It's A Ticking!

[Toecutter]

After having spent several hours with other bikes (including one that was supposedly a confirmed ticker) running next to mine at the riding clinic last Saturday, I am fairly certain that I am experiencing "Excessive exhaust valve guide wear" issues. Mine was louder than 'the ticker'. I figure I'll just wait for the 26k service, take it up to Sunnyside and see what they say. Anybody else have better ideas? I'd rather not get involved with my local service centers and have to deal with the learning curve or take chances on sub-par results.

 

[shuswaper]

It seems new cases of ticking are surfacing almost daily now and I will boldly predict that the rate could rise to 25% or more....worse than anybody could have imagined,for sure! We will never know for sure because Yamaha is not (and never has been ) forthcoming on the matter.I maintain that for allot of units produced since day one, up to sometime into the `05 production run, it`s just a matter of time and distance.In view of the culprit being unearthed (seals that are too tight), why don`t all FJR`s tick? Simple...riding style, riding conditions and factory production tolerances (some seals will be looser and some tighter). Also, some bikes run hotter than others it seems. Regardless, if the oil fow in the head was better balanced between left side and right side (in terms of quantity,direction and temperature), I doubt the ticking phenom. would have arisen. It appears that the exhaust guides on the left side have been inadvertently marginalized by oil system design. I believe that a change in head design would ultimately solve the problem as opposed to looser seals :assasin:

 

[super d]

So how about the 06 models?!? Does anyone know if they changed anything on them? Yamaha should be making enough money on all the extended warrenties they are selling bacause of "excessive valve guide wear" fears, to fix more than a few of the tickers.

 

[trimmantom]

Well guys, I took my baby to the dealer today and the service tech brought out a mechanic to listen to my bike.He says, sounds like every fjr i've ever heard.I says well i've heard quite a few of them and that ticking between 2& 4 thousand rpm's isn't normal.They say that it's close to scheduled maintenience valve check and that i should have that done and see if that takes care of the problem.Well i says is that covered under the warranty and they says no that's regular maintenence.

I says what if that doesn't fix the problem, which i and youse know it probably won't. They says they'll have to call YAMI and find out what to do next.So the result of my visit is i had to make an appointment to bring the bike back on the 21st for the scheduled 26000 mile valve adjustment.

Honestly i don't think the're trying to jerk me around i think they have'nt really done much on fjr's and they are a fair sized dealer.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt until after the valve adjustment and see what they do after the valve adjustment doesn't fix the problem.

Stay tuned for further updates.

 

[skyway]

Well... if indeed the engine turns out to be a ticker, you are going to throw your money away on the 26k valve adjustment. If it were me, I would call yamaha and mention this to them before you have any service work done to the engine and see how they respond. When my bike first ticked, it was on my coin until they found everything was to spec. If you intend on doing the service anyway, request that your engine not be put back together if the valves are within spec (save lots of money) until such time that the tech line advises your technician of the next move.

 

[trimmantom]

The service tech told me that if everything was in spec that it wouldn't cost me anything and that they would see what yami wanted to do next.I would assume that if that were the case they wouldn't be stupid enough to put every thing back together before calling yami and finding what to do next in any case if the valves are in spec it's not going to be on my dime.

 

[weekend rider]

How about a little different twist to the cause of hte tick. When you finally get your bike to take home from the dealerit is filled with yamaha's oil fromthe factory. then if you have it serviced at the 600 mile mark than you get what ever oil the shop puts in or your choice of brand.

When I got my 05 it was rather noisey had the 600 mile service done at the shop I do business he uses torco motor oil. The bike got noiser I had put about 1500 miles on that oil and decided to change it before I went on my trip.

After I changed the oil and readied the bike to fire up I was wondering if it would help quiet the noise comming from the engine. No I did not think I had a ticker at this time.

I hit the starter button ,it fired up and after only a few seconds the engine quieted right down and ran a lot smoother with a lot less noise.

I wonder if the oil that is being used by the mfg. has or is defective Or if the formula has an error.

On the mechanical side valve guides and valves do not wear if made properly and if they have proper lubrication I question the quality of oil being used when shipped from the factory. Something causes those valve guides and valves to wear, lack of lubrication or inferior oil.

weekend rider

 

[Tsipper]

just starting "the tick" at 19,300 ('04). I've run Amsoil since 4k change. Have those who have had the fix had the dealer run Yam 20-40 after the repair to seat head part changes? Or did they let you specify (supply) syn for the refill?

