Noisey Engine?

FZ1WR/Dave

FZ1WR/Dave

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Hi chaps,
Ive got a 2009 FZ1N and it seems to be a bit 'tappety' there seems to be a fair bit of mechanical noise from the top of the engine.

Now im a mechanic by trade, however i work on Heavy Goods vehicles, but this just doesn't sound right for an engine with only 2800Miles on the clock and its had its first service. Ive only had it for a few months. I thought the oil looked very black, so i changed it to a good spec oil (JASO MA2 standard). It is still the same? It sounds ok on start up and seems to be worse when its warm. also when the fan kicks in the noise seems to go a bit, but i think this is just the fan displacing the air and noise with it. Any advice would be great as we dont have a local Yam dealer to take it to.
:UK flag:
 
You might be hearing the trademark tick of the Yamaha engine. All of their inline 4 engines have a ticking noise in the top end. So long as she runs outright fine and it isn't a mechanical knock, you're likely safe. I used to be a Honda guy and coming to Yamaha, I've learned to live with these quirks that don't seem to be normal outside of owning a Yamaha. :tup:

Can you post up a short video clip of it on a cold start and then end the clip with it running at temperature so we can hear it?
 
Cheers for the reply, i'll try and get some footage, but dont know if my tech will pic up the difference. But i will try me best. Cheers again.

:UK flag:
 
Ive been trying to get some footage of the engine so you guys can hear it. However the footage i take just sound like a tractor, you cant hear the specific sound, just lots of engine noise. Ah well, i'll just have to take it to someone who knows better. Cheers anyway guys.

:UK flag:
 
I never thought my FZ1 was "noisy", so when I read this thread I went out to the garage and started mine up and let it warm just to listen for the level of noise it was throwing out. Not bad at all in my opinion. Several of my inline 4, air-cooled Kawasai's and my Triumph air-cooled 865cc twin made a lot more noise than the Yamaha. Usually open intakes can emit a lot of valve clatter that a well closed one won't and any faring will reflect sound that otherwise just goes out like waves in an ocean. A lot of times, if a rider makes changes to the bike like modifying the bodywork, it will make quite change in the noise level. Sometimes just a windshield change will do the same thing. I'd say if you really think the engine is making more noise than it should the first thing to check would be the cam chain. It's easy to make sure it's not flopping around and may save an expensive engine repair. Excessive valve clearance, although much better than a tight valve situation, can also make some extra noise. Then, of course, ther are about a million other things flying around inside a DOHC 5 valve engine, and all add just a bit more noise.
 
i have had my 08 FZ1 from new it came with 128 demo miles so as good as new... bike has now done 4700 miles .. 2 bike trips in spain & france ...
my motor has always been abit noisy tick.. tick... tap tap yamaha sound
i think fz1 motor are noisy FACT... my motor today is making the same noise as when it had 128 miles oclock IT HAS NOT GONE BANG YET.. ride it rev it & injoy it
 
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Well i took my bike to Phillip McCallen Motorcycles (yes the Isle of Man TT and NW 200 Road Racing legend has a dealership here in N Ireland) he's a top lad and had a listen to it himself, he thought it was normal........ BUMMER... But he did say he would like his top mechanic to have a listen to it just to be on the safe side.

The top mech came out and had a listen....... he disagreed with Phil, he said it wasnt right! RESULT!! Im not totally parinoid.

He did a few tests and couldnt quite work out what it was until the fan kicked in. At this point the noise almost totally dissapeared. He turned the bike off and told Phil straight away that there was a problem with the generator or generator drive.

When the fan kicked in it put a drain on the battery, which in turn put a load on the generator which reduced the noise indicating the bearings/gears may be worn. So the bike will be back with them in a week or so for the generator to be inspected and rectified.

By the way if anyone doesnt know the generator is located on the left side directly infront of the gear change lever input to the gearbox. Once the Mech had mentioned it, the more i listened to it the easier it was to recognise the sound was deffo comming from this area.

So if you guys have a noisey engine ( i know theyre all a bit noisey) let it heat up and listen when the fan kicks in to see if it goes quiet. Hope this helps someone somewhere! :)

Not the most clear and concise post but i'll keep you posted on the outcome.
 
most of my engine noise does seems to be coming from generator or generator drive....i had thought about this a couple months backs back...but not took any notice off it recently.... if you look on this forum a couple months back
someone had a problem with the generator or generator drive ..bearings failing i do not no what caused this...:cheers:
 
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