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Thread: Metal clanging sound

  1. #1
    Junior Member swanthog's Avatar
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    Metal clanging sound

    Hello, all.

    On startup, my Uly makes this metal clanging / rattling sound. The sound is best heard when the mic is toward the front bike.
    It used to only happen before it was warm but I think I can hear it at stop lights now too.
    There are no driveability other issues.

    Is this normal or a symptom of a larger problem?

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/rKC2yvX1AE6T0ybb2



    Thank you,
    Lawrence F.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Chicknstripn's Avatar
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    How many miles on your bike and have performed any maintenance or mods recently?

    An increase in engine noise, especially increased "clatter" is not normal. Something is obviously out of adjustment or worn.

    Simplest thing to check is the various fasteners on the bike. One loose screw, bolt, nut, clamp, WHATEVER can make quite a racket on a Buell. My jardine chin fairing bracket broke and that thing made a hell of a racket. I thought I had something broken in the bottom end of my engine until I discovered that what I thought was engine noise was just the bracket rattling.

    Next I would check that fluid levels are correct. While checking fluid levels use a magnetic probe/grabber type tool to see if you have any metal in the engine or primary oil. If you dip a magnet in either primary or swing arm and it comes out with metal shavings you know something is definitely worn.

    If fluid levels check out then I'd move to the primary chain tension and the clutch is adjustment.

    Good luck

  3. #3
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    you've provided a very nice vid but virtually no info at all regarding the ulysses. mileage.....has it been crashed or completely dismantled and reassembled by a drone....recent problems you thought were corrected that now seem to coincide with this racket. nothing? anything? i'll take a shot anyway over morning coffee.
    1-front isolator assembly is the gizmo that connects front of motor to frame/tank. it should look like the pic. if not various components can emit weird/disconcerting noises. if bad replace with either L0501.4A8.......or.....L1501.02A8
    2-sounds worse the closer you get to the front of your primary drive AND TO ME sounds more of a grinding noise. have you been inside that cover doing anything? the flywheel sprocket shaft nut was formerly torqued to approx. 200 ft.lbs of torque and i've seen a few come loose and emit similar noise in conjunction with EXTREMELY LOOSE primary drive chain. as per TSB issued 9-16-2005 that nut should now be torqued to approx. 250 ft. lbs of torque. i'd consider getting in there and checking.
    3-before jesse (oh9bolt) sends you full alert notification.................your gas cap is on backwards.

    2621_20100915152233_L.jpg

  4. #4
    Junior Member swanthog's Avatar
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    Thanks for your replies. Awesome information.

    I purchased the bike about 2 weeks ago. It is an '06, has around 17K miles, and was reported to never have been down other than a drop in the driveway.

    Engine mods I know of:

    - Aftermarket ecm. All this ECM does is stop the backfiring as far as i can tell. No noticeable improvement to power.
    - Crankcase ventilation mod. There is a hose that loops and terminates in the airbox. The ventilation hoses are routed to the rear of the bike and to an air breather and finally a brass drain.
    - There is an air port on the throttle body that had some electrical tape wrapped around a split rubber cap. I replaced it with a new rubber cap.

    Things I have checked:

    - Primary oil. It was overfilled and is at the correct level now.
    - Primary chain adjustment. It had quite a lot of slack so I adjusted to be within spec. This didn't change the noise at all. I was surprised by how loose the adjustment nut was. It took almost zero effort to turn. It had likely been adjusting itself for some time.
    - Clutch adjustment. Really, all that was needed was removing slack from the cable.
    - I've had my eye and digits on all the fasteners since I've purchased the bike. All that was found so far is a loose bolt and the highway bar bracket. I put some loctite on it and tightened. This was not the source of the noise.

    I'm going to pull the crankcase cover and check the flywheel sprocket shaft nut and look for metal shavings.
    I will report back my findings likely tomorrow morning.

    Thanks so much for your ideas everyone!

    --Lawrence F.

  5. #5
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    my pleasure lawrence and also what carlos said in original response was great info. to me as previously stated sounds like more of a grinding noise. before you dismantle anything else start it one more time and get some heat in it at just above idle. then allow it to idle at approx. 1050rpm which is warm curb idle speed for that year ulysses adjustable with curb idle screw found on motor side front of left side factory cooling scoop. at that time feel around the primary cover. can you feel any "grinding" in that area? also old mechanics trick(kiss my ass kenny-----you're old as dirt too!!) is to use a harbor freight stethoscope and listen to where you think the noise emanates from. will clue you in to possible culprit. just a hunch but betting it's from the primary side.
    lastly.....that breather mod/reroute you mentioned. brass drain? is it at the end of the hose and in the OFF position? by that i mean is it sealing the hose shut? if so right there's part of the problem. the breather hose MUST be open. lose that drain!

  6. #6
    Senior Member Silverrider's Avatar
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    Did it make this noise when you bought it ?Have you drained the engine oil yet ? and looked at the drain plug magnet for any metal shavings? or dropped a magnet down in the swing arm ?

  7. #7
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    This is what my Uly sounds like when I had the old metal Madstad fly screen and it started to get loose. Now I have the new madstad acrylic fly screen which will make noise but not as metallic. The last time I heard this noise my horn mount was cracking and vibrating against the fly screen. Since then I did the horn mounting mod and used heavy rubber washers on the fly screen and I hear nothing, except on start up the madstad windshield brackets will have a small rattle until the motor warms up.

  8. #8
    Member LouWambsganss's Avatar
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    I want to reiterate the horn vibration issue. Even with an intact mount, the stock horn location can cause it to vibrate on the shield at certain RPM ranges and make a very noticeable sound. Take the shield off and bend the horn bracket back a little. Or you can actually rotate it about 90 degrees to get the horn away from the shield.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
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    "also old mechanics trick(kiss my ass kenny-----you're old as dirt too!!) is to use a harbor freight stethoscope and listen to where you think the noise emanates from."

    Do this.


    You can use a long screwdriver too, wood handles work the best. The pointy end is not the end that goes in your ear. It will quickly eliminate a LOT of guesswork.

  10. #10
    Junior Member swanthog's Avatar
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    Thanks for the additional ideas for things to check. I am still working on my original task of checking out the primary side of the engine, but will get to the others and report back.

    I pulled the primary cover last night. It has a magnetic drain plug. There was only a single, very small sliver of metal stuck to it -- nothing to worry about i think. The oil looked pretty clean.
    All the teeth look nice and sharp, not rounded at all or showing other signs of damage. Overall, it is very clean inside.

    The next to do before buttoning it all back down is to check the flywheel nut as suggested by lunaticfringe. I need to refer to manual for how to get the clutch off so that I can inspect it.
    Is there anything else I should do before putting the primary side back together?

    Cooter, I completely forgot about the screwdriver trick but have used it in the past. It can work well where it is otherwise difficult to pinpoint the source of a noise. Good suggestion.

    Thanks, all.

    Lawrence F.



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