Loud tick

[rangernight]

I need help from this forum----my fat girl has a very loud tick from the left side-----Last week noticed a slight vibration in the pegs on my way back from the Broke Spoke in Kiln, MS.  So, put her up on the lift and tore her down, sure enough the bearing was ready to go.  Had new bearing however didn't have the seal-----so called around---no luck coudln't get one until Wed.  Well now---so this would be a very good time to do all the little things that always get pushed back!!!!!!!! I changed the timing belt (75,000), now here is where I have the problem-----I checked the valves and without wearing my glasses I set them to the mm spec and not the .006 and .009----got every thing back together and lit her up------Wow!!!! what a racket from the valve train, shut her down and went and got my glasses-----Now I feel really bad after reading the specs correctly
Finally got to work on her today after TS--Lee went thru and I could----reset the valves-----checked and double checked, lit her up and the left side has a tick-----steady tick----the right side is ok quite and smooth.  I checked header bolts, intakes, listened with a piece of tubing----let her cool down and rechecked the valves-----still ok-----So----Did I hurt my valve train with the smooth move of adjusting the valves to larger settings than required? 01-IS/75,000/ 4 degree wheel, KN filter, that's it----any help suggestions will be helpful----going crazy here---Thanks in advance!!!

[Momz]

Boy, that sounds like you may need to get another bike pronto!

I'd help you out be taking this "broken" bike off your hands and I'd even give you a couple of bucks toward your new motorcycle. 

[Farther]

Has your bike been de-smogged?  Maybe it's the pair valve that is ticking

[Ricky-D]

Check the exhaust for leaking.  Around the header pipes where they enter the head.

You can listen there also.

***

[Dirty Dave]

Did the same thing to my Honda 750 four way back in the day (1st time I tuned anything up).

No damage done. She purred and damn near pulled my arm off after I corrected my error.
Always have done my own own work from that day on.

[CajunRider]

I highly doubt you damaged anything doing that.  You're most likely hearing pair valves or exhaust leak or something of that nature. 

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

If you get the belts too tight they will make a little noise. Mine did but after a couple of thousand miles the noise went away. I doubt if too loose valves hurt anything. If they were way to tight I might see a problem.

[3W-lonerider]

i just fixed a tick in mine..it was an exhaust gasket. middle one on left side..as far as seeing anything around the hole. there were no visable signs of leakage. no blackend pipe or anything..but when i pulled the exhaust off you could deffinatly see where it had been coming out threw the gasket.

[rangernight]

Update---Just completed installing new header gaskets---who ever advised to wear gloves  sure knew what he was talking about!!) Started her up-----tick---tick---- Ok----next checked all spark
plugs again----make sure didn't have a loose one-------nope--everything tight---alright, now changed the intake O rings and lit her up after each one-----no change----tick-----tick----and it is loud, still only coming from the left hand side  Ok, now I'm ready for some more advise----this has really got me lost----could it be the pair valve? Just knot know enough about it, as always thanks for any advise----

[hillbilly]

are you sure cam did not rotate when you removed belt?  happened to me, bent all three intake valves on right side ! Bike started and ran just had loud tick on right side, I did not see cam rotate, but it did. Set timing correct but still had a tick, not as loud but noticible. checked compression  and ended up replacing all intake and exhaust valves on right side.

[YoungPUP]

Desmog will eliminate the pair valves, Check shop talk. Did you check to see if the left tensioner is dying? Maybe bearing noise?

[Ricky-D]

Seems to me that there is a lot of top tier work being performed without even determining the source of the "tick".

You can determine if the noise is coming from the pair valve by pinching off all the vacuum lines except the #6 cylinder vacuum line. This is the vacuum supply for the petcock.

Have you checked to see if the tick abates when the clutch is engaged?

***

[rangernight]

Thanks for all your reply's and advice, this weekend I will check compresion, switch the belt tensioners around and see if the tick goes to the other side and pinch off all vacum lines except for the #6 and see just what happens.  When I installed the new timing belts I was very cautious  and carefull, all timing marks were lined up and still are. Hope this will locate the sourse of the tick---Thanks again!!!!!!!

