xj650 engine...... clicking??

whoooah... my first post! well... i got this bike last fall and after about a month of riding it... it starts making a clicking sound. it doesnt seem like anything is actually wrong with it... someone suggested it could possibly be a piston puck... or the cam chain needs to be tightened. working on an engine is all brand new to me... i generally work on small electronics so the wiring side of the bike is all understandable for me.

anyways... heres a short clip of what im dealing with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdWxYRQ-KcA

it sounds a little thicker as you get closer to the carbs. should i keep riding it normally?? or do i need to start ripping things apart asap??

any suggestions would be wonderful since im still in the learning phases of motorcycle repair!

 

Number Five need input!

We need lots more info.

We know the make (Yamaha) and judging by the video I'm guessing at the model (Maxim), but no clue as to what year. The 650's had slightly different motors from model to model and from year to year.

Also your location could be helpful. There may be a member close to you that is willing to come over and take a listen.

Also, what have you done to the bike thus far?

Was it bought and parked for six months letting the carbs gum up and need cleaned, or did you buy it and start riding it and it is only now starting to make the noise?

Have you done any of the normal maintenance that should be done on these bikes before you ride them? (i.e. brakes, tires, valves, etc.)

As for the piston puck...is that located next to the blinker fluid? You may need a left-handed monkey wrench to get it loose. (It's a joke, laugh, it's ok, no one will think it's weird that you are laughing at your computer.)

(And on a more serious note) The cam chain is most likely auto adjusted, so it may not need adjusting. But we need to know exactly what ya got to be able to tell you yes or no.

 

Number five alive !! Showing our ages here LOL

 

Do you mean valve shim clicking? Mine started doing that right after I changed the valve shims when tight they made no noise at all when I put in the correct ones she started clicking.

 

My 1980 xj650 clicks a lot to, but not that loud. It could be the video also. These things seem to make a lot of racket though. People like to compare the sound to a sewing machine. I think I have read when you have no sound there is a problem, being as things have tightened up, so you want just enough sound?? lol You are in the right place to ask though. Listen to there advice, and imo a combustion engine is much easier than small electronics, and this is coming from a guy who built his own cnc driver board.

 

ah!! its an 81 xj650 maxim! i live in fargo, north dakota... it sat for about 3 years before i bought it. the seller cleaned the carbs and got it running but it still needed a new carb kit. when i went to pop the kit in... the inside of the carbs looked beautiful!

after installing the kit i rode it for about a week... then one day it had a very rough time starting. it was cold out so it was kind of normal at the time... but once i finally got it to run... it started clicking and wouldnt idle at all. i played with the idle knob a bit and everything seemed fine after that.

then winter happened. so it sat from november till may. i went outside.. popped the battery in.. tried to start it... and it fired up after a couple trys! rode it for about three days... the idling was all over the place and revving up to about 3000 rpm when it was fully heated up... i read about carb boot cracks and repaired them the next day... with a good cleaning, permatex high temp and saran wrap... wait for it to dry... take the wrap off... slip on sections of a bike innertube to make sure everything is sealed and not orange. slip the carbs back on and make some tweaks and everything works fine!

what else..... oh! i repaired the speedometer.. the tabbed washer next to the bearing was stripped so i replaced it. also.. the throttle cable was strung though the front section behind the headlight.. so it accelerated when the handlebars turned. i fixed that the day after i bought it.

the bike came with new brake pads too... and im in the process of getting a new back tire. i havent checked any valves though...

i really dont like actually posting in forums because the search function usually works for me... but swear i cant find a thing about this. sorry for the inconvenience. =/

"wouldnt you like to be a pepper too?"

 

My bike got a bit noisier after I swapped the shims too....

 

I have been told this is normal but perhaps one of the XJ Gurus could give us some insight?

 

Kind of hard to tell from the video... I have had the exhaust header nuts come loose over time which can cause a knocking type sound. To test for this, with the engine running, hold a cigarette lighter near where the exhaust header pipes bolts to the cylinder block. Move the lighter back and forth near each pipe and see if the flame starts fluttering. You can also do it with a piece of tissue paper but I think it's easier to see with a lighter if there's a leak. If you have a loose nut, don't get carried away with tightening. I believe those nuts are only torqued to about 7 ft lbs.

 

I too had the exhaust head nuts come loose. Just last week I was riding, bike got louder, found cylinder 3 stud broke off from it being loose I suppose. Tried to extract and couldn’t get it. Ended up having to drill out and tap a 5/16 18 bolt into it. Now it holds nice and sturdy. Shame it happened though. But I guess that’s what you can expect from a 40 yo bike and project.