I have just bought mine from Turbo Motorcycle and Performance Bike Tuning by Big CC Racing for anyone trying to buy them in the UK

 

So I have the infamous rattle and ordered a new replacement however it seems to me that my timing is also off. Assuming my timing chain itself has stretched due to high miles. Reason for this assumption is it backfired through the carbs and it has a very strange idle sound.

 

hi guys,

ok so I have notice a rattle on my f2, for a moment it sounded like the cct but now its no where near as aggressive and sounds more top end. This vid is of the bike after it has started from cold with choke for 3 minutes. The oil was changed two days ago when clutch was changed but it is struggling to start, it eventually does but you can tell from this vid it still sounds a bit clunky.

the sound is pretty clear if you turn you little speakers up :-).

any advice would be really appreciated..

 

The CCT is a top-end rattle typically. The cam chain runs from your crankshaft (bottom end) to your cam shafts (top end) and the rattle is typically somewhere in between as the chain slaps against the cam chain guide.

It's nearly impossible to tell from your video where that very faint rattle is coming from - but if you have never replaced the original CCT, that is where I would start - even if it's just preventive maintenance.

 

thanks, the very fact you think it is a "faint" rattle is reassuring ;-). I'll try fitting the manual tensioner.

thanks

 

I installed one of these APE tensioners in my 91 F2 way back in 93 and the chain has not rattled since. I agree with SandMan, Preventative Maintenance and this should be on every F2. IMHO...

 

Here's what it looks like on the inside in case anyone wanted to know.

 

I've put my APE CCT on around 28k and I do have a mild vibration since 40k. The vibration does not match the engine ever so this is the first sign to assume the engine is now involved. It comes from the front center/left side (sitting on the bike) i.e. not near the CCT. After 46k, my valves still did not need a single adjustment, shim was perfectly in spec. My bike has been through one drop myself and a few others before. My bike has perfect carb sync and always has with a mercury carb. My bike has excellent pickup, has no prob hitting top end or ripping through gears and has 180 miles on the track. My steering head bearing has been All ***** since around 36k. Steering is perfectly in spec for bearing settings. My hands also don't suffer from the vibration like they did prior, but still some.

That all said, I imagine the vibration you're talking about (since it's not coming from the right side at the CCT/cam chain) is probably more due to age and the not so time tested engineering. I'm fairly confident my vibration comes from the steering head area and not the engine since it sounds more upwards when riding but I have yet to test a stethoscope while riding. I know for a fact my key has part to do with the vibration due to the attaching clip. The ignition lock internals and other steering head components including things like the speedometer cable (which gets really noisy when it's going out and matches road speed in sound) could be at fault.

If you use a engine stethoscope (Doc thing for testing heart beats but for mechanics) you can see if it comes from inside the engine. If it does, then worry. If not, then decide how important it is.

In the end pay attention to what the sound matches up with whether it be road speed, or engine speed. There's other sounds to match against but this is a good start. I can't say my issue is your issue but maybe all our experiences combined will help out.