Is this noise something to be worried about?
 

I hate to be one of those people but my 2005 F4i has a slight "tick" at low rpm's specifically idle-3,000rpms.

The bike has 7,000 miles on it and I replaced the CCTL about 1,000 miles ago when I heard it going bad so I don't think the CCTL is the problem.

Any help is much appreciated.

Heres the video of the noise, it can be heard very well between 0:30-0:36 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGanLdtndaA

Can't hear a tick sound.....

It's there because I can hear it in the video. It might be normal for the f4i but I just freak out about any noise.

i hear it, when have you changed the spark plugs?

Never changed the spark plugs, they are still the stock ones so they should be torqued properly.

When you hear the tick, try to pull the clutch in neutral. If it fades away, it probably is your clutch basket

Starts & sounds awful! Perhaps its the cct?

I just tried that and it made no difference when the clutch was in. I also tried pulling the clutch in while in gear and no difference either.

Yeah I know it sounds awful, but I hope it's not the CCTL because I just replaced that and it made the rattle go away at 5.5k.

I have a 2006 and it does the same thing i thought maybe valve shims bc i juts changed the cam chain tensioner to a manual one so i know its not that i even tried running premium gas to see if it was a spark knock and that didnt help so i thought it was valve shims or just a normal f4i sound bc it doesnt get worse at higher rpms

I agree with you that it's not the CCTL, but I don't think my valves could be out of adjustment with just over 7,000 miles on the bike and I do not ride the bike hard.

I'm beginning to think that it may be a loose spark plug or spark plug wire as someone mentioned before.

possible but you said you dont notice any power issues so not sure bc you would think that with much movement on a plug you would loose power my bike has 11000 on it so that was my only guess if you figure it out please post wat it was

It could be a loose plug, but if you change them the bike will run better and you maybe will cure the noise. Its weird that anything is wrong at only 7k miles, hmmm

loose plug would cause backfire you would think ... running too lean shouldnt it

a loose plug would miss at the cylinder would work itself out eventually so unlikely, but a loose coil pack would make the cylinder miss alot, causing a backfire everytime you rev it as the unburned fuel got ignighted in the midpipe and exhaust, i know i had all 4 go bad a few months back and the flame looked cool, but the bike ran like crap . so if you dont feel any power loss, its just a fairy in the engine, you can look but never will find anything

Yeah, a loose plug would do just that, you'd have running issues also.

Since you just changed the CCTL (are you sure the bolts that tightens it to the head are well tightened?) and the bike has few miles, making it improbable that the valve clearances are tight/loose, I'd bet it's oil...

Did you use a different type oil in your last change? Different weight?
I say this because I noticed that when I shortly used 15-40 to "clean" her inside, the bike sounded different, noisier like the valves were out of spec or the oil cooler was clicking and it pretty much sounded like yours.

The oil I'm using is Rotella T6 5w-40 full synthetic and before that I used Honda GN-4 conventional oil.

I made sure that the CCTL bolts were all properly torqued.

I should also mention that this noise has plagued my bike since i bought it at 3k miles. Also I haven't noticed any power loss and it very rarely backfires.

I have taken the bike almost apart and found that the valve cover breather hose was not connected to the air box. This is how it came from the factory since this is the first time the airbox has come off.

I took off the exhaust headers to see if it was an exhaust leak and it wasn't. Now I do have an exhaust leak until I get new gaskets which I ordered today.

All the spark plugs were tight and the coils seemed fine.

I will find out if I cured the noise as soon as I install the new exhaust gaskets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkpL4JkIbI

Might just be me, but that noise sounds perfectly normal. A lot of Honda engines have that 'valve clatter' noise, which is caused by the gap between the rocker arm and camshaft lobe. I honestly wouldn't worry about anything, but maybe you can check the valve adjustments if you haven't already done it.

My bike and many others I've seen sound the same as yours, unless the video didn't capture the noise very well.

The video did capture the noise fairly well but I just thought the noise might be a problem.

Okay, I fixed the exhaust leak noise and now everything is back to normal and hopefully better than before.

I think the noise has quieted down. Please listen and tell me if it sounds the same as your bike now.

I just connected the hose that was out of place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iULGLf4JVeM

Just went out to take a listen and it sounds pretty much the same. I think you're good to go. Go enjoy the weather while it lasts!

Excellent, thanks for your help and everyone else who helped.

It sounds much better.........but she whistle's?? Otherwise, its fine.