05 in for "tick" diagnostics

[worldbound4now]

You guys got me paranoid about my 05..... 12,000 miles and counting. No tick so far.

 

[Lewis]

Nervous, nervous......I listen for the tick every time I ride......05.... 11,900 miles.....still very quite and running strong.....

 

[Warchild]

Nervous, nervous......I listen for the tick every time I ride......05.... 11,900 miles.....still very quite and running strong.....

Sure are seeing quite the rash of '05 tickers starting to come out of the woodwork now , aren't we, folks?

Which shouldn't be overly surprising, since many '05's are about at the mileage point where they are going to display the symptoms, if it is a Ticker.

So let me throw out another happy note: a gent over on the FJROwners forum contacted me early last week to see if I would meet up with him to listen to his '05 (the guy lives over in the Seattle metro area). I told him I would meet him at Sunnyside at 5pm today , since I was going out there anyway to pick up 4 qts of Silkolene.

The guy's name is Gerald, a real nice guy, but I'm sad to report his fears are definitely confirmed: his '05, at 14,000 miles, is one Ticking *******, absolutely no question about it. He asked me if it was going to leave him stranded on the side of the road, as he has a big motorcycle trip to Alaska the first week of June.

I told him no, he would be fine for the trip, but it's something he needs to take care of fairly soon before oil starts pushing out his right tailpipe. I believe he did say that he's noticed a pinch of power loss already. Classic symptoms, sure, but the massive ticking sound he has leaves no doubt.

Fortunately for him, Sunnyside is far and away the NUMBER 1 Yamaha dealership in the nation in repaired FJR Tickers. They have done over a dozen just in the last few months. Gerald right then and there had them schedule his Ticker repair in mid-June. He's still under the original warranty, but it wouldn't matter if he was or wasn't; Sunnyside said they would hook him up..

Tell ya what, Yamaha.... you better ******* hope this new valve stem seal is The Fix this community has been waiting a long time for...... :angry2: :angry2: :angry2: :angry2: :angry2:

BTW.... I turned Gerald on to FJRForum.com, so he's likely to sub up here shortly.... B)

 

[Ric in Sac]

Well, my bike has evolved from diagnostics to repair. The engine is in pieces and the head is at the local machine shop. I will have a better description of the "issues" in a week or so. It looks like my FJR is out of action for 3 weeks (delayed because the machine shop is backed up with work).

Zak at Roseville Yamaha has experience performing 3 prior "ticker" repairs. It just took time and a lot of diagnostic work to satisfy mother Yamaha that it was an engine issue and not something else on an 05. I am going to owe Zak a case or two of beer when this is over.

 

[apratt]

there is a valve guide clearance tool my dealer ordered to verify it actually was the guide. This was after they measured all the valve clearances and they were within specs.

Are you saying there's a tool that lets you measure valve guide clearance without taking the whole head off? I'd love to hear about that.

If they did take the head off, they can "measure" the valve guide wear just by wiggling the valves - it's pretty obvious that they move more than they should. But to get to the point where you've taken the head off, you should be pretty sure the problem involves valve guide wear: it's too expensive to do on a hunch. That is the Catch-22 when it comes to diagnosing "the tick."

 

[skyway]

there is a valve guide clearance tool my dealer ordered to verify it actually was the guide. This was after they measured all the valve clearances and they were within specs.

Are you saying there's a tool that lets you measure valve guide clearance without taking the whole head off? I'd love to hear about that.

If they did take the head off, they can "measure" the valve guide wear just by wiggling the valves - it's pretty obvious that they move more than they should. But to get to the point where you've taken the head off, you should be pretty sure the problem involves valve guide wear: it's too expensive to do on a hunch. That is the Catch-22 when it comes to diagnosing "the tick."

No such tool for valve guide dimension checking, trust me. Someone on my behalf almost went down this road with Yamaha, and it was about to turn mighty ugly.

From several very reliable sources: The valve guide MUST be removed from the head to accurately check ID and OD.

 

[Ric in Sac]

The shop called me this afternoon. It has been confirmed that my No. 2 & 3 valve guides are shot. Holes that are supposed to be round are now elongated ovals. The "tick" repair kit has been ordered.

 

[Bullit]

The shop called me this afternoon. It has been confirmed that my No. 2 & 3 valve guides are shot. Holes that are supposed to be round are now elongated ovals. The "tick" repair kit has been ordered.

So, as I understand this, Yamaha is covering the tick repairs even outside of warranty? I wonder about Canadian tickers? I think my 04' may be starting to do it, I thought it might be a loose heat shield or something, very mild yet, mostly when it's hot.

 

[apratt]

So, as I understand this, Yamaha is covering the tick repairs even outside of warranty? I wonder about Canadian tickers? I think my 04' may be starting to do it, I thought it might be a loose heat shield or something, very mild yet, mostly when it's hot.

