Rattle? What?

The bike has been purring along since I got it. This morning, on the way in to work, it all the sudden started a bad rattle. At idle, in neutral, there is no rattle. In gear, when rolling, it rattles. Bad. WTF?
I really don’t need this right now. I mean, COME ON!

27 thoughts on “Rattle? What?”

  1. Check the timing chain. I had one blow up in my old ZX10R when I was in Germany. It completely trashed the transmission…I could never get the bike to run right after it got fixed, and it was expensive. That’s exactly how it started with me and went almost 2 months before detonation.

  2. Man, I hate to hear this. I bought the first one that was available from my dealer back whenever that was (’84?) and it was my ONLY transport for a couple of years. Rode from west TN to east TX many a holiday until I hit wet leaves on a curve in Longview, TX about 0200 in the AM. Four days in the hospital getting my ass sewed back on and my grandfather handed me the keys to a Cutlass on the condition I never get on a bike again. I haven’t. This looks like a great resource page http://www.sunley.ca/moto.html and he links here for wrenching http://www.sabmag.org/. I have kept up with them some over the years because I loved my V65 so much and have heard of some oiling issues that req’d mods. Seems like these guys discuss this, too. Good luck, Ogre. Hope it’s a cheap fix, brother.

    1. Do you have any slack in the chain? You shouldn’t get more than 1/2″ movement up & down measured from the middle. If it’s tight then you need to look elsewhere.

  3. George, your a slacker lol. Glad to hear its just a chain, was actually going to ask about that. Hope your enjoying your new bike as much as I’m enjoying mine.

  4. Yup, it was indeed the chain. Went over to my B.I.L’s… he had a Shadow and the running gear was similar, so he knew how to tension the chain. 90% of the rattle went away. Still has a little. Not sure what it is.

    1. If it’s a dull or “hollow” sounding rattle then check the timing chain as it could be rubbing on the clutch cover.

  5. You may also want to check for chain wear and ditto on the rear sprocket. Especially if the chain had been loose for a while.

    1. It was only rattling for a little bit, about a mile’s worth.
      But tensioned, lubed… took care of almost everything. A missing bolt on the chain cover… replaced… done. No more rattle at all.

    1. I’m going to test that on another bike… a dirt bike. But I will be putting Slipstream in the Engine, then in the Transmission.

  6. Yeah, don’t add friction reducers to your oil. You have a wet clutch, and it requires a certain amount of friction to work properly. Don’t mess with it. Just use oil that meets the proper spec and change it on time.

      1. I’d forgotten all about that.

        If you look through the bikes owner’s manual there’s usually a warning about not using friction reducers for just that reason.

  7. When you can, check your chain for stretch and bad links. If you need to buy a new chain, I have a chain breaker/rivet tool. E-mail me, bring it over once you have the chain or if you need help with the inspection. I use DuPont Teflon Multiuse dry wax lube for mine. I lube often (~200 miles), but have had my chain last about 30% longer than those with similar bikes to mine. You can get the lube at Lowes and (i think) Cal ranch here in town.

  8. Couple of things I’ll pass along:
    With the chain properly tensioned, pick a place at the back of the sprocket and pull where two links join, if the junction can be lifted more than 1/2 the tooth depth DO replace the chain, soon as can. And look close at the sprocket teeth, if they’re starting to look pointy instead of having the proper-shaped ends, get sprockets too.

    Others beat me to it, but a bike with a wet clutch- which includes the Big 4 Jap brands- do not use anything like Slipstream in the oil, it can cause clutch slippage. Some stuff can damage the plates, I’m told. That’s why they say not to use any oil that’s marked ‘Energy Conserving’ the friction-reducing additives can mess with the clutch. Son, for instance, can use Mobil 1 in his Ducati: dry clutch(sounds like hell at idle, but works very well), but my VFR, no way.

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