Slight knocking noise

[jjhussell]

I haven't been riding much in the last 2 weeks. I fired the bike up today and took it out. While I was letting it warm up I noticed a slight knocking noise from what sounds like the upper part of the engine. My bike is a 2000 600. I was wondering if this tick is the valves or more likely the cam chain. I bought the bike at 15K and now it has just over 31K. I had it in the shop to have it looked over around 25K. The mechanic said that it sounded great at that time and he wouldn't suggest messing with the valves or cam chain. I am pretty sure that one of them or both are causing some noise. I am also getting a little more vibration in the 5-8k range. The sound did seem to go away as the bike revs higher. Any help would be appreciated.

[arsenic]

valves

[jjhussell]

That is what I was hoping/ leaning towards.

From what I have looked at in the service manual it looks like a pretty easy fix, is that correct?

[Kreylyn]

If the sound goes away based upon rpm (not temprature) then wouldn't it be the chain slightly loose?

That was my experiance with a bike recently. Lower rpms knocked, higher rpms sounded normal. That bike had a process to reset the auto adjust chain tensioner and that fixed the issue.

The katana does have a tendancy to "wear out" the springs, and need replacement on occasion. You could check the spring to make sure it's still in spec. Remove the carbs and it's really easy to get too and pull out to check.

Krey

[DoyleDee]

I've got 66,5++ on my 05... I'd say just ride it- but keep an eye on your oil and oil changes.

[jjhussell]

I rode it again today and I didn't really notice it. I had to really get down next to where I heard the sound yesterday to hear it. Is it possible that most of the oil had drained out of the upper part of the engine and then it took a little while to get all of it lubricated like it should have been? I figured the oil pump would have had oil back up there in a few seconds, but I am not sure. Not that experienced with valves and cam chain. Also, I have never had any ticking or knocking noises from the engine.

Is this one of those things that you need to tear it apart to find out what it is, or is there a good way to pinpoint if it is the valves or if it is the cam chain?