Yes, Yamaha seems to be repairing tickers even out of warranty, whether or not you have the YES or anything. One theory is that Yamaha is obligated to do so because of the exhaust/emissions system warranty, which runs longer than the one-year whole-bike warranty. The repair history is somewhat checkered, with some owners having to pay for the repair out of their own pockets. I don't think any such stories are recent (within the last year or more) and I put them down to Yamaha's terrible history of how they talk to dealers and service departments about this. You need a cooperative dealer who's willing to push through the fog of not-quite-denials they get from Yamaha, or you need to call Customer Service directly.

You can read more about the tick, its history, Yamaha's advice for people who think they have tickers, and other stuff at my web site: https://www.bestbits.org/fjr1300

 

[sks700]

So if one of the first signs is a reduction in power, would a dyno pull show the loss? How much of a reduction would it show? I have been noticing a few sounds from my '05 (I wouldn't call it a tick, though I haven't heard a confirmed ticker). I have about 28,000 on it. I happened to be at a dealer open house last weekend where they were doing dyno pulls for $10. Mine showed 125 horse. This is the first time it has been on a dyno, so I don't have a baseline, but my understanding is that this reading is pretty close to what it should be. I don't believe that I have a ticker, but I figured I'd throw out the question.

Lee

 

[NoCage]

So if one of the first signs is a reduction in power, would a dyno pull show the loss? How much of a reduction would it show? I have been noticing a few sounds from my '05 (I wouldn't call it a tick, though I haven't heard a confirmed ticker). I have about 28,000 on it. I happened to be at a dealer open house last weekend where they were doing dyno pulls for $10. Mine showed 125 horse. This is the first time it has been on a dyno, so I don't have a baseline, but my understanding is that this reading is pretty close to what it should be. I don't believe that I have a ticker, but I figured I'd throw out the question.
Lee

125 RWHP sounds right... my '05 dyno'd at 124, IIRC, when it had about 2K miles.

 

[skyway]

The shop called me this afternoon. It has been confirmed that my No. 2 & 3 valve guides are shot. Holes that are supposed to be round are now elongated ovals. The "tick" repair kit has been ordered.

 

[Toecutter]

The shop called me this afternoon. It has been confirmed that my No. 2 & 3 valve guides are shot. Holes that are supposed to be round are now elongated ovals. The "tick" repair kit has been ordered.

Hope it (the repair) goes well and quickly. There's some great riding weather right now, but hey, you have a Sahara vest anyway, right?

 

[Ari Rankum]

I wish I knew more about the new parts for '06s than I do. My '06, with about 2300 miles on it, continues to accumulate a little spooge just below the aperature in each tailpipe. My '05 definitely did not do this. At 20 miles, 600 miles, and 1500 miles, I was willing to write this petro-based goop spewage off as break-in glop. Now, I'm wondering if oil is leaking past the valve guides in excessive amounts.

 

[shuswaper]

I wish I knew more about the new parts for '06s than I do. My '06, with about 2300 miles on it, continues to accumulate a little spooge just below the aperature in each tailpipe. My '05 definitely did not do this. At 20 miles, 600 miles, and 1500 miles, I was willing to write this petro-based goop spewage off as break-in glop. Now, I'm wondering if oil is leaking past the valve guides in excessive amounts.

...yeah, but at least your valve guides will stay round! :assassin:

 

[Ronman]

I haven't had the time for any major rides this past year, so my 04 only has 12,500 miles so far. It has had a consistant ticking for about 5,000 miles, usually when hot, yet the ticking hasn't changed for better or worse. Not particularly loud, but noticeable and sounds much like normal cam to shim contact. Not sure where it emanates from, though it seems louder on the left side of the engine.

Could this be a ticker?

I'm also curious about this emissions theory re; warranty. Anybody know how long the emissions are covered? Hopefully this riding season will get me out more on the bike and make this question a mute point.

 

[Ric in Sac]

Ronman - Are you coming to WFO in Reno? There will be expert "ticker testers" taking sound samples to sort the Timex's from the Rolex's . . .

 

[odot]

Seems that the dreaded "ticking" is going to be inevitable....if and when I get it....I'll be shopping for a new concourse.

Then I can give them hell on whatever "forum" they have.....wish me a ticker, kids.....I can expect fast response from this post.

 

[SkooterG]

What's a concourse?

Time to lay off the Thunderbird there, buckwheat.

 

[shuswaper]

Seems that the dreaded "ticking" is going to be inevitable....if and when I get it....I'll be shopping for a new concourse.
Then I can give them hell on whatever "forum" they have.....wish me a ticker, kids.....I can expect fast response from this post.

....yep, it`s inevitable for most of us, sad to say! :assassin: