Ok I joined this site just for this question. My 99 f4 taps when i start it up. It has 6,500 miles on it. Last owner was a older guy who bought it new. It was never abuse by me or him. Gets oil changes every 500 miles. Crazy I know. I am OCD. I replaces the timing chain tensioner when I first got it because I had the 3k rpm noise. It fixed the noise. But now when it is warming up it taps. Once warm you never hear a thing. Also I am running 10w-40 full synthetic throu Mobil 1. And I had a shop even check all my valve clearances. And they are all to spec. Not cheap let me tell you. Here is a vid of the noise. My phone is on the engine so it sounds a little louder then it really is. And there is no real picture. Noise is in the top end. I am having the cct replaced again by another shop next week to make sure its it it again. But this cct is only 8 months old only has 1,800 miles on it.
Thanks for any help.

Cbr tapping? - YouTube

 

Well, we hope you joined up for more than just that! ;-) Welcome aboard.

Ok, IF the shop verified that its not valve-ticking, then yes it is the CCT. You said, "once warm, you never hear a thing". That sounds normal to me. Mine does that, & anyone that's been around here long enough knows that I wouldn't tell you that if it wasn't so. Is the situation ideal?...no, b/c the ticking is still irritating you but its not going to hurt the bike. However, its not constant ticking all the time. <--When that situation occurs, then yes, you need to change it.

I really don't see the point in replacing the CCT right now, unless that's really what you want to do. If you can live w/ the ticking til it goes away during warm up, you should be fine for a long time.

Also, you can go to a manual CCT such as the APE. However, it would be wise to know how to install it & adjust it on your own. We have tutorials here if you would like to try it on your own. The shop should be able to install an APE for you as well. However, you'll have to go back to them for adjustment unless you learn how. It really isn't rocket-science but I understand your hesitation if you aren't a wrencher.

Also...

There is absolutely NO need to change oil every 500 mi...especially when using synthetic. You aren't racing or riding track, or riding in an abusive environment, so there's no good reason to do that. Stick to std replacement interval of 3K.

 

Thank you for the replies. I change my oil yesterday I was running honda's hp4s I believe it is called. It's their full synthetic. I ran that all the time till my last oil change yesterday. I didn't realize hp4s was 10w-30. I know not that much off. But it is also only recommended for 06 and newer bike on the bottle. So I went with Mobil 1 10w-40 bike oil. And I have only started it once cold today but the noise doesn't seem to be there. Or that I have heard at least. I believe with the oil being thinner off the bat made the valves noise because they hadn't expanded to size and seated correctly yet. Where as the 10-40 takes longer to reach its end viscosity of 10. So the the valves had it correct thickness of oil. Causing them not to tap. Ape's cct was a idea for me but I don't like the idea of tightening it myself. I am very OCD and would worry I over tightened it. Also sorry to do so many threads and replies gotcbr I am sure your tired of approving my posts being new and all to the forum.

 

Sure thing. Glad to help. I don't know everything but do have some experience. ;-)

No worries. Its all good. ;-) We're glad you're here.

Regarding the oil... Your statements have validity. While I have run synthetics in my F4, I've found that it runs better on dino 10w40. To that, I use ProHonda or Rotella.

 

Ok so my notorious tap has returned. Here is a 2 vids. First is cold and the tap. 2nd is warmed up and no tap. Any imput. I am thinking of doing the cam chain tensioner again. Fresh Mobil oil change.

 

Have you done any mods to the bike or removed than reinstated anything? I am on my phone so the audio isn't the best but it sounds like the same thing I had which turned into a problem with the pair valve and an exhaust leak.

 

check all your seals and connections where your exhaust manifold(header) meets the cylinder head, possible that you have an exhaust leak, i once had the nuts off Cylinder 1 for the manifold back out causing a leak when cold, and occasionaly under load. sounded almost like a quiet popping or a valve noise and would go away once some heat got into the motor

 

The bike is all stock no mods. I have the valves checked 8 months ago and they are all in spec. I will check the exhaust in the morning makes sense. Thanks for the input so far.

 

ive noticed the excact same noise in my bike also. it does it about 75% of the time when its cold, and i rarely hear it once it warms up. it is in the upper end, and sounds the same as a lifter tick in a car. but i do believe my bike needs a valve adjustment, as i can also hear a kind of a whistling noise similar to a coach wistle from the motor once i get into the mid rpm range. and i dont know that my cct is going out yet, but i did order a new one just in case. let me know if you figure it out!