[grafittijunkie]

when the bike is on, i'm able to hear the valves. when the bike gets to around 200 degrees the valve noise goes down, i almost can't hear the valves at all when it gets hot. anyone know what needs to be changed? is it just a simple valve adjustment? and how much does it usually run?

Thanks, aaron.

 

[Blue]

By the sounds of things it is just the typical kawi noise and you shouldn't be concerned about it if you aren't noticing performance or other issues with the bike. The 04 six I have has done it before and after valve adjustment, although from what I am told valve adjustment doesn't "fix" that sound. I used quotes around fix because we are just assuming something is wrong with it. An adjustment can cost a couple maybe a few hundred dollars if you take it to someone and its a lot of money to spend if you aren't actually at the required mileage to need one done.

If it was a constant noise that didn't go away after heat-up it could be the CCT which can be replaced fairly easily.

A few questions to help get an answer please:
How many miles are on the bike?
Has it always made that noise?
Are you the first owner?

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

Miles on bike?

Do you still have the stock CCT?

I know mine did something similar and it turned out it was a shot CCT, went ahead and got a manual one. Sounds gone. but 3000miles before i readjusted my valves. Only one was out of spec tho.

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

like this noise?

 

[grafittijunkie]

I bought the bike two months ago. The speedo says that there's only 2500 miles on it. I highly doubt the mileage is correct on that motor. what is the cct? and where is it? if i remember correctly the valve noise has been there ever since I got it. sounds kind of like the one in the video but the valve noise isn't as fast as the one in the video. the noise is a tad bit slower.

truthfully, this is my first bike and I don't really want to put too much money into it. I plan on selling the bike when i get comfortable with riding. if it's not a big problem i'll just continue to ride the crap out of it. haha.

 

[Blue]

Cam Chain Tensioner

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

To get to the CCT on our bikes you gotta lift the tank and airbox, its gonna be on the right hand side as if you were sitting on it. The manual CCTs are $50 if i remember correctly, make sure you adjust it right or else. The auto CCTs are good too but they wear out over time. I dont advise trying to adjust the auto CCT, Because theres NO WAY to tell how tight the chain is. Too loose, too much slap(loud), too tight, gonna wear everything faster(no sound at all). Save yourself disaster and just spend the $50. Your choice tho, your bike.

 

[Kazoo6942]

It's your cam chain tensioner. Don't try to adjust stock one waste of time trust me. Order a ape manual tensioner mine should be coming in mail today. I would post vies and pics but all I have is my iPad and nothing on this site is compatible with apple and there's not a app. Back to your cam chain tensioner kawis are known for this. Probably not a big deal do some research on cct's and you will find many of us have had or has this problem.

 

[grafittijunkie]

is the noise coming from the valves bad for the bike? If it isn't doing harm i really don't mind the noise.

 

[Kazoo6942]

It's not the best for the bike but it won't hurt it. I heard you can skip I tooth on the chain if you back of of trottle to hard causing valve damage. I dunno my bike has 44,xxx miles so I don't wants risk it. Plus I hate little noises.

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

lets just say if its your valves, and they are really loud, yeah you will cause damage eventually. I little tick is no big deal, but loud is no good. Too loose a CCT and the chain will jump a tooth and well...kiss your motor goodbye probably. My bike has 45K on the clock, take care of your 6r bitch will last forever if you show her TLC

 

[grafittijunkie]

Cam Chain Tensioner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2E4bL6UGsQ

so everyone agrees that chances are it's the cct? should i follow the video and try tighten that bad boy up? or is my best bet to grab a manual one? and if i do grab a manual one how do i know when it's too tight or too lose?

lastly, to get to the cct, is it only the removal of the take or the fairings too? and how do you pull the tank out. i know there's a screw in the front and a long screw in the back. are those the only things?

 

[bird_dog0347]

so everyone agrees that chances are it's the cct? should i follow the video and try tighten that bad boy up? or is my best bet to grab a manual one? and if i do grab a manual one how do i know when it's too tight or too lose?

lastly, to get to the cct, is it only the removal of the take or the fairings too? and how do you pull the tank out. i know there's a screw in the front and a long screw in the back. are those the only things?

Normally I would say if you are not familiar with removing the tank you should not go any deeper... but the CCT is pretty easy to do. So...

