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Old October 12th, 2020, 07:51 PM   #1
birdhead birdhead
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intermittently noisy cam chain sorrows

hello folks. my allegedly low mileage (under 10k miles on the odometer) ninja 250 has opted to have a super loud valvetrain. i was like "ok, i ride at high rpm a lot and adjusted the valves a couple thousand miles ago" and adjusted valves to be in spec. bike was still noisy. removed, cleaned, and reinstalled cam chain tensioner - which was filthy and pitted and stuck. bike ran quietly and then noise returned. installed a new cam chain tensioner. the bike now runs quietly after it starts, then i get intermittently noisy chattering/ticking from the right side of the engine, not as bad as it was, but still not what i like to hear.

i removed the valve cover and cam chain guard, and noticed wear marks on the cam chain guard that covers the top of the chain, just under the valve cover.

please confirm my sanity regarding next steps.

- measure cam chain to make sure it's still in spec. from posts on here seems like ninja 250 cam chains like to get inconsistently stretchy so measuring several points on the chain is the hotness

- if cam chain is in spec, check the cam chain guards that sit vertically inside the tunnel. replace if chewed up / gnarly

- manual cam chain tensioner ???

- if cam chain is out of spec, split the cases, engine rebuild winter™

thanks in advance, this year has been a cornucopia of personal tragedies so i'm dumber than usual
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Old October 19th, 2020, 10:14 AM   #2
birdhead birdhead
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Camshaft caps and camshafts out, measured cam chain in 3 places, it's fine, guides are fine. what the hell
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Old October 19th, 2020, 01:01 PM   #3
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Could also be clutch going out. There's rubber damper that degrades over time.
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Old October 19th, 2020, 01:32 PM   #4
birdhead birdhead
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I'll slip the clutch when it's buttoned up and see if the noise stops. It's more of a loud ticking noise than a knock. I'm a little vexed because I know these engines are loud as hell, but I don't know which loud as hell noises warrant further investigation. O WELL
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Old October 20th, 2020, 05:24 AM   #5
ssrsupermoto
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DannoXYZ View Post
Could also be clutch going out. There's rubber damper that degrades over time.
Use a 2008-2012 clutch, that's what I did. I got a complete 2008 clutch with less then 2k miles off Ebay for $210 shipped. So much quieter. If you go this route I suggest buying some EBC clutch springs as well.
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Old October 20th, 2020, 07:26 AM   #6
SibSerge
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Quote:
Originally Posted by birdhead birdhead View Post
I'll slip the clutch when it's buttoned up and see if the noise stops. It's more of a loud ticking noise than a knock. I'm a little vexed because I know these engines are loud as hell, but I don't know which loud as hell noises warrant further investigation. O WELL
I was also worrying about some of these noises but it looks like they are just there Use a screwdriver to pinpoint the source of the noise. Kind of put your ear to the handle and put the tip to different places on the engine.
I did the same and identified my ticking stuff coming from the valves , I did pull the cover last weekend to confirm my valves are all all in spec. And they were.

When setting the gap you are setting it on the lose end so that should tick more by definition when they are in spec rather than when they are out of spec on the tight side. As I understand you should start worrying when they do not tick at all - it means the valves walked their way into the head and closed the gap which means no ticking at all. Take it as my personal understanding which might be way off.

Also what I noticed the engine will sound weird and "tick" when your carbs are out of sync. That creates extra harmonics that sound "strange". Did you synchronize your carbs recently? I played with the synchronization and there is a sweet spot where the gauges show they are in sync and it sounds nice.
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Old October 30th, 2020, 08:06 AM   #7
ssrsupermoto
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I had the same issue. I know the valves to be in spec, and it was still noisy as hell and has been since 5k miles when I got it and has 17,300 on it now in just 8 months. I bought a parts bike that had a spun rod bearing, so I took the tensinor off that motor and cleaned and lubed it with Fel-pro assembly lube. Bike is dead quiet now, lets hope it stays that way.

I also seen that the tensinor arm for the timing chain tensinor can bottom out on the engine case and only a slight grinding with a dremel can get a bit more throw out of the tensinor and should stay quieter longer. Here is a pic I found where it needs ground.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Tensioner12.jpg (280.7 KB, 0 views)
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Old January 19th, 2021, 02:03 PM   #8
birdhead birdhead
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Update: Installed manual cam chain tensioner, everything is cool & fine.

Now time to take some SPORT TOURING pictures during this spate of unusually nice winter weather
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Old January 20th, 2021, 04:26 PM   #9
59096
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Originally Posted by birdhead birdhead View Post
Update: Installed manual cam chain tensioner, everything is cool & fine.

Now time to take some SPORT TOURING pictures during this spate of unusually nice winter weather

Manual tensioner has given you a bit more adjustment because it doesn’t rely on spring tension which reduces in the auto tensioner as it extends. If the noise comes back and can’t be adjusted out with the manual tensioner you can do as suggested above by using a dremel to carve off a bit of the tensioner transfer block - the procedure is documented somewhere on this site plus on YouTube. There is another 20k left in that chain. They stretch but do t seem to break so much!
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