Ticking noise- cct tensioner? Valve clearance?

zedzedR · September 3rd, 2012, 12:02 AM

Hello all,
I was wondering if anybody has experienced ticking noises coming from their engine and what the reason behind the sound was if you have already fixed the issue.

My bike started making a sewing machine ticking noise coming from the brake side of the motor. The sound is most audible around 5000rpm. It isn't that bothersome and once im up to speed I have to listen Cclose just to hear it, it's just new to me and I wonder if it is normal.
The bike is an 01 ex250h and it has 11500km. Since the maintenance schedule calls for valves to be checked at 12000km I thought it would likely be the reason for the noise, I checked and adjusted valve clearances to as close as .005" and .006" on the intake and exhaust valves as I could. I double checked all of the work. The valves looked clean, not burnt at all. I also cleaned, oiled and reseated the cam chain tensioner, twice, the shaft and bearing looked clean as well. still, the sound has not gone away.
Any thoughts on a cause?

Monkeytofu · September 3rd, 2012, 02:25 AM

maybe one of your valves is loose? I know when I adjusted mine twice myself I always ended up with one loose.

No idea if it's true but the mechanic working on my bike now says the bike has to be absolutely cold/room temp to properly adjust valves. Did you ride your bike into the garage/ or up your drive way before you did it?

n4mwd · September 3rd, 2012, 07:59 AM

The clutch basket is the usual culprit for stuff like this. Its the first thing to check anyway. At idle, put a load on the engine with the front brake on and see if the noise temporarily goes away. If it does, its the clutch basket. If so, its best just to ignore it.

The cam chain tensioner has a ratcheting mechanism that usually works pretty good. Its actually pretty rare that it could be at fault. However, mine failed because one of the ratchet balls fell out and caused it not to work right.

It sounds like you did the valves Ok, but there are a few gotchas you need to be aware of. First, if you overtorque any of the rockers, you will destroy the engine. After overtorquing, they usually run for a bit and then self destruct some miles away. If you heard a snap while you were torquing the nuts, then pull the valve cover off and inspect the dog ears on the rocker arms to make sure they are all still there.

Second, make sure you used the right feeler gauge. Metric vs. English. Its easy to get them confused. Sounds like you had the right one through.

See if any of that helps.

zedzedR · September 3rd, 2012, 08:24 AM

Hey Monkeytofu, thanks for the reply. When the bike started making the noise I immediately took it home and left it in my garage overnight before opening it up the next morning. It was cold by the time I got into the valve cover. I checked all of the bolts before reassembling to make sure they were all tight.

zedzedR · September 3rd, 2012, 08:39 AM

Hello N4mwd, thanks for the reply, I've tried checking it under load and it still made the noise, just a little quieter.
Is there a way to check the tensioner? It looked ok when I pulled it apart.
I made sure that the lock bolts were tight but I didnt crank it to the point that anything snapped, I should have used a torque wrench but didn't have one available, although, the sound is still the exact same as it was before the valve job so I don't think
I screwed anything up with the job. The valves were all tight when i opened it up, between 3 to 4 thou, except the two exhaust valves on cylinder two which were ok at .006" so I left them alone. Will it make any difference if I use a good synthetic oil? I've got 3000 km on my motorcycle Dino oil. I really don't feel like pulling it apart, again...

n4mwd · September 3rd, 2012, 08:51 AM

to test the cam chain tensioner you have to open the valve cover and poke the chain to see how loose it is. should be fairly tight.

don't actually remove the tensioner until you are sure it isn't working properly.
Posted via Mobile Device

zedzedR · September 3rd, 2012, 09:06 AM

I just started it up again and tried using my front brake while putting it under load, the sound was barely audible over the noise of my exhaust. I guess I should do an oil flush and check my screen to see of there is any debris built up on it. Hopefully the clutch basket is the root of the problem.

n4mwd · September 3rd, 2012, 04:09 PM

In most cases, a ticking sound on a pregen is the clutch basket. I have 4 of them here and they all have the same problem. There is a rubber bushing inside that rots as soon as the oil hits it.

Here is a video showing the free play on a clutch basket.

Here is another one showing the CCT. The CCT plunger only goes one way so once it goes down it stays down.

The newgen clutch basket has springs instead of a rubber bushing. Its a much better design. It looks like it might fit the pregen, but so far I haven't found anyone brave enough to attempt it. The clutch basket drives the oil pump so if that fails the engine blows.

September 3rd, 2012, 12:02 AM	#1
zedzedR ninjette.org member Name: Ibrahim Location: GTA, Ontario Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): '01 ZZR 250 Posts: 38	Ticking noise- cct tensioner? Valve clearance? Hello all, I was wondering if anybody has experienced ticking noises coming from their engine and what the reason behind the sound was if you have already fixed the issue. My bike started making a sewing machine ticking noise coming from the brake side of the motor. The sound is most audible around 5000rpm. It isn't that bothersome and once im up to speed I have to listen Cclose just to hear it, it's just new to me and I wonder if it is normal. The bike is an 01 ex250h and it has 11500km. Since the maintenance schedule calls for valves to be checked at 12000km I thought it would likely be the reason for the noise, I checked and adjusted valve clearances to as close as .005" and .006" on the intake and exhaust valves as I could. I double checked all of the work. The valves looked clean, not burnt at all. I also cleaned, oiled and reseated the cam chain tensioner, twice, the shaft and bearing looked clean as well. still, the sound has not gone away. Any thoughts on a cause?

