I just bought a ticker....I think

[Fred W]

No magic oil has yet to be invented that thickens when heated.

True -- but, oil thickens (viscosity becomes greater) when it oxidizes and the addition of heat often hastens that process.

yabbut, first they shear and become thinner, then later in life they may coagulate and may become thicker (than they were). And the synthetics are repoorted to do less of the above (remain more stable) overall.

As to my last statement, I am undeniably a cheap bastid.

Is this NEPRT yet?

 

[harfooz]

Perhaps, a little info-overload has led to this perceived fear issue, which may just be regular engine noise. When you read so much, you are mentally looking for something that maybe just what you fear it to be.

When I got mine at 10k, engine sounded like music to my ears, then I read more and more, and could swear I was hearing the dreaded ticking.....

Well, 12k miles and 10months later, it's all good.

.

.

Just ride it out.

Man, that happens so much. We get something (car, digital camera, moto), start reading the forums and get paranoid about it. I'm guilty about doing it too.

'fooz

 

[pjm204]

so after the oil change and 100 miles it still makes the noise. I believe a fellow NJ fjr rider is going to listen to my bike and see what he thinks. I sorta sounds like a CCT but I am no expert. I'm sure with my luck, I have a ticker. If so I will try and get it fixed on Yamaha's dime ASAP.

 

[RadioHowie]

so after the oil change and 100 miles it still makes the noise. I believe a fellow NJ fjr rider is going to listen to my bike and see what he thinks. I sorta sounds like a CCT but I am no expert. [SIZE=12pt]I'm sure with my luck[/SIZE], I have a ticker. If so I will try and get it fixed on Yamaha's dime ASAP.

While a ticker fix can be very daunting, it will be less so IF Yamaha picks up the tab, but if you slip a tooth on the cranksprocket due to a loose chain/dunfer CCT, the results will be a LOT less "lucky".

At least you can drive a ticker....for tens of thousands of miles....with only a slight loss of power and increased oil usage after many thousands of miles of wear. You toss a cam chain, and your done....INSTANTLY!

But quite frankly, I can't imagine either a CCT or valve guides going south at 3300 miles.

 

[SkooterG]

These engines can be noisy. It's happened many a time around here that a forum member has gotten a case of 'ticker paranoia' and freaked out about what is only normal engine noise. So don't stress too much yet. You may have a ticker, you may not. Wait till it's confirmed by someone who knows what they are dealing with before you stress too much.

It would be very unusual to have a ticker with 3300 miles, and *highly* unusual to have a bad CCT at that mileage.

As RH said above, noisy CCT = Fix immediately, Ticker = Fix someday, nothing critical happening.

Good luck. Nice find a low mile 2003. Hope you get as much enjoyment as I have out of my 04.

 

[pjm204]

Yea I really dont know what it is. I'm hoping to get someone to listen to it and have a second opinion. I'm having trouble hearing exactly where it is coming from but I can hear it at idle, and it seems to get louder around 2k rpm. then after 3k rpm I can no longer hear it.

 

[64Y80]

7 year old bike, 3300 miles. Geeze, that's less than 500 miles a year. I put more miles on my lawn tractor. I suspect the only problem with the bike is lack of use. Put a good oil in it, use some good gas and ride it. If there are any extraneous noises, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that they go away with use. That poor engine just needs to be exercised.

 

[SkooterG]

7 year old bike, 3300 miles. Geeze, that's less than 500 miles a year. I put more miles on my lawn tractor. I suspect the only problem with the bike is lack of use. Put a good oil in it, use some good gas and ride it. If there are any extraneous noises, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that they go away with use. That poor engine just needs to be exercised.

Gunny!

pjm204 - as for the noise you are hearing the sounds:

If it's a bad CCT, noise should be at idle speed, or just off idle (less than 1500rpm).

Tickers: I suspected mine of being a ticker, as it was a noisey SOB. Finally, at 100,000 miles I had it diagnosed by a shop that has done over 20 ticker repairs. They told me that if it's a ticker, the noise will be present and loud at 3000-3300 rpm. Though mine was a noisy SOB, it wasn't at that rpm range. So no repair.

