Rattling noise when starting

[J V McLure]

Every time I start my Valk, I hear a rattling noise when I take my finger off of the strat button when she fires up. The noise slows down quickly and then goes away. The noise seems to come from the starter. Any idea what the noise could be? Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

JV

[Red Diamond]

How old's you bike, how long has that starter been in use?

[J V McLure]

It's a 1999 with just under 20K miles on it. Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of marbles are in there as I let off the strat button. Then it quickly slows down, gets quiet and goes away. Noice might last a second or two.

[DFragn]

Any chance the noise could be coming from the alternator side of the engine? The alternator is driven by an internal chain that may be slapping the internal chain guard and dissipates as it warms or oil circulates.

I had a start up noise like yours and now it's constant. It's annoying but not really a problem. My winter plan was to pull the engine and split the case to replace the chain or just manipulate the guard. But, I got lazy. I'll probably just let it be.

It could also be a clutch damper plate rivet scenario that improves with oil circulation. If it is, you'll know sooner later. You'll feel clutch lever problems.

At cold start up where are your RPM's at. If they're low you'll have minimum oil circulation. If you don't use the enricher to start try using it at start up and see if the noise is different.

Just tossing out ideas.
It's probably nothing.
But if it is something it may be a while before you know for certain where it's coming from. It'll let ya know.