| Author | Message | ||
     Ingemar |
Yesterday night about to ride home I noticed it immediately when I started my bike. tick-a-tick-a-tick-a-tick-a .... loud enough to be noticable a few yards away from the bike. About 3 per second, maybe a little slower, but more than 2. I'm pretty sure I can trace it to the front of the bottom end OR the lower part of the front cylinder, but definitely NOT in the head. Best heard from the left side. Pulling the clutch, putting it in gear etc doesn't change the sound. I checked the primary chain play and that's oke. Any ideas to what it could be or how to find out? I really hate stuff like this and I feel like •••• right now. Any help is apreciated. Thanx, Ingemar. | ||
| Johncr250 |
Probably just one of the lifter bled down and it ticked for a few seconds until it filled up with oil again. Thats my best guess | ||
| Ingemar |
That would be on the right side and also it doesn't stop. It's a continuous ticking that doesn't go away after a few seconds. Besides, it's a tad louder than that. Thanx, Ingemar. | ||
| Fdl3 |
Speaking of lifters, how hard is it to change them out? | ||
| Mikej |
Rocker covers, tubes, timing cover, done. Wait, you have an XB, add a couple of steps. edited by mikej on June 15, 2004 | ||
| Bud |
i have a feeling one off mine is tapping at heavy load when it's hot  for a second or two could be a ping from detonation ?? ( already using ron 98 fuel ) but i never have heard a detonation ping in my live, so i don't really have a clue how it would sound ?? are the zippers travel limiters a option # 498-339 or just fix the leaking tapped ( 29ooo km on the bike ) or better replace them all, and put the limiters in gr,b | ||
| Ingemar |
It gets significantly softer when the engine gets hot (actually it sounds normal then). So maybe I panicked a bit too early, but I don't understand why it's suddenly there. Doesn't anybody else have it or recognize it? | ||
| 420at145mph |
that ANNOYING AS HELL harley ticking? had it since day one | ||
| Kenb |
ah the ambiance of an air cooled engine. you ever hear an air cooled duc run ? or an aircooled 4 cylinder ? my old zr750 sounded like bolts in a can when it was cold, come to think of it it didn't get much better when warmed up. Knocks are sounds you worry about(means big parts) ticks are normal. | ||
| Bud |
ingemar, out off the wild guess ?? little bit off metal in the drummer ?? rattling in the exhaust gas the airbox tittie mounting screw's still fixed? it's at idle and riding ?, freq. change when you ref the engine ? a real empty tappets sounds really loud (and i'm very sure you would not ride it so loud ) your running redline oil, that's making the engine running louder than normal oil just a few guesses gr,b | ||
| Ingemar |
Thanx guys, I've owned several harleys and I know how they are supposed to sound. I also know how a duc sounds and that's not very healthy. This sound came suddenly, it's DEFINITELY not something I haven't noticed before. It's a NEW sound. I called it tick-a-tick-a but I guess it's better described as deck-a-deck-a-deck-a ... It's a very regular solid metal-like sound. It dissapears when the engine is hot. It takes a few minutes riding before it's gone. The lifters are on the right side of the engine, the sound is clearly stronger on the left side (used a screwdriver metal bit against the engine, plastic handle to the ear) somewhere at the front of the bottom end and the lower part of the front cylinder. It's at idle and riding, and it goes faster as the revs go up, but disappears higher up the revs into other sounds like the exhaust. bud: the screws in the airbox are permanently fixed. Nowhere on earth will they come loose. Thanx again, Ingemar. edited by Ingemar on June 15, 2004 edited by Ingemar on June 15, 2004 | ||
| Henrik |
Bud; "ticking" while hot and under load may be detonation. If you hear it, back off the throttle. If it disappears, it's likely detonation. Wide open throttle at low RPM, loaded plus heat all contribute to detonation/pinging. Henrik | ||
| Jasonxb12s |
Bud,, I get the same symptoms you do at high temps and heavy load...(a few tappy taps) | ||
| Usapitbullz |
Ingemar, Are you sure you weren't returning from one of Hollands famous coffee shops???  It seems that there once was a time when I visited Holland, I left a certain coffee shop, and started to hear lots of things that weren't normal.  L8R, JM | ||
| Bud |
the tech i spook with ( the same one who build the engine ), thought a lifter that leak's hot and under load ? and then has a little to much valve clearance and tick's it's around 4ooo rpm at WOT and sound real metallic ( with earplug in ) as a ticking sound and clear's as i back off the throttle a bit, ill better give my ing. timing a tough off a mm more advance, and see if it clears to rule out pinging thanx, bud | ||
| Henrik |
I'm on shaky ground here, but wouldn't more advance increase the risk of detonation ?? Henrik | ||
| Glitch |
I'm on shaky ground here Indeed, advanced timing would make it more worser. A slight retard in timing would make it more better. That is if that is the problem. | ||
| Lovematt |
Actually Holland is a small portion of what everyone thinks of as Holland. It is along the coast. From my travels there, I have found people refer to their country as The Netherlands with Holland being a "county" if you will. | ||
| Usapitbullz |
I love it, we even have a geography expert visiting! L8R, JM edited by usapitbullz on June 15, 2004 | ||
| Bud |
I'm on shaky ground here, but wouldn't more advance increase the risk of detonation ?? sorry my mistake  i don't know what i was thinking i always thought that when it ping's ( pre-combustion ) that your spark is to late for the circumstances, so I thought a very tiny bit more advance ! but I thinking the wrong way around again ,I think as I said never heard a ping or had any thing to do with it. thanx for correcting me gr,b | ||
| Dcmortalcoil |
Are we talking about the constant high pitch buzz? This doesn't go away even with my ear plugs. What's more, when slowing down to about 1500rpm, the buzz amplifies like crazy - by head reverbrates and so do my eyeballs for a second or so. There you go. | ||
| Ingemar |
Now you can hear what I mean .... http://www.buelltiful.com/downloads/ticking.mp3 | ||
| Fdl3 |
Good sound clip! Wow, that sounds just like my bike. | ||
| 984_cc |
A lifter with a small piece of debris in it will cause ticking noises. Sometimes it will go away after a long time. Sometimes not. | ||
| 420at145mph |
yep thats the ANNOYING AS HELL harley ticking i was referring to | ||
| Dcmortalcoil |
sounds just like my bike, and add a high pitch buzz on top of that. | ||
| Fdl3 |
If one or more lifters were sticking, wouldn't there be a noticeable (if slight) performance loss? | ||
| 984_cc |
Yes. It would be hard to tell though, depending on how severe it is. | ||
| 984_cc |
Another thing too- An exhaust leak where the header meets the cylinder will cause 'ticking' noises that sound alot like a lifter tick. It will also get quieter as the exhaust system heats up and expands. Check your header bolts, if they're tight, maybe the gasket is leaking. It doesn't have to be a very big leak to cause this. It could be undetectable to the naked eye. | ||
| Ingemar |
984_cc: thanx but it's not an exhaust leak. Positive. The sound is NOT a regular harley noise, like I've said before I've owned several harleys and this sound is NOT normal. My guess has gone out to the lifters (even though the sound seems stronger on the left side of the bike). I just leaned the bike over to the right while it was idling and the sound COMPLETELY dissapears. Bringing it back up returns the ticking sound. Man, I just wish I had a better clue of what's wrong ...  |
