Hi guys (and gals)
I just joined this group today, been reading through some posts. Looks like a good place with some good folks. I got an '86 vn750 for free last fall from a guy who just didn't want to deal with all the problems of an older bike that he abused. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so while on break from school I pulled the engine, did the stator/regulator replacement thing, rewired most of it, and cleaned up the carbs. I've been riding it for about a year now, and I love the bike, it sure beats my old Honda 400. Anyway...here's my problem.
Most of this summer I've been hearing a really loud clattering noise from the engine, sounds like it's coming from the right side of the crankcase. Now I've been doing my homework and it looks like a lot of folks report similar sounds from tired tensioners. My initial reaction was 'no way' because the noises are very loud, although somewhat intermittent, and are mostly present at idle. Doesn't sound like I'm about to throw a rod or anything though. Anyway, I cracked the right and left side covers off to look for a loose bolt or worn gear or something and didn't find too much... My starter one-way clutch gear has a good deal of side-to-side movement room - is that normal? I saw some wear on the beveled washed on the balancer shaft and on the gear, but not enough to be making that much noise. The only other thing I could find that seems a little off is the chain driving the oil and water pumps is very loose and I wondered if maybe I could be hearing some chain slap from in there. Maybe it is just the tensioners - who knows? The engine runs pretty well although it backfires unbelievably (maybe leaky air hoses?). Thanks in advance for any thoughts guys, I look forward to fixing the problem next time I'm home on break so I can be riding through December! Cheers,
Seth
http://users.wpi.edu/~sethm/
I just joined this group today, been reading through some posts. Looks like a good place with some good folks. I got an '86 vn750 for free last fall from a guy who just didn't want to deal with all the problems of an older bike that he abused. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so while on break from school I pulled the engine, did the stator/regulator replacement thing, rewired most of it, and cleaned up the carbs. I've been riding it for about a year now, and I love the bike, it sure beats my old Honda 400. Anyway...here's my problem.
Most of this summer I've been hearing a really loud clattering noise from the engine, sounds like it's coming from the right side of the crankcase. Now I've been doing my homework and it looks like a lot of folks report similar sounds from tired tensioners. My initial reaction was 'no way' because the noises are very loud, although somewhat intermittent, and are mostly present at idle. Doesn't sound like I'm about to throw a rod or anything though. Anyway, I cracked the right and left side covers off to look for a loose bolt or worn gear or something and didn't find too much... My starter one-way clutch gear has a good deal of side-to-side movement room - is that normal? I saw some wear on the beveled washed on the balancer shaft and on the gear, but not enough to be making that much noise. The only other thing I could find that seems a little off is the chain driving the oil and water pumps is very loose and I wondered if maybe I could be hearing some chain slap from in there. Maybe it is just the tensioners - who knows? The engine runs pretty well although it backfires unbelievably (maybe leaky air hoses?). Thanks in advance for any thoughts guys, I look forward to fixing the problem next time I'm home on break so I can be riding through December! Cheers,
Seth
http://users.wpi.edu/~sethm/
