Healthy motor noise

[88kat-rider]

So being this katana of mine if my first street bike I've owned I have a few questions on the noises I am hearing.

I recently installed a manual CCT because my auto tensioner spring broke causing my chain to clack and make terrible noises one morning. I know that noise was bad, no questions asked. With the manual tensioner installed I now have a slight buzz or rattle that occurs in the top end at a certain rpm range(usually until over 6000rpm).if I ride nice and easy on it , I notice it. When I get it up over 7000 rpm it sounds solid and clean and smooth.

I am also getting some wicked vibration through the bars and really the whole bike if I slowly accelerate through the gears (noticeable around 4-6k) .right now the streets where I live are full of sand and gravel from winter so you don't want to drive agressively and this is making me notice it a lot more than if I could just drive as usual.

Lastly...the concept of rpm matching when downshifting isn't all that new to me, I notice though on my Kat that when I blip the throttle, and then pull in the clutch to down shift ,the RPM's showing on the tach drop like a rock! pretty much to where they would've been if I didn't even blip it. Even when just driving, if I needed to pull the clutch in just while cruising it drops so fast.

I have driven a lot of bikes, mostly enduros or MX , and usually if you blip the throttle on one of those bikes the throttle hangs at that peak you reach from blipping the throttle for a second and then comes down steadily but gradually.

The katana is very fast at dropping rpms. I don't know if this is normal .

The bike all in all is old, high Kms on it, but runs well, it just makes me very cautious, even over cautious of these noises to the point that I don't enjoy riding because it's constantly in the back of my mind worrying if something isn't right.

Looking for some advice from you guys, maybe I am worrying over nothing....I have no clue.

[Slofuze]

Just ride it. However.....based on what I'm reading in your post.....and I could be reading it incorrectly........ but you're "blipping" at the wrong time. First you pull the clutch, blip, downshift, and release the clutch all in one smooth movement. If I read it wrong, my apologies.

[Jman2343]

Just a guess/question, buzzing maybe fairings or windscreen, and hows the carb sync.

[Nut-Nut]

After i synched mine, 90% of the handlebar buzzing disappeared...

[88kat-rider]

You didn't read wrong, I wrote it wrong...but that's what I'm doing.

I'll try a sync again... Maybe it's off. I think I'll do a compression check on each cylinder too.

Right now I'm running the cheapest 10w40 non synthetic oil I could get, would changing to a different weight oil or synthetic possibly help with the noise?

Any ideas on the way the rpms drop?

[mykat]

Right now I'm running the cheapest 10w40 non synthetic oil I could get, would changing to a different weight oil or synthetic possibly help with the noise?

Any ideas on the way the rpms drop?

Do you mean clatter from the engine top end? I've read on these forums that oil-cooled bikes tend to have loud valve chatter, and the heads on my bike seem to be pretty loud. Valve adjustment did not change the noise level.

As far as RPM dropping, I get the same issue on my 93 750, they do drop pretty quickly, to the point that I typically have to hold the throttle open a bit when I'm downshifting.

Oh also I meant to suggest, be sure you're running motorcycle oil, as car oil has not been recommended for motorcycles for a number of years.

[Kreylyn]

So being this katana of mine if my first street bike I've owned I have a few questions on the noises I am hearing.

I recently installed a manual CCT because my auto tensioner spring broke causing my chain to clack and make terrible noises one morning. I know that noise was bad, no questions asked.

Okay, so you fixed that issue. Did you adjust the manual tensioner when the bike was running per the instructions? If so, you should be set but can always revisit setting it again if you need to be sure. Doesn't sound like an issue to me so far though.

With the manual tensioner installed I now have a slight buzz or rattle that occurs in the top end at a certain rpm range(usually until over 6000rpm).if I ride nice and easy on it , I notice it. When I get it up over 7000 rpm it sounds solid and clean and smooth.

So this part would suggest that it may not be set just right and is a little loose. I would revisit setting the tensioner when the motor is running following the instructions that cam with the tensioner.

I am also getting some wicked vibration through the bars and really the whole bike if I slowly accelerate through the gears (noticeable around 4-6k) .right now the streets where I live are full of sand and gravel from winter so you don't want to drive agressively and this is making me notice it a lot more than if I could just drive as usual.

