motor noise

[lightningSVT]

just got this xb9s only has 5k on it. and was in question of motor noise on lifter side of motor.I know Harleys are noisy, but this is kinda distinct..Is this normal?

[lightningSVT]

im not sure if its just noisy push rods or in the motor itself..anyone? or are they all noisy?

[fireinxb]

Its all relative. Yes these motors are pretty noisy, however if its a loud ticking or knocking noise i would say its not normal.

Get us a video and we can get a better idea.

[Midnight82]

Harley built motors make a lot of "chatter", so that's normal.
If you're hearing heavy knocks then you have issues.

[lightningSVT]

its not really a knock..more like sounds of noisy push rods..will take video tonight..thanks guys

[wolfo68]

look up videos on youtube and you should be able to get a reference for normal noise

[lightningSVT]

http://youtu.be/cC-FXUWo6Ro

[BitchinXb]

If your not using synthetic, try it. I had conventional and I had a chirpy tap, I put in some mobile 1 synthetic v-twin and it cut the noise ALOT.

[lightningSVT]

ya she has mobil 1 in her as well..this bike only has 5k on it, not sure if i should even worry about it..cause it runs very good

[Stangxb12r]

I have the same noise. Got my bike at about 5k now i am over 15k same noise still same beast. Just maintain your oil and keep synthetic in it and should be good. If noise gets louder or changes to a knock instead of the chirpy noise than worry. Otherwise Ride on.

[07Bolt]

ive got 22k on my firebolt and had that noise too, just the motor

they operate near 400 deg F

switched to full syn at 10k, still runs smooth on the hwy

[wolfo68]

seems like there was a weird knock but I heard it when the camera moved, if others are still running with it I wouldn't worry, but I don't hear it on mine

[lightningSVT]

ya its not really a knock..someone said its the air box making that noise?

[dmp0001]

If you ever take your motor apart and look at the size of some of these moving parts you will be surprised they don't make more noise! you should hear chattering and mechanical function but not grinding or knocking like others have said.

[zaxrex]

FWIW, I have the same noise from 2005 XB12S... I always figured it was a noisy valvetrain.

[lightningSVT]

what a relief to hear its not just me..lol..thanks for the responses fellas

[lightningSVT]

gonna take it in and have a look at it, still think its excessively loud

[zaxrex]

You're referring to the "clunk" sound? GL and let us know the diagnosis.

[zaxrex]

Not to push the subject, but did you happen to get a diagnosis? I'm curious myself.

[mirkvid]

From the video, are you referring to the soft clicking/whisping noise? Mines got it as well. I think its common/normal. As long as its running OK, i wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

[jasonxb9]

I am curious to hear what the shop said about this noise? Mine makes a noise very similar to that, although after hearing all these people saying they have the same noise it put me a little at ease. I also took the royal purple oil out of it after less than 1000km because the noise got louder to me, after putting a different synthetic it got noticeably quieter. I am still curious what they say though.

[fireinxb]

Gotta say mine has the same loud tick. 3,200 miles on the motor. The tick is pretty annoying with the stock exhaust, i now see why people call the sound of these bikes with stock exhaust a "sewing machine".

I assume its normal, Im also running regular dino oil atm. Synthetic is going in it this weekend so ill let you guys know what that does to the sound. Im also putting on a jardine can at the same time, so i imagine ill hardly be able to hear it after that.

[user_deleted]

kind of hard to explain but a sportster motor sits out in the open, all of it. our motors are kind of semi-enclosed between frame spars, under air boxes, behind scoops, etc. most all of the top end is shrouded by other bike components. my personal opinion is that some of these odd noises come and go based on harmonics. i have a lightning and a firebolt and both have perfect drivelines yet i can hear some resonance or odd noises coming out of the top of the motor area under certain temps, speeds, etc. in all honesty, if i ride slowly with no helmet on which i rarely do, i can pick out the noises. full helmet and at speed limit, i hear nothing. i suspect your motor is fine and what you might actually be hearing are the same things i hear...that took me awhile to get used to.

[netty2424]

what did you find out on this?

my 04 12s lightning sounds exaclty like that. its hard to say its a click, but not a full knock that i've heard before. i took mine to HD Dallas and had the one mechanic that actually owns a Buell come out and listen to it. He said nothing to be concerned about, they are just noisy.

mine seems to be worse on start up or when cold. warmer the engine gets, less i hear it.

and honestly, i didn't notice that noise until i read a post on this site about the clicking/knocking sound!!

Richard

[fireinxb]

Mine is the opposite, when i start the motor i barely hear it, but when the motor/oil warms up and (thins up) i start to hear it more. Id say its about as loud as the fuel pump, a rhythmic light ticking/tapping you hear. Slightly quieter than the stock exhaust.

I bought the bike with a rod knock, and this noise is DEFINITELY not that. This is a 3k mile motor from an 07 that i just swapped in, about 300 miles on the swap since then. It has made this noise since i swapped it, and has gotten no louder or quieter since.

Seems normal to me, and im not letting it scare me. Although admittedly I am running on cheap dino 20w50 car oil since im going to change it before 400 miles. Will change the oil with some good synthetic vtwin formula and report back.

[fireinxb]

20w50 lucas oil synthetic vtwin formula in both holes as of today. Also installed jardine can.

