when rolling because the nut was scraping the clutch cover plate. Took me a day or so to find it, but that noise was driving me nuts. It seemed to only make the noise when its hot too. The noise seemed to go away for me as well at higher RPM's but when you slowed down you could definately hear it.
But if its not something like that, I would be a little worried. If they set your carbs, and made her too too lean, she would definatly make a "tink" noise, and that would be pre-detonation. That would occur much more when she was hot than when the bike was cold, and under load it would be much more prounounced! If that is the case, your killing your pistons and starving your engine for power. It could definately cause a hole to be burned in a piston! Resolve that immediately! Try running a higher octane gasoline and see if the noise goes away. If the noise goes away, you could be running too low of an octane causing the pre-detonation. If this is the case, the higher octane fuel will give you quite a boost in power, and it should accelerate without the pinging.
Just trying to give ya some ideas, not trying to scare ya.
Brent..
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11-01-2006, 02:03 AM
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RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
thanks for all the feedback Firefox..
The noise is specifically engine related as it does it when sitting in neutral as well (only pronounced once warmed up) .. giving it a tiny bit of revs (say up to 14/1500 is when you hear the noise get a wee bit louder and tick at a faster rate... i feel its not pre-detonation because a) that would ONLY happen under load, no? ... and b) i've been running the highest grade 98 octane fuel in this bike ever since i bought it, and it never used to make this tick... i guess it could be pre-detonation but as far as the bike performs, its got all the power it always had, idles very smoothly, revs very freely... etc.
Praying its something simple like what was said above... adjusting the balancer and tightening the exhaust headers.. the bike recently copped a big fall on the right side... its been fixed up at the panel beaters since then but i wonder if the knock to the rear exhaust at the time was enough to loosen up the header pipe slightly? .... though this ticking has been happening well before that incident.. just not quite as bad from memory.
The noise is specifically engine related as it does it when sitting in neutral as well (only pronounced once warmed up) .. giving it a tiny bit of revs (say up to 14/1500 is when you hear the noise get a wee bit louder and tick at a faster rate... i feel its not pre-detonation because a) that would ONLY happen under load, no? ... and b) i've been running the highest grade 98 octane fuel in this bike ever since i bought it, and it never used to make this tick... i guess it could be pre-detonation but as far as the bike performs, its got all the power it always had, idles very smoothly, revs very freely... etc.
Praying its something simple like what was said above... adjusting the balancer and tightening the exhaust headers.. the bike recently copped a big fall on the right side... its been fixed up at the panel beaters since then but i wonder if the knock to the rear exhaust at the time was enough to loosen up the header pipe slightly? .... though this ticking has been happening well before that incident.. just not quite as bad from memory.
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11-01-2006, 11:02 AM
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#9
11-01-2006, 03:12 PM
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RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
It sounds just my bike before I adjusted the balancer!
After I adjusted the balancer, the noise almost disappeared. After 3 weeks or so the sound returned sligtley, but never got bad as before. Now the sound is only there when the engine is really hot, and it because of wear in the balancer.
You can't cure the bike entirely from the sound, it's an old bike with a lot of moving parts, but you can deffently make it run more silently!
So to sum it up... I will bet my... that the source to your problem is your balancer, at least it can never hurt to adjust anyway.
Hope you get the problem solved
Noe
After I adjusted the balancer, the noise almost disappeared. After 3 weeks or so the sound returned sligtley, but never got bad as before. Now the sound is only there when the engine is really hot, and it because of wear in the balancer.
You can't cure the bike entirely from the sound, it's an old bike with a lot of moving parts, but you can deffently make it run more silently!
So to sum it up... I will bet my... that the source to your problem is your balancer, at least it can never hurt to adjust anyway.
Hope you get the problem solved
Noe
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11-02-2006, 07:39 AM
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RE: '94 CBR 1000F - Strange ticking noise (NOT CC tensioner)
Well i managed to set aside some time to take off the side fairing and adjust the balancer tonight... upon doing that the bike sounded no different then it did before the adjustment so obviously it mustn't have needed it or something... i noticed it was already only 2 notches away from tight so i moved it to 1 notch away and yeah, no different... no whining but the tick.tick.tick.tick is there... gets louder when applying a very very minor touch of revs... i stuck my ear up around where the exhaust headers are... doesnt appear to be coming from those.. seems to more more of an internal tick..
Im too scared to ride her anymore because i'm fearful its doing her damage.... should i just leave her at Honda and wear a potential $1,000 bill to recitify this?? i just recently paid out that much for new cam chain / tensioner and she was running beautifully after that... i've barely ridden her at all since then she's been sitting for months...
damnit
Whats the biggest giveaway in terms of when a bike is pinging or "pre-detonating" ???? i want to be sure its not that first of all !
Im too scared to ride her anymore because i'm fearful its doing her damage.... should i just leave her at Honda and wear a potential $1,000 bill to recitify this?? i just recently paid out that much for new cam chain / tensioner and she was running beautifully after that... i've barely ridden her at all since then she's been sitting for months...
damnit
Whats the biggest giveaway in terms of when a bike is pinging or "pre-detonating" ???? i want to be sure its not that first of all !