Double check the tensioner first, but the vibrations may not be related to that. These engines tend to be very vibration prone especially when lean. OEM setups are lean to start with with non ethanol fuel. Add in todays mix of fuels, and it's leaner. Lean = buzz and vibrations. The 6k mark is especially prone on the Kats. A jet kit (stage 1 factory pro brand) is highly recomended to resolve this. Vacuum/air leaks, out of sync carbs, or dirty carbs can also play an issue with this.

Lastly...the concept of rpm matching when downshifting isn't all that new to me, I notice though on my Kat that when I blip the throttle, and then pull in the clutch to down shift ,the RPM's showing on the tach drop like a rock! pretty much to where they would've been if I didn't even blip it. Even when just driving, if I needed to pull the clutch in just while cruising it drops so fast.

I have driven a lot of bikes, mostly enduros or MX , and usually if you blip the throttle on one of those bikes the throttle hangs at that peak you reach from blipping the throttle for a second and then comes down steadily but gradually.

The katana is very fast at dropping rpms. I don't know if this is normal .

The bike all in all is old, high Kms on it, but runs well, it just makes me very cautious, even over cautious of these noises to the point that I don't enjoy riding because it's constantly in the back of my mind worrying if something isn't right.

Looking for some advice from you guys, maybe I am worrying over nothing....I have no clue.

The bike has a fast reving and fast dropping rev engine. It's normal if the revs drop to the idle rpms and stays. If it drops below and or bounces that is bad. If it hangs, that is bad.

Generally the blip/shift process is just going to take some practice to get it right. It will definately be different than the off road bikes for example. They are very "sluggish" in response compared to these engines.

Krey

[88kat-rider]

So this part would suggest that it may not be set just right and is a little loose. I would revisit setting the tensioner when the motor is running following the instructions that cam with the tensioner.




Double check the tensioner first, but the vibrations may not be related to that. These engines tend to be very vibration prone especially when lean. OEM setups are lean to start with with non ethanol fuel. Add in todays mix of fuels, and it's leaner. Lean = buzz and vibrations. The 6k mark is especially prone on the Kats. A jet kit (stage 1 factory pro brand) is highly recomended to resolve this. Vacuum/air leaks, out of sync carbs, or dirty carbs can also play an issue with this.
Krey

Thanks krey! When doing the CCT install I couldn't run the bike and set it because I had the problem of not having room to adjust with the carbs and air box on....I installed it by cranking the Motor with the plug wires off and I then turned it in my hand until I could no longer turn it with one hand. I then backed it off 1/4 turn and locked it down.

I will attempt to do the adjustment again...

I actually have a factory pro stage 1 installed. It was done last fall.

Would the temperature outside affect how lean/rich it runs? Seems to loose the buzzy noise when we had the +20 C for one day or at least wasn't as bad. My A/F screws are 2.5 turns out....would I want to adjust the a/f screws ?

[05RedKat600]

Set the A/F screws wherever Factory Pro told you to.

Also, I'm sure this has been mentioned a LOT already, but you HAVE to adjust the manual CCT with the engine running. Adjusting it with the engine off is like ****ing into the wind.

[88kat-rider]

I will double check the instructions that came with the jet kit, I don't recall a definite setting on the A/F screws but I could be wrong. I was always told to start 2.5 out..... I don't get after fire thought the exhaust on decel it's clean sounding no popping so I would guess from that I'm not excessively lean, and I don't backfire through carbs so it's not too rich...or am I mistaken?

I understand the motor is suppose to be running...I haven't figured out how to do that and have the room to do the adjustment with carbs and air box attached. The actuall instructions just say to turn the motor over by hand with a wrench on the crank while turning the adjuster in...

I had the motor cranking when I did the adjustment so at least it was rotating....

So what course of action should I take?

[Slofuze]

Thanks krey! When doing the CCT install I couldn't run the bike and set it.

OOOooooo..... that changes things from my original post.

[hardlydangerous]

if you blip the throttle and it drops like a stone below 1200rpm and then comes back up its too rich on the mixture setting.

if its not dropping low and coming up its probably ok but your CCT might be too tight.

most 4-6K rpm noise is from valves out of spec. Always use two feeler guages when checking/adjusting the tappets. I like them on the tight side to eliminate most of the noise.