The exhaust drowns it out much more now, but the engine noise is just about the same, can still hear it ticking away. I've decided not to worry about it unless it gets worse. ;)

[Morbid]

I just purchased an 04 XB12 with 2800 miles on it and it makes the exact same noise I hear in your video. I was planing on pulling the primary cover and checking that the nut wasn't loose. I am assuming its that almost but sorta not knock sound your referring to here.

A few years back I owned an XB9 that never made that noise. Only noise I got from the XB9 was the cam drive noise.

[snrusnak]

Everyone needs to keep in mind a few things about some engine noise:

1) These engines have gear driven cams, they are somewhat noisier than chain driven.
2) These engiens have lifters/pushrods which are also noiser than OHC.
3) This is the main one: The engine is air cooled. Water cooled engines have water jackets all around them that act as insulation for sounds. Air cooled engines are always louder and you hear more engine noise. My air cooled suzuki bandit 600 made a good bit of noise. Even more so, the lifters are only "insulated" by a thin plastic cover....

Point is if you hear mechanical, gear, lifter/pushrod noises, they are normal and fine. If you hear clunks/grinding/knocking, that is bad and not normal.

[losdog160]

im in the same boat, after a minor transmission issue (bent shift fork) i have also heard the same noises as the video posted above. until i found this thread i was sweating a bit (thought that i missed something).

guess ill ride on and see if anything comes apart....

[redrider]

My engine noise actually was the horn vibrating against the flasher unit. sounded like the top end coming apart.

[cgo]

Old thread, but it looks like it's alive again. Mine sounds like that too. It gets louder as it gets hotter. I didn't remember my 04 making that much noise, but I listened to a video of it the other day and it too was loud. My current 06 makes noises that make me a little uncomfortable, but there are quite a few videos of other bikes that sound nearly the same. If we were talking about a small block Chevy (also uses push rods), the ticking would be a bad thing like a stuck lifter, warn rocker, etc.

My bike has a special OPS pipe and the ticking is still loud at idle. The bottom end has a rolling type of noise that I don't like, but hear in this and other videos.

I don't know, no sense in worrying about it; I'm just going to ride it like I stole it until it blows up and hope that I'm ready for it if it ever does.

I may go to a straight 50 weight or a higher viscosity to see what that does.

[07xb12ScgGirl]

My 2007 Lightning sometimes gets a loud ticking right before the fan kicks on but if I keep the rpms at 3000 or higher it doesnt seem to do it. I called HD and they said just noisey engines and it has to do with the motor warming up and the oil hetting thinner from the heat. It used to worry me cause it can get really loud but then goes away as the motor gets hotter. The bike runs so good and no oil lights or engine lights so I figured its okay. Its only done it once to me this year, seems to have something to do with the rpms. Maybe keeping the rpms at 3000 or higher keeps the oil moving better and thicker through the motor I'm not sure lol

[freak2180]

My bike makes noise every time I start it.......It goes VROOM VROOM VROOM!

[spazz8448]

im a little concerned about mine....its idle is a little rough and i have a knocking sound. but Ive heard similar noises on other buells. so what im wondering is does this sound normal? or should i stop riding it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BojX5lGmGQ0&feature=colike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tft5xKw9YCA&feature=colike

[cgo]

Hard to hear from the video, but sounds kinda like mine. Idle sounds fine.

[spazz8448]

thank you for the reply i thought it was fine because ive heard similar noises in other buells...lol guess im just paranoid about my baby

[user_deleted]

4 cams...4 lifters...4 pushrods, entire rocker box assemblies (2 of them) under your butt...big pistons on a roller crank, whirring primary drive chain. hell yes these motors are going to make a racket. consistency of the noise is what you want to listen for. all normal air-cooled stuff.

[jammer84_03]

My engine made a noise like this and it got progressively worse. Ended up being the rod took out my crank.... so this prob the only horror story to post. Just check your fluids, and if you have lots of little shards on your magnetic drain plug that makes you think its "anti seize" like goop, then you should start to really worry. Just my $.02 from my most recent on-going experience.

[stamen]

Yea I feel like my 06Ss sounds the same as the original video post.

[Carl0s]

Anotherone here, my 12r sounds exacly the same as in video. 20 000miles on the clock, 5000 driven by me, and runs like a dream :)

[losdog160]

So take away my buell key, tool box and man card, when i did a 100 mile checkup (after some tranny issues) i noticed that my primary chain was really loose. after tightening that, most of the noise went away. im going to pull off the cover after about 500 miles and look for any visible damage. i think that it was slapping against the case.
i guess i got soooooooo excited about riding it that it got overlooked.....

[motomanfan]

Mine started making a similar noise that it never did before. Took it to a Buell dealer and was told that it was loose cam bushings....

[Whiplash97]

I realize this is an old thread but after reading through it I'm a little more at ease about my engine noises, not much noise when it's cold but gets a louder light knocking noise when warm and even more so when it's hot outside, the bike runs great and there no noise when I accelerate, just when I let of or is I rev at a stop

But from what I've read and from the videos the damn things are just noisy, I've never rode an air cooled V twin before and especially not a Harley type, it's just gonna take some getting use to....I've worked on alot of diffrent bikes, if I heard the same noises coming from a jap bike I'd say the end is near....oh well...ride er till she pops I guess

[MustangGuy]

Damn, I missed the youtube video when I first read this post but your bike sounds just like mine!!!I've had a loud tapping (at least it sounds loud to me) that comes and goes but this is pretty much what my bike sounds like. This is the first video I've seen that really captures the sound well.