Valve rattle upon cold start up.

[zrxmax]

Are these engines known for a little bit of valve clatter upon start up when the motor is cold

 

[Freddy]

No. It's the cam chain due to the hyd adjuster waiting to for a squirt of oil pressure to shut things up.

 

[Daytona_Mike]

Are these engines known for a little bit of valve clatter upon start up when the motor is cold

Yup.. most all C14's do it to some extent.. some more extreme than others....unless.. you install an APE manually adjustable cam chain tensioner..and you will never hear it again

 

[Tim R]

No. It's the cam chain due to the hyd adjuster waiting to for a squirt of oil pressure to shut things up.

This

 

[zrxmax]

Thank you guys for clearing that up! I was thinking its time I learn how to shim the valves on this one. Compared to my 52,000 mile Busa its a rattler that had me wondering what I should do next.

 

[dirtwiz]

Do you park it on the center stand or the side stand? Most bikes rattle less if its been on the center stand....I know mine does.

 

[TireguyfromMA]

The valves on my 2010 chattered for a few seconds after a recent oil change, it had never made that noise before. Shut the bike off let the oil settle for a few minutes and noticed it was low about 1/2 - 2/3 of a quart. Filled it up to the top line on the sight glass with the bike on the center stand, turned it back on , noise all gone.

 

[zrxmax]

Do you park it on the center stand or the side stand? Most bikes rattle less if its been on the center stand....I know mine does.

Its usually on the side stand. I will go with the center stand for a few days and hear if it makes any difference.

The rattle my 2010 model did lessen a bit after the last oil change.

 

[dirtwiz]

Its usually on the side stand. I will go with the center stand for a few days and hear if it makes any difference.

The rattle my 2010 model did lessen a bit after the last oil change.

If it continues or gets worse I would consider a manual cam chain tensioner if I was you. I ran MCCT's on my last two Supermoto bikes and they worked great. Set them and forget them unless you hear them again and you simply tighten them ever so slightly. No more rattle, tensioner failures, or timing chain wear or stretch.

 

[arjay2]

Is a worn tensioner something that would be replaced under warranty?

 

[2andblue]

I would expect so - however - if rattle is only at start up it is considered normal from the dealerships (or at the least that is what I was told and have read here). If the rattle is constant then there is a different problem than normal startup / oil pressure.

 

[Keith S]

I have a 2018 with 15,400 miles on the clock. I'm squeezing out the last of the season before I tear things apart for the first valve adjustment. In any case, I started getting the startup adjuster rattle about 800 miles ago. It was actually getting pretty loud. I figured I'd take a closer look when have the patient on the table for the valve adjust.

However, I did a fresh oil change last night (Castrol Power 1) - got the rattle on the first start after the oil change, but no noise restarting when warm. Today, I went out and did a cold start - completely smooth and quiet startup. Not a hint of adjuster rattle. I don't suspect it will last, but it's interesting to me that a fresh oil change made such a difference on this, especially since the previous change was only 3,200 miles ago with the same oil.

 

[angelo]

Yup. When mine has been sitting, I wait until I get on the bike and straighten it up to start it. Embarrassing to rattle in front of strangers. ;-)

 

[Road Runner]

I've had mine for > 5 yrs and 76K miles. No rattle on mine at startup/warm-up. Guess mine is one of those exceptions.

 

[zrxmax]

I ordered the manual chain adjuster and will install it and report back asap. Made in USA... $50 on E bay