September 3rd, 2012, 07:59 AM	#3
n4mwd ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: D Location: Palm Beach, FL Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250R, 2007 EFI Ninja 250R Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 1	The clutch basket is the usual culprit for stuff like this. Its the first thing to check anyway. At idle, put a load on the engine with the front brake on and see if the noise temporarily goes away. If it does, its the clutch basket. If so, its best just to ignore it. The cam chain tensioner has a ratcheting mechanism that usually works pretty good. Its actually pretty rare that it could be at fault. However, mine failed because one of the ratchet balls fell out and caused it not to work right. It sounds like you did the valves Ok, but there are a few gotchas you need to be aware of. First, if you overtorque any of the rockers, you will destroy the engine. After overtorquing, they usually run for a bit and then self destruct some miles away. If you heard a snap while you were torquing the nuts, then pull the valve cover off and inspect the dog ears on the rocker arms to make sure they are all still there. Second, make sure you used the right feeler gauge. Metric vs. English. Its easy to get them confused. Sounds like you had the right one through. See if any of that helps. __________________________________________________ My Ninja Blog Proud member of ABATE.My NYC Road Rage documentary - CENSORED!

September 3rd, 2012, 04:09 PM	#8
n4mwd ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: D Location: Palm Beach, FL Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250R, 2007 EFI Ninja 250R Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 1	In most cases, a ticking sound on a pregen is the clutch basket. I have 4 of them here and they all have the same problem. There is a rubber bushing inside that rots as soon as the oil hits it. Here is a video showing the free play on a clutch basket. Here is another one showing the CCT. The CCT plunger only goes one way so once it goes down it stays down. The newgen clutch basket has springs instead of a rubber bushing. Its a much better design. It looks like it might fit the pregen, but so far I haven't found anyone brave enough to attempt it. The clutch basket drives the oil pump so if that fails the engine blows. __________________________________________________ My Ninja Blog Proud member of ABATE.My NYC Road Rage documentary - CENSORED!

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September 3rd, 2012, 02:25 AM	#2
Monkeytofu I told you bro Name: Noor Location: Austin, Texas Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 1996 Ninja 250r Posts: 680	maybe one of your valves is loose? I know when I adjusted mine twice myself I always ended up with one loose. No idea if it's true but the mechanic working on my bike now says the bike has to be absolutely cold/room temp to properly adjust valves. Did you ride your bike into the garage/ or up your drive way before you did it?

September 3rd, 2012, 08:24 AM	#4
zedzedR ninjette.org member Name: Ibrahim Location: GTA, Ontario Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): '01 ZZR 250 Posts: 38	Hey Monkeytofu, thanks for the reply. When the bike started making the noise I immediately took it home and left it in my garage overnight before opening it up the next morning. It was cold by the time I got into the valve cover. I checked all of the bolts before reassembling to make sure they were all tight.

September 3rd, 2012, 08:39 AM	#5
zedzedR ninjette.org member Name: Ibrahim Location: GTA, Ontario Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): '01 ZZR 250 Posts: 38	Hello N4mwd, thanks for the reply, I've tried checking it under load and it still made the noise, just a little quieter. Is there a way to check the tensioner? It looked ok when I pulled it apart. I made sure that the lock bolts were tight but I didnt crank it to the point that anything snapped, I should have used a torque wrench but didn't have one available, although, the sound is still the exact same as it was before the valve job so I don't think I screwed anything up with the job. The valves were all tight when i opened it up, between 3 to 4 thou, except the two exhaust valves on cylinder two which were ok at .006" so I left them alone. Will it make any difference if I use a good synthetic oil? I've got 3000 km on my motorcycle Dino oil. I really don't feel like pulling it apart, again...

September 3rd, 2012, 08:51 AM	#6
n4mwd ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: D Location: Palm Beach, FL Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250R, 2007 EFI Ninja 250R Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 1	to test the cam chain tensioner you have to open the valve cover and poke the chain to see how loose it is. should be fairly tight. don't actually remove the tensioner until you are sure it isn't working properly. Posted via Mobile Device

September 3rd, 2012, 09:06 AM	#7
zedzedR ninjette.org member Name: Ibrahim Location: GTA, Ontario Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): '01 ZZR 250 Posts: 38	I just started it up again and tried using my front brake while putting it under load, the sound was barely audible over the noise of my exhaust. I guess I should do an oil flush and check my screen to see of there is any debris built up on it. Hopefully the clutch basket is the root of the problem.