T'sipper

 

[markjenn]

How about a little different twist to the cause of hte tick. When you finally get your bike to take home from the dealerit is filled with yamaha's oil fromthe factory. then if you have it serviced at the 600 mile mark than you get what ever oil the shop puts in or your choice of brand.

    When I got my 05 it was rather noisey had the 600 mile service done at the shop I  do business he uses torco motor oil. The bike got noiser I had put about 1500 miles on that oil and decided to change it before I went on my trip.

  After I changed the oil and readied the bike to fire up I was wondering if it would help quiet the noise comming from the engine.  No I did not think I had a ticker at this time. 

  I hit the starter button ,it fired up and after only a few seconds the engine quieted right down and ran a lot smoother with a lot less noise.

  I wonder if the oil that is being used by the mfg. has or is defective  Or if the formula has an error.

  On the mechanical side valve guides and valves  do not wear if made properly  and if they have proper lubrication  I question the quality of oil being used when shipped from the factory. Something causes those valve guides and valves to wear, lack of lubrication or inferior oil. 

    weekend rider

Sorry, but this is a wrong tree to be barking up. We've had tickers and non-tickers use every type of oil in the universe without any apparent correlation to ticking problems. Heck some of the folks have changed their oil at ridiculously short intervals (e.g., 25 miles) and have experienced problems. Others have left the factory fill in through and beyond 1K while using Yamalube and have had no problems.

Oil is probably the maintenance item most worried about by owners, but use almost any quality oil and change it at reasonable intervals, and you're good to go. Despite all the crap you read on the net, it really doesn't make much difference.

From the beginning of this problem, knowledgeable engine builders have pointed to the valve seals as being a potential culprit - if you do a search on the net you can find lots of information about how how sensitive valve guide wear is to proper seals that let in the right amount of lubrication without excessive oil consumption. And now Yamaha (belatedly) has fitted new seals to the 06's and bikes currently under repair.

We need to see how this pans out long term, but the gun is probably getting ready to smoke.

- Mark

 

[FJRMGM]

Trinmantom - with 18,000 miles on my '05 FJR I am in the same position as you EXCEPT when both the Service Mgr and Tech listened to the bike they agreed the ticking is NOT a "normal" sound.

Reported the noise at 16,500 miles and five days before one-year warranty expired.

So, dealer called Yamaha and will do a valve check here shortly to verify it is not valve adjustment. Yamaha also told them to purchase a special tool that measures valve guide clearances and we waited for three weeks on that.

If they determine it is not adjustment, which none of us think it is, they will proceed with the real fix.

Wish us both luck.

 

[T120TT]

Make sure it's fixed with the updated '06 parts.

 

[trimmantom]

Well fellas,

I went to visit my cardiologist today to check on my poor 04 ticker.

I was told that a valve check was done on her and that didn't fix the problem,which we all knew it wouldn't.

Service tech told me they were authorized by yami to go to step two and tear it down we'll see what happens next.

Now that it's getting colder it's probably the best time to get the ticker fixed.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[BobbyBlue]

Thanks Trim and my condolences. I bought the YES last month for my '05 and it looks like it may yet pay off....13K and no ticking...and my Guidant pacemaker just got reprogrammed too...luckily its tickin quite nicely !

Bobby

 

[GA CYCLE RIDER]

Tom, dont feel bad,bro. As I told you on the phone the other day, my 05 is ticking louder every mile. I am going to let you be the lawrenceville yamaha test mule. If they fix yours and it does not explode, I may visit the cardiology dept as well. What sucks is that after having over twenty new big displacement jap sport bikes over the years, this is the only one that may need life saving major surgery. I wish like hell honda would dump the st and make a true bad ass sport tourer. how about a rc211v powered bagger. I would be an owner for sure. I love the yamaha but just like warchild said after they did open heart on his old fjr, Just dont feel really good about pounding the miles on a bike with major engine work. I know most of those M.M.I. graduates can do a tune up. I just dont dig some stateside hack banging around in the motor. yamaha really screwed up on this cylinder head design. Yamaha has so much cash, like hundreds and hundreds of millions, that they should buy all the damn things back. As you can tell Im getting more pissed just thinking about it. Better go for now. Hopefully when lawrenceville gets done, she wont be a bleeder. Now you can go thrash your vfr800 for a while. I am going to go and ride mine as well and leave the ticker in the garage for a while.later.

