There has always been a ticking in my 954, but I know there will always be slight engine noise. But I was riding the other day and cranked on it sort of hard (didn't red-line it, though) and I heard a different knocking noise begin, and it's done it since that day. I used a screw-driver to zero in on where the sound was coming from, and it seems to be more evident on the upper right of the engine.

You can't hear it at idle, but when accelerating it's really loud, and smooths out with the RPM's (it's louder during acceleration than when RPM is smooth). I've seen posts about the CCT or valve adjustment, but my bike only has around 10,000 miles on it. What could this be, and what would you check first?

THANKS!

 

I would say cam chain tension, since that's right in the area you can hear it best, and valves generally just go out of adjustment over time, not from one incident.

 

That's what I thought...THANKS! Is there a way to check the cct without replacing it?

 

No not really it is just easier to put a manual one in, or get a new oem one as it is a pain to get to on the 54 to make adjustments.

 

I had the same problem. Started of as a knocking which was loud at idle, and so bad I could feel it in the grips/foot pegs. Later on it developed a rattle at around 3kRPM. I replaced the CCT (Cam Chain Tensioner) with one from APE, and guess what, both noises went away and the bike was as quiet as a sewing machine.

It is amazing how bad the noises were, one apparently at the top of the engine (the rattling) and the other sounding like a crank bearing was buggered. The bloody CCT was causing both problems. I had eaten through 3 of the Honda ones, each lasting about 2K miles, RUBBISH.

Heat build-up is the primary cause for a failure, so if you give it a good thrash, or have sat in a traffic jam, the CCT will get weak and allow the cam chain and god knows what else to make awful noises.

How to check you ask? well, find out where your CCT is (right hand side of the engine, under the fuel tank held in by two bolts). undo the central cap bold that covers the CCT's worm-screw, and put a small screwdriver on the back of the worm screw. With the engine running, give it a few flicks on the throttle, and feel if the screwdriver is moving at all. If it is, the CCT is weak and shagged. You will see an area of wear on the neck of the CCT shaft when removed, that is where the thing has been moving back and forward when it should be rock solid still.

My advise, replace with the APE one, as the Honda parts just can't take heat build up, and weaken at an alarming rate.