Rattling noise from engine

eman13261

XS650 Enthusiast
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So I have this rattle noise in the front of my engine. It increases as I rev the bike, it doesn't disappear when i'm up to speed its just that I can't hear it. Its very noticeable at idle. I searched the threads and from what I found the cam chain guide is worn. I took it a trusted shop (because I don't have the time myself) and asked them to check the cam chain tightness, the tensioner and the cam chain guide. They opened up the engine and said everything looks good and the master yamaha tech there told me he has never heard that noise before. Any ideas?

-I also checked my recent oil change for bits of aluminum/plastic from the cam chain guide and there were none

Heres a video of the noise
 
sounds more like bottom end to me but 7 seconds isn't much to go on lol and I'm usually wrong. try this vid to help find the where noise is coming from, make a simple stethoscope with a screwdriver, socket extension bar or piece of hose, listen to top of engine and bottom:
 
Just to be clear it's not a knocking i'm almost positive it has nothing to do with my pistons, I myself have never heard an engine make this noise before
 
Valve clearance?? Remove the rocker covers, and using a flashlight inspect the cam lobes/followers (rockers) for excessive wear rotating the engine to different spots to examine the circumference of the lobes. Also check the adjuster tips and valve stem tips for pitting and/or chipping of the stellite.
 
You actually found a shop that knows anything about these old bikes! That don't happen very often.
Leo
 
I have exactly the same sound from mine but not as loud.I have narrowed it down to the right exhaust valve area.
I have checked nd its in spec.The tip of the Valve stem is slightly pitted and I tried to file it lightly plus I installed
a new Yamaha screw tip bt still sounds the same.Rocker has no play either.I have heard lots of xs650,s with this noise and believe its pretty common but whats causing it God only knows! I have resorted to keeping my legs tighter on the tank and can't hear anything.
Bike sounds great now!! ps: if and when I open up the engine to do any work I'm installing NEW valves and then I will keep the tolerances
at 3 and 6 as the previous owners probably had them set to tight (Yamaha called for .020 on intakes) and wore them out prematurely.
 
XS650D, are you game for an experiment?

A messy experiment?

Remove the right valve cover, fire it up, and shoost some oil in there,
particularly aiming at:
The zone where the rocker rides the cam,
Then at the sides of the rocker, where it rides its shaft,
Then at the valve tip,
Anything else of interest.

See if the sound changes.

You'll need to use an oil squirter that can shoost like a water pistol, like this Goldenrod Pistol Oiler.
GoldenrodOiler.jpg
 
my guess is that it is the back of the clutch basket rubbing on the crankcase .

I have exactly the same noise on my engine and after an engine rebuild I noticed an extra shim left over. It was identical to the first small 1mm thick clutch shim that is put against the bearing before the basket is fitted .
I noticed the gouge marks in the crankcase and deduced that the previous owner had added an additional shim to space the clutch basket off the crankcase .

If you watch the first 30 seconds of my video you will see what I am talking about.
 
This is my rattle noise . it does sound very similar to yours don't you think
video deleted as unhelpful due to thumbs down received from somebody ..
?
 
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