48 Hours of..........

[JCCJMM_]

Work. (Sorry, this is kind of long)

2 days ago, while en route to fill the bike with gas, I noticed a strange and LOUD noise in the motor. Got home to take a listen with my helmet off and, sure enough, there was a rattling/slapping noise on the top-right side of motor.

I shut the bike off and walked into the house, somewhat dejectedly, and took a deep breath. I figured the problem to be somewhat horrific and decided to go ahead and strip the bike down and pull the top cover. Having done it twice before, I knew it would not take long to find the issue. Once the valve cover was off I was expecting to see shrapnel laying in the case. But, to my surprise, I found ABSOLUTELY NOTHING......out of the ordinary.

While I was that far into it, I did decide to do a valve adjust. My first attempt, about a year and a half ago, I ended up stripping a locknut. I had the dealership repair the damage and adjust valves. Well.....lets just say that they never actually adjusted them. Nice.

After adjusting the valves, I put everything but the plastic back together and went for a ride. Could it have been that I just needed a valve job? Uhhhhh.....NO! Same noise.

Now I am back at the computer checking to see if anyone else had the same issue. Did some reading about the cam chain tensioner. So, I go out and pull it. As I am pulling it out I notice that the rod is not even locked into the housing. So, I clean it and lube it and stick it back in (that sounds somewhat pornographic). Fire it up, go for a quick ride.....no noise. Now I am feeling better.

So now.....I put all the plastic back on and go to sleep. The next morning I wake up and run outside to double check for any leaks etc. And wouldn't you know it.........I pinched the o-ring in the coolant pipe on the top of the motor and coolant is leaking around the cover gasket.

Once again, I strip the bike down and replace the o-ring. In the process I get a couple of ounces of coolant down in the top of the motor (real nice). After putting everything back together, I flushed the motor twice with clean oil. Popped in a new filter and more fresh oil and.....well.....I think I am done.

All of that and all I really need to do was remove 2 8mm screws that are within reach without removing a SINGLE piece of plastic.

Now, my wife is on the verge of filing divorce and my kids think I must have run away. It was just one of those things that makes you wonder why you go to all of the trouble. Now its time to go for a long ride and reap the benefits of investing in a relationship with the little 250!

Thanks for reading......

[Alex]

Good work tracking it down, at least! Your wife and kids are lucky they have someone so handy nearby.

[kkim]

well, next time you take the bike to a dealer to fix, you'll now understand why the labor charges are 10X the parts.

good job... I suspected the CCT was it from the loud clattering noise you described. you sound like you know your way around the 250 engine quite well.


yep... time to go for a long nice ride to clear the head and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[sometimesido]

[komohana]

[Rynownd]

This should help at least some people that are experiencing motor noise and do a search for 'noise in the motor.'

Nicely done. Now go for ANOTHER ride haha