I've made a 2 minute, 1Mb .wav file of my bike when it is warming up.

Can anyone tell me if the knocking noise is the timing chain or something else?

I'm trying to make up my mind if I takeit intothe shop and just tell them to fix it or if I take it to a rebuilder and get the engine all done up...

The compression is getting low but if it can be easily *and cheaply* returned to fair running condition, then the lowcompression can stay until something serious goes wrong...

If you download and listen to thefile, make sureyour volume is low until the bikes started. The first noise is closing the sliding glass door to keep the wind out.

 

It's difficult to hear, but it does sound like a timing chain to me. If it goes away after warm up, then I would say with 99% certainty it's a timing chain. Mine is probably louder then that for a couple of blocks in the morning. It's hard to tell on mine over the TBR exhaust though. I might change it out when I do the valve adjustment.
As far as the compression goes, have you checked and double checked your valve clearance? Depending on the miles valves out of adjustment is probably the number one reason for low compression.

 

I agree with the captain. It is hard to hear any knock. From the clip, it sounds healthy, much like mine. I can hear the wirling sound of the CC but I can't hear any knocking over it. I replaced my CCT about 15k miles ago. It was real quiet then. Now after 15k miles it is a little noisy until the engine warms up some and then it is quiet.

 

I can hear the knock clearly, but have no idea what it is, I which my bike sounded that good
Use a screwdriver as a stethoscope and see where in the engine the knock is.

 

Can hear the knock and have to ask, when was the last time the valves were adjusted? Sound is not disimilar to pistin slap. This is when the vales are starting to touch the piston tops, which if not sorted will bend the valves. If your able to do it yourself then have someone help you as this will save time. Take the plugs out as this will make turning the engine much easier. Once you have done the valves, then check your compression.

All the best

 

I can't really hear it either, BUT, the concensus on this board seems to be that all the 1000f's tend to have a rattling sound that comes from the cam chain tensioner and that it is not a problem as long as the sound goes awayonce the bike is fully warmed up. Do a search on "tensioner" and I think you'll find a lot of discussion of this issue.

 

One thing that Hondas are renown for is knocking. If the carbs are not properly balanced they tend to knock. Yours sounds sweet so I don't think it's that.

 

I cant listen to the file where I am, but if its a knocking noise that is only at idle then its just the carb out of synch. If its there all the time then its the bearing.

If its a rattle then its the CCT. If it goes away after warmup then all good. If it doesn't go away the CCT and/or CC is rooted.

If its a tapping sound then its the valves. There should always be a small amount of tapping.

 

Ok, thanks everyone, what you've all said reminds me of what the shop mechanic said when I askedhim to do a full tune on it to find any problems in October '06. They said the carbs were a long way out of balance and that the compression was "low but even" so not a worry for the time being. They saidthey reset the valves and carbs and the bike was now running as well as it possibly could, but that it wouldn't be long before it needed to be done again because engines with this many k's and in this condition go out of sync pretty easy.

I guess it becomes a decision do I keep paying to have it resetor do I bite the bullet and get it rebuilt...I'llread the workshop manual and see if I can do the tunemyself...

Thanks everyone for having a listen!

 

If your intending to do a rebuild then leave it as late as possible. Try to buy all the bits over a period of time so it does'nt kill your wallet. Just wondering how many Ks yor bike has done? I've nearly completed my own engine rebuild and the only problems I encountered were the rechecking of the work done at any stage before moving on. Some of the components will not be installed until the engine is in the frame, to save on wieght.as these babies are heavy. Your other alternative is to buy a recon and hand yours in as part exchange, less work and you'll have a limited guarentee with it.