[Madmike]

.......................-----So----Did I hurt my valve train with the smooth move of adjusting the valves to larger settings than required? .............

Setting the valve lash too "large" should result in the valves opening late and closing early.  Maybe try isolating the cylinder by removing the spark from each hole on that side one at a time and see if there is a change in the noise.

[rangernight]

UPDATE: Ok, here's what happened to the fat girl, started early am, switched around the belt tentioner's, checked compresion----165psi across the board, clamped off the vacum lines, and still, still-----tick, tick . Next got a piece of hose and spent 1hr checking for sounds, burps, ticks, with no luck, even changed the oil sad face due the fact that Amsoil around here sells for 15.50 a quart//!!!!!!!!!!.  --ok, now what? Still think it's coming from the left valve train----I can't hear thru the valave cover with my hose, so I pull it off and started to shake the rocker arms, they seem ok----put a pan under the head and start the bike,  WOW!!!!! sounds like a jack hammer, run the valve check again, while hot----dicovered that   the intake calculated to .007 and the exhaust to .010. Checked all valves, #2 was off while hot, it had checked out ok when cold, re-set and it to above #'s, started the bike and it was soooooooo-quiet!!!!! To every one who responden-----THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! I have only had the fat girl in the shop twice in her entire life, I just had to keep trying everything you guys advised and wasn't going give up----just goes to show if you keep trying, and trying-----you just may save yourself serious $$$$$$$$$$ Thank you for this forum-----

[YoungPUP]

Just curious, and not trying to wiz in your cheerios, but won't setting valves while hot result in them being too tight when cold? Or did you wait for them to cool before reseting them?

[lucky_1_chris]

UPDATE: Ok, here's what happened to the fat girl, started early am, switched around the belt tentioner's, checked compresion----165psi across the board, clamped off the vacum lines, and still, still-----tick, tick . Next got a piece of hose and spent 1hr checking for sounds, burps, ticks, with no luck, even changed the oil sad face due the fact that Amsoil around here sells for 15.50 a quart//!!!!!!!!!!.  --ok, now what? Still think it's coming from the left valve train----I can't hear thru the valave cover with my hose, so I pull it off and started to shake the rocker arms, they seem ok----put a pan under the head and start the bike,  WOW!!!!! sounds like a jack hammer, run the valve check again, while hot----dicovered that   the intake calculated to .007 and the exhaust to .010. Checked all valves, #2 was off while hot, it had checked out ok when cold, re-set and it to above #'s, started the bike and it was soooooooo-quiet!!!!! To every one who responden-----THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! I have only had the fat girl in the shop twice in her entire life, I just had to keep trying everything you guys advised and wasn't going give up----just goes to show if you keep trying, and trying-----you just may save yourself serious $$$$$$$$$$ Thank you for this forum-----

If you adjusted them while hot, they'll be looser when cold and make more noise. If they were too loose while hot then it would seem that the initial setting was off... A little ticking is ok and normal. A little loose is ok. Too tight and dead quiet is something to worry about.

[rangernight]

I had checked the belt timing time and time again, no problems, as far as checking when hot, I checked both sides, all hot measurements where the same, just as noted, so when I adjusted the #2 cylinder to the other ones it took the TICK AWAY. Can't explain why the cold check failed to keep the ticking to a tolerable level, maybe due to my failure to set them the first time correctly? Just don't know, I do know that now it's running Perfect, and Yes I do know that there will be some valve noise-----Just not a hard tick!!!!

[Ricky-D]

How do you explain the ticking since it started happening before you did replace the head gaskets and start doing all the other stuff.

I mean, did it just start ticking on it own?

***

[rangernight]

I had set the valves wrong to start with, to much tolorance and the valves made serious noise, figured out my mistake and reset them, that's when the tick started. I am still puzzeled over the fact that they checked out ok when cold, I mean I must have checked them 4 or 5 times during the course of the great tick-tick hunt.