Stupid Engine Noises

quote:
Don't know if it's the air injection, cam chain, or what... but the noises my bike (and the other kawis I've heard) make more noise than the rest. My only gripe - sorry.

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What kind of noise, what location is it coming from. At any certain rpm range?

Try and take it around the block with out your helmet on or with an open face helmet to hear it better. you don't want to ignore a problem (that may or may not exist)

There is very little sound coming from my bike apart
from the exhaust noise and the intake suction sound.

If you have any more noise than those two then you better
get it checked out.

Dan.


---
'01 ZX6R Blue

Thanks for the response!

The noise is rather difficult to describe. I was an auto tech way back when (well, not too far back, but far enough), and it isn't anyhting that sounds REALLY bad (rod knock, etc...) It's seems at first to be cam chain tensioner related, as it's kinda rattley, and it ceases once the clutch is let out (makes the same noise in neutral as well), almost as if some sort of slack was taken up. I was thinking valves for a while, but it's the same pre and post two valve adjustments. It's made the noise since new - I'm stumped. It's yet to explode and power is the same as ever, so... I dunno.


Ride safe

Ive heard many people from other bikes,(zook, honda, ect) all say kawi's make too much noise. never a problem with mine. its a kawisaki think i guess.

Besides, you want quiet or something that sounds like it has a pair?

98 6R. TBR slip-on. No poser add-ons.

That is weird that you say you bike makes that sound in neutral, i have never had my bike make a noise besides the engine and the muffler breathing. You should get that checked out before it turns into something much bigger.

quote:
That is weird that you say you bike makes that sound in neutral, i have never had my bike make a noise besides the engine and the muffler breathing. You should get that checked out before it turns into something much bigger.

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Yeah - it is strange. I've had it checked by two different dealers' techs, myself, and several riding buddies (who know their stuff) to know avail. I hope ripTOOL is correct - maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive when it comes to the bike's well-being.


Ride safe

you're hyper sensitve. Kawasakis do tend to make alittle more noise than other bikes I heard. They are built like tanks, tanks make alot of noise too but they are super solid!!!!



My Drinking Team Has a Racing Problem!

My '00 has had the same type of noises you describe. I find it to be kind of a nice growly, raspy sound at the lower RPM. Been there since I bought the bike w/ 700 miles, now at 4500 - no changes or degradations.

I have also noticed the exhaust weep hole tends to sound like a valve tick sometimes at low RPM, but this is diff. from what you describe.

I like a little noise - lets me know the thing is there. My favorite noise is the turbo-esque whine that kicks in around 7K RPM. Very cool.

Check for loose parts. I had a rattle that I couldn't figure out for the life of me. Was it something serious??? Turns out it wasn't anything serious at all. It was the C clip on the left passenger peg. It is loose enough that the engine vibration causes it to vibrate and just spin around and around and around... and around and around.

"I like a little noise - lets me know the thing is there. My favorite noise is the turbo-esque whine that kicks in around 7K RPM. Very cool."

I read about that cool sound before I bought my 95 ZX6R but I have never heard it on my bike. If its the RAM air effect thingy I wouldnt notice the loss in power becuase this is the only sportsbike I have ever ridden. It feels fast but I'm worried I'm missing out on the RAM air power and we cant have that. Does anyone who has ridden a 95-97 know if they have this sound? Also I have the Austrailian version and it says it is down 2hp over the American version in the hand book could this be responsible?

But on the topic I sumtimes hear those sort of noises when I lean off the bike but I think its just the chain.

This was a huge gripe but has since been fixed. I have a '98 that would rattle the shit out of my nerves until the engine warmed up. I brought it in to be looked at, and was told it is normal because of the design. The tensioner is supposed to be loose and then as the engine warms up, oil and pressure push the tensioner out. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF A DESIGN IS THIS?!? Well, apparently Kawasaki began to ask that same question and changed the design in either '00 or '01. So I went out and purchased a '01 model tensioner. Fits perfect... no more rattle! This is a post from Lonwez.

Originally posted by MikeO

This was a huge gripe but has since been fixed. I have a '98 that would rattle the shit out of my nerves until the engine warmed up. I brought it in to be looked at, and was told it is normal because of the design. The tensioner is supposed to be loose and then as the engine warms up, oil and pressure push the tensioner out. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF A DESIGN IS THIS?!? Well, apparently Kawasaki began to ask that same question and changed the design in either '00 or '01. So I went out and purchased a '01 model tensioner. Fits perfect... no more rattle! This is a post from Lonwez.

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Yeah, I was actaully debating whether I should repost this. I should have gone against my better judgement and reposted any way. The only difference is that the tensioner rattle should go away once the engine is up to normal operating temp. MrZed's comments have me believe that his is a constant rattle. How about it MrZed? Is your rattle constant, or does it go away once you've been ridding for about 10-15 min? Pull out your tensioner and check to see if it recoils by itself, or if there is a ratchet mechanism that prevents it from retracting. If it retracts all its own, get a newer tensioner. Does that make sense? In other words, if the tensioner has a cork screw design it is bad! If it pushes out and locks every mm pushed out like a ratchet, then it is good.

Mine has the same sound. I think it sounds kind of like the rattle that a diesel engine makes when it is idling.

my 2003 636 makes a lot of noise also. matter of fact the engine is louder than the exhaust at over 4000rpm. it rattles, ticks, and vibrates making for a rougher ride when i get it really moving. I rode a friend r1 and a r6 yesterday and both are 10 x's quiter and ride smoother. my 1st bike so, not really sure how it supposed to sound, but i'm taking it to the dealer monday, b/c something must be wrong. By the way the 636 runs circles around the r6. I was bored riding it

as I've said in many of my posts I'm new to riding but from my car knowledge I come up with some stuff, my friend's 2001 Eclipse GT has a rattle at idle, I think he said its the throwout bearing in the clutch, the dealer said Mitsubishi has no fix for it and it clears up when you give it a little gas, is your rattle only at idle or at any rpm?

well i'm back on a kawi ('03 zx6r) after a few years on ducs....wanna talk about noise. my 748 made all kindsa crazy sounds....but typically, as has been mentioned, kawis make a little more noise than other makes (at least japanese makes). and since we're on the topic...do all the fuel pumps on '03s make a lot of noise when you turn the key to the 'on' position?

-Sully636

Tensioner?

I also have an 98 and it rattled to Fall. When it get warm sometimes it goes away but the rattle has seemed to get worse and worse over time. If I sit at Neutral with the clutch out, it rattles, when I pull the clutch in it stops, when I release the clutch, it rattles again. Is this a tensioner issue? If so, how much does a 2001 tensioner run and how much to install?

Thanks.

Kawi's have always been known to make loud bikes. I think they're second only to the Italians in terms of mechanical noise and outright exhaust bellow. I don't think I'd sweat it.

I'm not too sure what year bike you have, but if it's a '95, there's a good reason. THey had to re-engineer the casing for the '96 models because of noisy engine complaints. I know that there were many complaints about the '98 models' cam chain slapping against an ill-designed cam-chain guide. There were also grumblings about the automatic cam-chain ten. on the same model.
If you think it may be cam-chain related, go see about it before your engine get's mucked up. If it is the cam-chain, yo'll already have little bits of metal in your oil supply, so be sure to change that out, too.