"Not going in for service, tick DIDN'T drive me nuts!!!"

[Jamie C.]

OK, I'm imagining blocking the valve with a piece of sheet metal. We don't use machining equipment, so I can't make a machined piece of metal the thickness of the valve, but I can easily make a piece of sheet metal that would lay under or over the valve to effectively block it.

I'm thinking of cons, or things to be aware of...

It couldn't lay UNDER the valve, or the reed would flap against it... would it be effective if the plug was on TOP?

Should the plug be the size of the valve, so that it picks up the gasket, or undersized to fit INSIDE the gasket?

I remember it being fairly thick... not a quarter inch, but close... I wonder if I couldn't find something that thick. Then, I'd want the existing gasket to fit on it, wouldn't I?

So many exciting new possibilities!!!

I'm thinking either A) remove the reed from the valve body, and replace it with a similar thickness of sheet metal that's the same size as the entire valve assembly. ( Removing the reed might give you the clearance for this, depending on how the thing's constructed. )

Or B) make a stack of sheet metal - like a deck of cards - the same size and thickness of the valve assembly. Either spot weld the whole stack together, drill a hole through the middle and use a nut and bolt, pop rivet, or otherwise fix the entire affair together so it doesn't blow loose.

Then again, if the stack would be trapped in that space between the bottom of the valve cover and the head, then fixing it together might be unnecessary. *shrug*

No real way of telling 'til one of us pulls sh!t apart and looks.

[Jamie C.]

See how subjective that is?! To me, he just looks dopey... happy, and dopey!!!

Nah... That's definitely a smug "So there!" smile. Seen it many times from various people. Mostly ex-wives.

[jeffs99vulcan]

No real way of telling 'til one of us pulls sh!t apart and looks.

Well, you couldn't be more right with this line... and I'm not doing it until the first salt truck makes it's appearance!!! No way I want the covers off if the sun peeks out one day!

That piece of metal would have to be pretty tight in tolerance I'd have to say, or it could rattle around and make a ticking of it's own! I might have a better idea how to make it when i see it again...

[jeffs99vulcan]

Nah... That's definitely a smug "So there!" smile. Seen it many times from various people. Mostly ex-wives.

Looks to me like he JUST finished saying "Hullo?" and he's waiting for a "Heeeey..." in return!

[Jamie C.]

Well, you couldn't be more right with this line... and I'm not doing it until the first salt truck makes it's appearance!!! No way I want the covers off if the sun peeks out one day!

That piece of metal would have to be pretty tight in tolerance I'd have to say, or it could rattle around and make a ticking of it's own! I might have a better idea how to make it when i see it again...

I'm kind'a wondering if a "sandwich" made from 2 pieces of sheet metal, with hi-temp liquid gasket in between 'em, wouldn't be the best route.

If you made the thing thick enough, it would compress a bit and conform to the space it occupies without holding the valve cover up and causing a leak.

It'd also eliminate the need for tight tolerances, since it would have some "give" to it.

The good part of this is, if it's the reed valves that are the problem, it's very unlikely that anything is gonna explode or otherwise have a catastrophic failure from running the bike. It's just gonna make an aggravating noise that makes you wanna tear your hair out... which you can't do if you'll just keep both hands on the grips.

[jeffs99vulcan]

Jeff,

My plan on recording the sound was to wire-tie my recorder under the tank or as close to the suspected spot as possible (might use expendible microphone and attach on the engine) Start the bike and click record.

I have 20min of record time on the MP4, so I figure I would take a ride. If I notice the noise, I would yell out in hope that my voice gets picked up also.

Download a good mixer program on the computer and try to clean any background up on the recording then post.

If there are any expert "sound" people out there that want to help, I will gladly send the original once it gets recorded.

I am sure everyone wants to hear what we hear. Or think we hear.

My plan... I have a Palm Treo, with a downloaded program from Palm Gear called mVoice... it's a recording program. I'm not limited to any length of recording other than the size of the SD card I put in it... so I COULD start the recording before I leave the driveway, and just use editing software (I use Wavepad) to crop the recording to the ticking, if I pick it up.

The problems I foresee: Too much wind noise, and placement. I can't imagine where I could tie it without damaging it, and can't use a remote mic. If I keep it in my pocket, I'd have to get it out during decel... remote road would be a good idea!

And even with these recent suggestions from Jamie, I'd still like to get the sound on tape, either to help others, or in case this doesn't work. And somehow, I think rusty & Tony (airforce1), among others, are dying of curiosity!

[jeffs99vulcan]

I'm kind'a wondering if a "sandwich" made from 2 pieces of sheet metal, with hi-temp liquid gasket in between 'em, wouldn't be the best route.

If you made the thing thick enough, it would compress a bit and conform to the space it occupies without holding the valve cover up and causing a leak.

It'd also eliminate the need for tight tolerances, since it would have some "give" to it.

I can do that... we have cold and hot spot-welding machines, we have an endless supply of high-heat caulk... If snow hits before I get to it, I could spend all winter making something just perfect!