 

[trimmantom]

Well Men&Ladies,

Today I got the prognosis after they did a biopsy on my baby.

There seems to be excessive exhaust valve guide wear on # 1 and#2 cylinders.The dealer is ordering parts which include ALL VALVE GUIDES & SEALS, plus valves.If they can get parts locally they told me i'd have her back by the end of next week.I'm hoping to have her home for christmas and i'll be happy.

So far my dealer has been very nice and unfortunately or not this seems to be a process that ultimately will take about a month plus or minus.

I've seen just to many stories here from fellow brothers& sisters with this problem.

Mine started out subtely and just progressed to where i knew before i took it in what the problem was.I told the service tech today as they were pulling the head,

you're gonna find out of spec clearances on the exhaust valve guides on #1 cylinders and low and behold when he called me back two hours later and said your right about #1 we're ordering the parts.These folks haven't given me any crap what so ever.

I'm just thankful i got theYES on my bike.

I for one think it's time for MOTHER YAMAHA to step up and say if any body with an FJR has this problem bygod it will be fixed whether you've got a warranty or not.I know that most of you folks out there that keep up with this forum and do a lot of reading here are probably wondering when the hell is my bike gonna start ticking?And oh fucking no I didn't get the extended warranty WTF am i gonna do know?This issue should be resolved now and YAMAHA needs to step up to the plate.I'm by no means a motorcyle mechanic and when I can take my bike to a dealer and tell them whats wrong somethings up.

I truly do love this bike it's the best thing i've ever riden,i looked long and hard before buying and just keep getting drawn back to the feejer.I read about this ticking bullshit before hand and decided i still had to have it and still have no reservations about the bike if it's repaired properly.

And now my rant is over for .I'll keep you'all updated and thanks fer listenin.

 

[MCRIDER007]

Well Men&Ladies,Today I got the prognosis after they did a biopsy on my baby.

There seems to be excessive exhaust valve guide wear on # 1 and#2 cylinders.

And now my rant is over for .I'll keep you'all updated and thanks fer listenin.

Thanks for the update and it is not a rant, just good information. I read your earlier posts and and not sure of the mileage on your bike but it sounds like this started after quite a few miles. Do you know what the measurements were for the valve guides that were bad? I am wondering if the problem is worse on No.1 than No. 2 which might indicate that there is a lube/heat problem that is running right to left in the head.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

I have a question...

Does riding style have anything to do with it?? I have almost 8k on my 05 and a few weeks ago i had to add a quart of oil. I thought that was unusual considering i only had 2000 miles on the oil.

I do ride hard... Really hard hitting the redline alot. Does anyone think riding the bike hard will increase the tick problem? Or is it just a luck_of_the_draw thing.

I do notice a slight ticking noise, But from what i understand, It sounds like steak knives of a can or something. So i guess that i DONT have it yet. I dunno! :blink:

Adam

 

[Geezer]

Even if there is no sign of ticking I would worry about needing a quart of oil between changes on an engine that young.

 

[donaldb]

Galaxy, I made the mistake of suggesting that same subject, oh back shortly after buying my bike and signing on to this and other feejer forum sights. Back before I purchased my feejer I was aware of the ticking issue and had read that it was a issue w/this genesis engine, but it was not a major concern, very, very few bikes developed the problem. Most every bike out there has some form of problem, bmw's have the rear drive issues, etc. So I just decided to take the plunge after I test rode the feejer, I liked it best for me out of the 3 sport tourers I tested. I kinda have gone around in a circle to get to my point here, but when I made the suggestion that maybe it had to do w/riding style and/or maintenance (lack there of) I was quickly accused of patronizing, condescending, etc. by the ticker owners. The more research I have done since then by way of this site and others the more I have come to understand that the problem truly is a luck of the draw type situation. I am now convinced it is a internal mechanical/assembly/parts issue.

 

[trimmantom]

Galaxy,

Riding style has nothing to do with this ticking issue,it is a defect in parts issue as i have performed all maintenience on my bike.

Using a quart of oil in 2000 miles doesn't sound right, are you sure the correct amount was put in on the change?

All parts for my repair are in wiyh the exception of a gasket which might be in by now.I'm hoping to get my nonticking bike back in aweek or so.

I didn't get the tolerances that valve giudes were out but will do so.