Help, bike making funny sound

[Catcha23]

I've searched and am currently searching through these threads looking for something related to my issue, but I can't seem to find anything.

I was riding today for about 30 min on freeway and once I got off on ramp and downshift to 4th gear I hear the bike sputtering like it has something stuck in the muffler or something. I immediately pulled over and the bike was still running to my surprise. I turn the throttle and it revs, but the noise is constant with the turn of the throttle. Sounds like its coming from the engine area behind front tire?? The bike took me home 1 mile in this condition. The higher the rpm, the louder the noise... maybe a compression issue. Sounded similiar to when I blew a plug once in my truck???? Any suggestions. And how much to get repaired??

I've had bike for just under a year, bought it used. I chg oil regular basis. Stored the bike properly with fuel stabilizer, wheels off ground, etc. I've had bike out of storage now for 2 weeks and everything was fine until today. I have just recently placed some seafoam in the gas and filled the tank. Tank is about 3/4 full now....

[squiggy]

I hear the bike sputtering like it has something stuck in the muffler or something.

Can you feel it sputtering as well?


If it's only audible, then it could be something as simple as a loose spark plug, doubtfull because you would feel a loss of performance. Or a loose exhaust header bolt that makes one of the tubes not seat properly, doughtful as the other three should hold it enough to stay seated.

[Catcha23]

yes, I can feel the sputtering as well. Tried to start her up this morning and she fired right up, but still sputtering with the loud muffling sound coming from the engine area(I think) or the muffler area. ??

I was going to try to make it to my local ASK dealer about 1 mile from my house, but don't want to get ripped off if it something simple that I may be able to repair.

Bike is stock, nothing fancy on it (stock pipes, stock filter, no jet kit as far as I can tell, etc. 14000 miles, I bought it last summer with 7900 miles on it)

[Wild-Bill]

Sounds like something broke loose in the exhaust. Check around the header and exhaust pipes for any signs of blow-by. If that's the problem you should see black carbon streaks around the leak. If you don't find anything try a compression check. Maybe you've got a stuck exhaust valve.

[Catcha23]

Okay, I recorded the sound on my cellphone and took it to a local bike shop mechanic. He immediately said it was and air leak someplace either in the exhaust, airbox or plugs. I went home and exhaust fine, when removing gas tank, noticed one of the rubber boots was off and not attached to plug. Bought new plug and tried to start it, but hole is stripped (I didn't strip it, only turned it with my fingers)

I tried the thread tape, but didn't work. It worked while at idle and driving through the city for 15 min, but once I twisted the throttle a bit just to see what would happen, it blew the plug back out because of the stripped threads.

• Bike shop (ASK in Lancaster, OH) qouted me 15 labor hours = $1000 (removing head and re-bore hole and assemble)!!!
• Guy at local parts store said I could heli coil the hole?? I know the process, had it done on my truck before. Heli-coil kit is like $20 at this parts store (Advanced Auto Parts), then perform oil change before starting bike
• Same mechanice at ASK said he may be able to heli-coil it for about $200, but woud have to see the bike first because the plug holes are so far recessed in the head.

My question, Will a heli-coil work? Or does it sould like someone is trying to rip me off? Will attempting to hel-coil it myself cause damage? I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but not enough to remove the head and reassemble. Looking for suggestions??

[scottynoface]

The head is Al right? Aluminum is pretty soft to heli coil, I think this has been discussed somewhere, lemme check.

This looks like some help: http://katriders.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-67969.html

[Catcha23]

Thx Scotty. The guy at the bike shop did mention sert/insert and not heli-coil. The parts store was the heli-coil. The time sert was the $200 charge from bike shop IF he could do it, but wanted to see the bike first.

[md86]

Well , if you have the shop do ANY of the labor , it'll be more than the bike (and engine) is worth . If YOU can do a large chunk of the work , make make it worthwhile . The head CAN be repaired , and IN THEORY the can be repaired while on the bike ( I've read about it ) , but ...... Your best bet MAY be to get another engine , or another bike . How handy is ya ? I know there's a few members in your area who MAY be willing to look over your shoulder , or do some of the work at a decent rate . But there AIN'T gonna be a cheap/easy fix for THIS one .

[Wild-Bill]

You can put a heli-coil in from the top but it'll break back loose again eventually. Pull up your sleeves, grab the manual and follow the step-by-step instructions to pull the head. It's not that hard, it's just that there's a lot of stuff in the way. Then you can either install an insert properly from the inside of the head (where it's easy to get to things) or have it done at a machine shop without having to pay the stealership to pull the head.

[md86]

Yeah dude , but apparently with the post you have to drop the engine to get the head off . Not as easy as on our pre's , huh .

[The CyberPoet]

(A) Don't use a heli-coil. It's not up to the task, because it mates to a part [spark plug] that is regularly removed and reinstalled. You can use a KeenSert instead. If you want to do it yourself, you'll need to pull the head (some will tell you can get away with doing in place**, but if you do, the metal cuttings will go into the cylinder), drill to the right size and install the KeenSert with the appropriate tool. You can get the KeenSert and tool here:

http://www.newmantools.com/kee.htm

** NOTE There is the minor possibility that something inside the cylinder (carbon build-up or metal from some other procedure/failure, or part of the spark plug insulator itself) actually got between the piston crown and the spark plug and slammed into the spark plug hard enough to rip it out of the threads -- although the odds are small, this is my primary reason for recommending removal of the head to examine the situation...

If I were bothering to do one spark plug hole for it, personally, I'd probably do all four at the same time... Never the same problem twice

Oh, and if you do the work, you will need a head gasket, a bunch of o-rings and seals, etc.

(B) The other alternative that immediately comes to mind is simply swapping out the part to an used one that is known-good. Arsenic may have one available... Still quite a bit of man-hours to get down in there, but may be less $$ in the long run than removal/drill/tap/keensert, depending on what the part costs you.

(C) If the only people to ever change your plugs are the shop themselves (or the factory from the original install), then the obvious answer is to take your invoices down there and get them to do it for free (this doesn't simply happen without someone screwing up the torque on the spark plugs) -- and I'd get Suzuki USA involved if they didn't want to do right by you.

(D) Oh, and if you can get the head out, but don't feel comfortable with the rest of the work, most machine shops can do the keensert drill/tap/install (as verses to dealerships/mechanics).

Good luck!

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

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CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[Wild-Bill]

Yeah dude , but apparently with the post you have to drop the engine to get the head off . Not as easy as on our pre's , huh .

I did see something about unbolting all but the rear-most two bolts in the subframe and rotating the engine downwards. Might be a better choice than completely pulling the engine for someone with limited shop space/tools.

[ThAzKat]

OK, this is fixed, someone in the past did cross thread the spark plug in #1 hole. Not hard to do since it isn't a straight shot to the plug hole on the post 600's. Being careful is key with anything.
helicoil will not seize because I used antiseize on the plug, it should set to the head tho.
Now to get the carbs taken care of, they need cleaned bad!

[HemiKat]

Ive used Heli-coil's on aluminum Subaru heads without an issue....

[ThAzKat]

My cavalier has one in #5 cylinder! No problems!