[jeffs99vulcan]

The good part of this is, if it's the reed valves that are the problem, it's very unlikely that anything is gonna explode or otherwise have a catastrophic failure from running the bike. It's just gonna make an aggravating noise that makes you wanna tear your hair out... which you can't do if you'll just keep both hands on the grips.

The good part is, if it's the reed valves, I'll be able to excuse this one little incident and reinstate my bike's "bulletproof" status!!!

Aggravating noise??? Have I not made it clear that's what I have now??? Helmet laws = safe hair...

Seriously though, if it DID make a noise of it's own, it would likely be substantially different from the one I hear now, and that would be a dead giveaway that we've hit the right thing... especially if I couldn't' hear the ticking in the background any more!

[Jamie C.]

Aggravating noise??? Have I not made it clear that's what I have now???

That's what I mean; what you have right now is as bad as it's apt to get. It might possibly get a little louder, if the reed burns up or warps further, but it's still not gonna be anything more than just noise.

Well, I suppose it could blow your vacuum cap(s?) off too... But that'd only serve to show the reed valves are the problem.

[jeffs99vulcan]

Can't wait to get into it now...

Packing up for the day... if you get any other visions, I'll probably be checking tonight after Criminal Minds!!!

[Jamie C.]

Can't wait to get into it now...

Packing up for the day... if you get any other visions, I'll probably be checking tonight after Criminal Minds!!!

Sorry, I only get the visions at 2:00am, when I'm bored and can't sleep.

[Jamie C.]

Jeff, I think I may have come up with a simple, easy way to check your reed valves, without having to take much of anything apart, and without spending a lot of money on equipment.

The first thing your gonna need... and don't laugh here... is a turkey baster. Or at least the big rubber squeeze bulb off the end of one.

No, I'm not kidding. Bear with me.

Remove the cap or hose from the tube on the back of the front valve cover.
Fit the bulb over it. It needs to fit air-tight, so adjust it however you need to, to get it to fit. ( You may need to take the tank off to do this, but then again, there may be room without removing it. )

Now... squeeze the bulb rather sharply. Honk it like a clown's nose, while listening for any sounds at the front of the valve cover.

Now release the bulb and see what it does.

Did it stay squished, or expand back to it's usual shape? If it stayed flat, the reed valves are sealing up tight. If it re-inflated, then something's leaking. The faster it snaps back, the larger the leak.

If it expands back to it's normal shape, try squeezing it and letting go several times as quick as you can, while listening for odd sounds.

In the end, this may sound like a silly procedure, but it should give you a good idea of the state of the reed valves, and what they're doing. it should also let you hear if they're making any noise at all, since there won't be any engine noise to drown them out.


Just don't make the mistake of stealing the wife's baster from the kitchen.

[jeffs99vulcan]

That's cool... and easy. But you lost me when you said I can't use my wife's baster from the kitchen! Dammit! WHY NOT??? Just remember to say NO when I invite you over for turkey dinner, if this works!!

[Jamie C.]

That's cool... and easy. But you lost me when you said I can't use my wife's baster from the kitchen! Dammit! WHY NOT??? Just remember to say NO when I invite you over for turkey dinner, if this works!!

Why? Because it'll be tough to ride after she breaks your thumbs.

[Joram]

OMG... There is way to many potential missunderstandings to the term "use a turkey baster"

[Jamie C.]

OMG... There is way to many potential missunderstandings to the term "use a turkey baster"

Yeah, but I'm not suggesting using a whole turkey baster, just part of it.

[Mercury]

hi there...

i did not read this whole mess of a thread however... when my baffle inside my exhaust pipe broke it sounded like metal on metal.. it was horrible...

i suggest before you go insaine... just remove the pipes... you should have open pipes then - DO NOT have open heads... thats crazy and flames will hit you in the leg... im talking about after the downpipes... the exhaust should come off from that spot - i think? I dont know... it will be loud hot and annoying but if you can still hear this tick then i am out of opinions...

good luck

kenny

[rustygunner]

He already sawpped out the pipes... but that was a few pages back =)

[jeffs99vulcan]

He already swapped out the pipes... but that was a few pages back =)

Thanks rusty...

Yup, I was going to re-torque the nuts, but then thought what the hell, I have the stock pipes sitting right here, so I put them back on. I think I learned that my front pipe might be cracked at the head because I had that loud knocking thatn happens when it does, but the ticking did not change. Put the Cruzers back on, same thing...

Thanks for taking a shot though!

And MAN O MAN was I SHOCKED remembering how quiet the stock pipes are!!!

[Mercury]

Thanks rusty...

Yup, I was going to re-torque the nuts, but then thought what the hell, I have the stock pipes sitting right here, so I put them back on. I think I learned that my front pipe might be cracked at the head because I had that loud knocking thatn happens when it does, but the ticking did not change. Put the Cruzers back on, same thing...

Thanks for taking a shot though!

And MAN O MAN was I SHOCKED remembering how quiet the stock pipes are!!!

sorry i cant read 11 pages of stuff - too much data to process


how about an audio clip?

kenny