I recently purchased a 2006 CBR F4I. I recently noticed a rattle between 4800 and 5100 RPMs. I do not recall hearing this when I first got the bike (about a week ago), but I may have been changing the gears prior to reaching this point on the tachometer. Any thoughts on what this could be.

 

Search "CCT" or "cam chain tensioner" and you'll have your answer.

 

Thank you for posting the link. I will look into getting this repair done in the very near future. I have one question. Is it unusual to need this repair on a bike that has only 3000 miles?

 

Not unusual at all on the F4i. I've heard of them making noise in as little as 1500 miles. I've changed mine 3 times, one lasting for 1500 miles and others lasting longer. I think it's luck when you finally get one that lasts a while. The last one I installed seems to be a keeper and hasn't made any noise in quite a few thousand miles.

 

Is this a type of repair that the average joe can attempt or should I take it to a shop?

 

you can do it yourself....there are links on here with complete write ups

 

You can do it yourself - ACE (i believe) makes a manually adjustable one that should solve your problem forever.

OR you can do what I do - put it in a gear that keeps you out of that RPM range and don't worry about it. Lots of bikes running around with thousands upon thousands of miles with the rattle.

 

My 2001 F4i also has this rattle. I could not figure out what it was but after reading many threads on here and people describing their rattle, the CCT sounds like a good option to look into. What would i be looking at for cost on replacing this?

 

A lot of people will tell you to replace it with a manual CCT and I know I'm going to get flak for this.....I don't recommend using the manual CCT unless you don't mind taking the extra time, extra disassembly, and extra work of adjusting it correctly. Take your chances with a new OEM CCT. You may get lucky and get one that will last like I did. The manual CCT will cure the problem forever if adjusted correctly and if it's periodically adjusted as needed. Proper adjustment requires digging deeper into the engine and measuring the timing chain slack. Some will tell you to just adjust it by ear with the bike running until the noise goes away, but that is a crapshoot and if it's not adjusted correctly, it can damage internal engine parts. Too tight and you risk accelerated timing chain/sprocket and cam bearing wear. Too loose and you risk the chain possibly skipping and jumping time, which if severe enough could cause the pistons to smack the valves, not to mention it will not run right. The only correct way to adjust a manual CCT is to get in there and measure the actual slack in the chain. The OEM CCT is automatic. It adjusts itself upon installation and automatically adjusts as needed so you don't have to do periodic adjustments. Yes, I bought three OEM CCT's at $50 each before finding a good one, but that's a lot cheaper than repairing the damage that can be done if you don't adjust a manual CCT correctly.

 

I just bought my 06 this year as well and it rattled with only 3200 miles. I replaced mine with an oem cct and i did a dowel pin mod which i found on another cbr forum by a user named "uncle jeff". Basically all you do is use a punch, not a flat punch but a rounded pointed tip punch and hammer the dowel pin a couple of times on each side to tighten up the pin and head assembly on the cct. This is supposedly what is rattling at those specific rpms due to the engines harmonics. I did mine with a new one, but you can do it to you old cct and try it. Just get a 6" 1/4 drive ratchet extension, a 5mm allen 1/4" socket, and a 1/4" rachet swivel and you're good to go. The hardest part of the job for me was getting the screw back in the end of the cct when it was on the bike. My gf's long skiny fingers worked there, my short stubs would not get it done. As mentined, look around on the forums, easy job to do.