1. Remove the driver seat
2. remove the bolt that holds the front of the tank to the frame (near steering stem)
3. lift tank and use something like a hammer to hold it up in the front
4. disconnect the fuel pump wires, and pull the fuel line off the pump on the bottom of the tank near the driver seat
5. unscrew the 10mm bolt that holds the tank to the subframe under the seat and remove the bolt, then you can lift the tank up and off
6. from the seat area, looking at the front of the bike, the CCT is near the top of the engine on the far right hand side (same as the throttle and brake lever) just below the cylinder head and right next to the right frame rail. It is shaped sorta like a diamond, taller than it is wide with a 8mm bolt on the top and bottom and a larger 10 or 12mm bolt in the middle. You will have to use a small wrench to get the 8mm bolts off as there is very little room to work.
7. remove the larger bolt from the middle and pull out the tensioner
8. Then remove the two 8mm bolts and pull the rest of the tensioner out (it is a two piece design)
9. On your new MCCT (manual, follow instructions that come with it if there are any) back the bolt out of it so you have room to work and install it. Tighten everything back down, and reinstall in reverse order.

 

[grafittijunkie]

do you guys suggest me tightening the stock cct? how's removing the airbox like?

 

[bird_dog0347]

do you guys suggest me tightening the stock cct? how's removing the airbox like?

If you want to try to tighten the stock one first go for it... it is just everything I wrote except when you pull out the larger center bolt, stick a screw driver or something in the hole to push the tensioner in even more against the chain. If you hear a click, it moved... if no click, just get a MCCT.

The airbox, well, once you have the tank off you will see like 10 #2 phillips head screws holding it on, don't forget about the one in the middle. Might as well check your air filter while you have the tank off.

Oh, and check the blinker fluid while you are in there too.

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

do you guys suggest me tightening the stock cct? how's removing the airbox like?

pretty sure I already expressed my thoughts on adjusting the auto CCT...

"To get to the CCT on our bikes you gotta lift the tank and airbox, its gonna be on the right hand side as if you were sitting on it. The manual CCTs are $50 if i remember correctly, make sure you adjust it right or else. The auto CCTs are good too but they wear out over time. I dont advise trying to adjust the auto CCT, Because theres NO WAY to tell how tight the chain is. Too loose, too much slap(loud), too tight, gonna wear everything faster(no sound at all). Save yourself disaster and just spend the $50. Your choice tho, your bike."

And with the airbox make sure those claps are loose when you take them off and looser when you put it back on because if you rip one of the lips, you have an airbox leak then you run rich and start to hear poping, not to mention performance loss and you reaking of gas whenever you ride. If i recall you need a 3mm allen wrench with an extension. The extension will make loosening the middle ones easier.

 

[grafittijunkie]

i was thinking if the cct was going bad why would the noise go away when it's hot? if the chain was loose the noise should be constant even when the bike is super warm right? that must mean it's the valves right? don't really have the time to start working on the bike yet, but just giving the situation some though.

oh and thanks for all the replies. i really appreciate all the help. nice to know that the people on this forums is actually here to help you rather than put you down.

 

[grafittijunkie]

If you want to try to tighten the stock one first go for it... it is just everything I wrote except when you pull out the larger center bolt, stick a screw driver or something in the hole to push the tensioner in even more against the chain. If you hear a click, it moved... if no click, just get a MCCT.

The airbox, well, once you have the tank off you will see like 10 #2 phillips head screws holding it on, don't forget about the one in the middle. Might as well check your air filter while you have the tank off.

Oh, and check the blinker fluid while you are in there too.

checked the blinker fluid when i first got the bike, was little low so i topped it off. :lol

 

[Sh4dowsJudgment]

A tappy valve is a happy valve, specially on a kawi. Its when its quiet you worry. Most of the time valves tighten over time.

why is everything thing louder when its cold? Simple science, things contract when cold, expand when warm.

If you really REALLY wanna be sure, puke up $200-300 and take it to a shop and have the valves checked.

Are you experiencing any of these?
A lot of backfiring
Loss of power
difficulty starting
typically won't idle.
Dies when you are riding it and chop the throttle or slow down for a corner.

Then it could be your valves. Check your plugs first tho.

 

[grafittijunkie]

A tappy valve is a happy valve, specially on a kawi. Its when its quiet you worry. Most of the time valves tighten over time.

why is everything thing louder when its cold? Simple science, things contract when cold, expand when warm.

If you really REALLY wanna be sure, puke up $200-300 and take it to a shop and have the valves checked.

Are you experiencing any of these?
A lot of backfiring
Loss of power
difficulty starting
typically won't idle.
Dies when you are riding it and chop the throttle or slow down for a corner.

Then it could be your valves. Check your plugs first tho.

the only thing is the backfiring. the bike has an older r1 exhaust, seems to be stock headers. i guess the previous owner cut part of the stock piping and welded the r1 can on. only backfires when downshift and it revs up high. i'm guessing it's from it not being tuned to that r1 can. other than that it rides normal. doesn't backfire that loud either. hmmm i guess it isn't valves?