Incidently, at 210k I found out I am losing my #1 cylinder. (20% loss in leak-down test) This is probably because mine is a 'ticker'. (Knowledeable tech said it was exhaust valve issue, most likely worn valve guides) It just took 200k to develop. I think all Gen I FJRs could eventually become 'tickers'. But if it takes 200,000 miles, is it really an issue?

BTW, until my recent crash at 226k, I was still getting great fuel mileage and no loss of oil. Power may be down slightly, but with 226k miles, many that were not 'easy', can I really expect the motor to be 100%? I have no time frame as to when I will repair mine. As long as it's running as well as it is, I am not too concerned.

 

[pjm204]

I guess I shouldn't be super worried about it but I would like to know if its normal, the CCT, or a ticker. If it is the CCT then I need to fix it. If it is a ticker then I will try my hardest to get Yamaha to fix it. If its normal then I will just ride the hell out of it.

 

[Fred W]

There is no mistaking the sound of a loose cam chain (due to the CCT). It sounds just like marbles rattling in a can. A very hollow metallic knocking sound.

The sound of a "ticker" is more like silverware rattling. But loudly, not faintly. There are a whole buttload of metal parts whirring around down between your knees. It is no big wonder there are a few ticking noises. Some folks have heard their injectors clicking and thought they had a ticker...

Having a ticker is not really a very big deal. It is very slow to develop into anything major. 9 out of 10 new owners that fear having a ticker find out that their fears are unfounded. Of course nobody wants to be that 1 guy...

 

[pjm204]

Yea I just want a second opinion, and if I get to meet a fellow forum member, its a win win. I'm taking my bike to get an estimate for a custom saddle. I was going to purchase a corbin canyon but I figure custom is probably the way to go. Found out that the forum member who will be listening to my bike is right near the uphostery place I am going to.

I rode this morning and this bike truly is great, handles almost as well as my VFR but with a ton more power.

 

[64Y80]

Well, at 3300 miles, certainly not ticker noises yet IMO. Possibly, maybe, a big maybe, the plunger could be hanging up a little on the CCT from gunky oil/lack of use. If you want to be super safe, replace the CCT now, gonna have to be done eventually anyway, then ride it. Lack of use just causes things not to work in concert like they should, like clutch plates don't release properly when the lever is pulled in, sometimes a valve will be a little sticky, etc. With use, everything limbers up again and all is fine. Up here is Michigan, my bikes are stored for like 6 months during the winter. First start up in the spring can be interesting, sometimes they make funny noises and when you put it in gear for the first time of the year, sometimes they stall, sometimes they just jump and try and thow you off the back.

One other thing, it wouldn't hurt to treat it like a new bike and go through a break in regiment. Treat her gently for awhile and let her hit her stride again.

 

[Fred W]

I rode this morning and this bike truly is great, handles almost as well as my VFR but with a ton more power.

Not a ton more (horse)power, but a whole lot more torque.

But with that comes more weight, and stability, and... you get the picture.

PS I still love my viffer.

 

[pjm204]

145hp vs 108hp is a pretty significant increase. I find that the power from the fjr is a lot more usable than the VFR, at least the 6th gen with the vtec. It was kind of a dog below 6700. Still a great bike but I can only have 2 bikes right now, 1 of them is a KLR, and now 1 is the FJR. I'm gonna run my KLR till it dies, then replace what made it die and ride it more. Its not the best bike but I love it.

 

[apratt]

I had one of the first 2004 tickers Yamaha ever heard of - they sent my whole cylinder head back to Japan for study. Yamaha replaced the head, but the second one ticked too. I got a second repair, this time with the new valve guide seals, and I've been tick-free ever since.

Here is what I tell people who think they might have a ticker: ignore it for a while.

