2000 ninja 250 engine noise?

[thorlab]

2000 ninja 250r. 7440K. tapping noise from the left side of the motor. Sound like left side on motor? happens at 4000 rpms and higher. lower than 4000 rpms can not hear it. starts good and runs great at idle. I do not notice and power lose? happens in any gear or rev in neutral. does increase with rpms and follows rpms. I adjust valves and looked at cct and cam chain all look ok, changed oil, did not notice metal shavings. I hope this narrows this down. piston slap? Does not seem to follow other peoples problems.

[LoudFastUgly]

Doubtful of piston slap as it is almost always present at idle (stand next to a well tuned 88-00 civic or acura 1.6, the tapping you hear is piston slap, not valve train).

Use very long screwdriver as probe, place your ear on the end of the handle and use tip to isolate noise.

Could it be an exhaust leak at the head? Soapy water and hand spray bottle will tell the tail.

[thorlab]

I will have to look into that. If I stay under 4000 rpms I can not hear noise. It is very noticeable above 4000 rpms. I will try screw driver trick to isolate the sound. If not I will pick up mechanics stethoscope. They are a few bucks.

[aftermath4788]

hi, i have a 06 250 with 7500k on it. i have a similiar noise coming from my engine that isnt noticable at idle but when reved up to take off it gets very noticable, mine has done that since day one with only half a mile on it. i have checked over and over and over again and i cant find nothing and the local kawa dealer says that that is normal. maybe that will ease some worried for you but if you do find something please let me know because maybe i missed something too.

[wolfy46]

aaaahhhhhhh i think its a fact yamahas bad electrics
suzuki flaky paint
old hondas cam chain death rattle
kawasakis (most) just make horrible little racey metal noises, Had a friend with a brand new zxr9 an i couldent believe it when he first fired it up an there it WAS!!! i had a250ninja(called the gpx over here) an rode it to death.The water pump had faild so i hot wired the fan manualy, the rear shock was flat both forks had bled to death, would go through brake pads every 6 month coz fhey were shot AND THE DOWN PIPES HAD A COKACOLA CAN HOLDING IT TOGETHER!!!! IKID YOU NOT. bUT THE BLOODY THING JUST KEPT ON GOING big respect to mr kawasaki

[LoudFastUgly]

Good luck.

[thorlab]

Hard to tell but it sounds like tapping is comming from the right side. I tried the screw driver, a lot of ticking and tapping all over. I did check the CCT - greased her up and put here back in. I did take the valve cover off and looked check the tension on the cam chain and looks good. I can here a little sound "clink" after the tapping sound on the right side. does the spring go on the CCT. Can the cam chain guides be off or worn. bike has only 7440 on it. I know for a fact it is not a normal noise.

[LoudFastUgly]

Sounds like you're focusing on the top end, no noise below?
Are you hearing it now at idle using the screwdriver scope?
Is your bike shim under buckets for valve adjustment or other?

You could be hearing valve clatter, but it would seem to me that it would be more evident at idle than higher rpm.

I would really doubt that the guides are worn, but if you have the valve cover off inspect the top cam chain guide (usually in the cover itself), wear limit is generally .1mm.

I would go the next step and check valve lash.

[donkeytits1]

Yeah hey post is kinda old now, but something similar happens to me!
Unlike you guys, my bikes old. Its a '96 model with 88000k so its been around but no hint of exhaust smoke or burnt oil smell, great paint, oil changed regularly, bought it with 70000.
When the bike warms up fully and it revved above 7000rpm yeah a fairly loud ticking noise comes up and its frequency corellates with engine speed. sounds kinda like the normal ticking the valves make only louder and more hash. It is not a deeper more heavy clunk that i would usually assositate with the crank assembly.
Thought it may have been piston slap too but everyone says that happens more when the engine is cold rather than hot. Im confused. Done the vaves, twice now and the chain, tentioner and valves i cant fault. Compression is even too and from what i can tell very minimal valve leakage. Confused!!
If anyone can help that would be really cool, Cheers for those who already have, i'll try that stethiscope trick!
Almost given up at this point, figure if it goes ok for now it will just eventually give up and i'll replace the engine.

[thorlab]

I decided I was not going to put more effort into it. I got a used engine off of Ebay for around $300. You can find them for around $500 with shipping. Summer was up and I did not want the time to take it apart and I was not going to spend $80 bucks a hour at the stealer ship. Engine is a easy take out and drop in. I actually got a engine from a 2002 zzr 250 from canada with 4000 miles on it (not a long driving season in canada). The cam and lobes look like new, bike runs like a cham. I will crack into the old engine during winter when I have time and see what is up. If I can find the problem I can sell the engine or I can sell the parts or I can keep the parts just in case. If you need some help give me a shout.

[j813]

Thor
The new engine does not have the same noise?
I have a similar engine,though not a ninja, 4cylinder, older too
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