If there is any doubt, then you don't have it - not for sure, not yet. The ticking gets worse over time. If you really do have it, you'll know for sure about 4K or 6K miles after you first thought you might have heard it. By the end of 6K miles it should be unmistakeably loud: if people in cars next to you at stoplights are not turning their heads to see where all the racket is coming from, you don't have a ticker.

Besides that, yes, you should think "cam chain tensioner," especially if it's louder on the right than the left. The tick has historically been louder on the left. Also, the CCT is pretty cheap and easy to check/fix, and Yamaha's diagnostic procedure is to do that fix first in any case.

The definitive diagnostic is to remove the four exhaust headers and look for stains or gooey unburned oil in the ports and pipes. A healthy engine is bone-dry in there. This procedure is expensive and a PITA so folks don't do it (or have it done) until they're pretty sure.

The best moment in my experience came when I was talking to the dealer's service manager: I told him what Yamaha would say when he called - that they would ask him to read back all the part numbers he was about to order for the second repair. I wish I could have seen his face when they did exactly as I said they would. Service managers don't expect customers to know more about Yamaha than they do, and he was mightily impressed.

You can read my (now pretty old) ticker web pages from back when this was a current topic for me. Looking at it now, the page called "Yamaha's Advice for Ticker Owners" reads like the advice you'd give a domestic abuse victim: "People are more aware of this now than they used to be. Don't let your dealer blow you off: call Yamaha, and you will be believed."

 

[FJRay]

Ride it like you stole it. The tick has been around since before the FJR came to this country. If it is one it won't do it for another 4k and then nothing bad will happen. It's just noise. My 03 ticked at 9k and had 25k when it was fixed in 04 before it became popular. Ride it.

 

[pjm204]

Its pretty undeniable at this point that the bike makes a noise. I can't imagine a healthy engine would tick as much as mine does. Is it a ticker though? I'm not an expert so I can't be sure. At this point I just want to make sure it isn't the CCT. After that I will ride it for another few thousand, see if it gets louder, and then try to get it fixed by yamaha. I can hear it while riding with my helmet off until 3k rpm. with the helmet on it is hard to hear. But I have had a few people listen and I'm not just hearing things, there is a metallic ticking noise.

I LOVE the bike though.

 

[Tree Doc]

You should post a sound file here.

 

[pjm204]

i might be able to post a sound file up...ill try

 

[Big Sky]

My '03 sounded like it had excessive valve train noise at about 12,000 miles, especially at the left side of the engine. Because of the "ticking" noise I had valve clearances checked at 17,000 in 2005, which was 7,000 before the manual said it was necessary. The shop reported everything in spec and that "they all do it." Okay, fair enough. This was all before the "ticker problem" was even known or understood. In the meantime, the tick persisted. I listened to the sound files and, yeah, "a steak knife on a formica countertop" sound. When I next did a major service at 34,000, I asked the dealer to pull the header and check for oil in the exhaust ports, especially on the left. When I picked it up, he said valves were in spec and didn't think the tick was excessive so did NOT pull the header and check for oil as I requested. Hmmm. (Nor would he do the throttle spring unwind as I requested. I don't use this dealer anymore.) The tick persisted. Last fall I took it into a five-star service department at 56,000 miles and asked that the header be pulled (forks and all would be off anyway) and ports inspected. I was tied up with business and on a real tight schedule, so when the bike was ready I had to grab it and run. But I did ask about their port inspection and was told, after it sat for two days, there was no sign of oil in the port or header. Did they even have the header off? I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm infected with that inherent distrust of dealers. At any rate, it still ticks and is most noticeable at that 3,000-3,500 rpm range. It uses no oil and I have seen no residues at the exhaust tips. It does seem to be down on power somewhat when fully loaded and I roll on full in fifth - just seems a little shy on the low-end grunt it once had. The dealer also did a dyno run and it showed a max of 117 hp. I remarked that was disappointing and he said all dynos vary somewhat, and that his '05 with an aftermarket exhaust and PC was only showing 125 on this dyno. So... After all that, what am I to do? Keep riding it until I lose compression like Odot, I suppose, then shell out...what?...$1,500? All in all, I love my FJR.