Just experienced two scares in one

I decided to crank up the bike since it hasn't been run in over a week. Outside temp is about 35 right now.

On my first try, the starter spun cleanly for a couple revolutions, then abruptly stopped, then acted like it was going to keep spinning. I immediately released the starter. It's the same kind of hiccup you get when either the ignition timing is too advanced, a cylinder is hydraulically locked, or a piston crashes into a valve... Since it's under warranty and I needed to see what it was, I attempted to start it again. This time it was perfect and started normally, going immediately to cold idle speed. I'm hoping it was just an ignition timing fluke

Once running, I noticed a very light ticking sound--something I've never really noticed before. It may always be there, but I can't say for sure. It seemed to change with engine RPM, though it was barely audible off idle. I took my stethoscope and probed around... the noise seemed to be in line with the ticking heard in the area of the throttle, so I assume I was just hearing the injectors. I didn't notice anything extraordinary coming from the valve covers except the sound of a rolling timing chain.

My worst fear is that a valve did momentarily stick while starting, collided with a piston, and bent slightly... and the ticking noise is actually the excessive valve lash created by a valve that can't close all the way. It seemed to run just fine, no misfires, no popping, and the idle seemed strong and normal. I wonder if I should bother checking the compression anyway.

 

I would think that if a valve bent enough to cause an audible increase in noise (ticking), that it would be off the valve seat by .002 - .005. That would probably cause a rough idle at best.

If you are not using a Battery Tender or a trickle charger of some kind, the battery may have just been a bit weak. It doesn't take long, particularly when it is cold.

For what it is worth, my '07 seems to occasionally make ticking sounds. I haven't figured out if it is me or the bike, although I suspect it is my level of attention more than anything else.

So if it was me, I wouldn't worry about it. I would put it on a good trickle charger at least one or two days a week, though.

 

I'm having the SAME EXACT issue with my 05'. In addition, my clock resets and the trip odometer resets to zero when the abrupt stop happens. The shop told me to check the battery cable to make sure their tight. Everything was fine with the terminals. This only started happening AFTER I had the recall preformed! I'll try the trickle charger since I do have a Battery Tender for my other bike. I have a strange feeling it might be time for the valve adjustment... $$$$$$!!!

 

Hi Silver. Do you still have your original battery? 3 years is starting to push it a bit, if a charger hasn't been used in the "in-between" times. The trip odometer and clock resetting are a definite sign that the battery voltage is dropping low enough to be a problem. There was a recent thread on batteries...

http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/12363-battery-recommendations-please.html

Hope that helps!

 

This has only happened when i start the engine (cold start). I don't know if this is the original battery since I only bought this bike in December 2006. Its never been on a charger though... This doesn't explain the ticking noise junktionfet and I are experiencing. I need to meter the battery and see where the voltage sits at rest, after start up and after its warmed up. That will either eliminate the battery or point to the possible cause. Thanks for the idea Lgn001!

 

Starting a cold engine just to hear it run (or MUCH worse to charge the battery!!) is not a good idea, and if properly stored ( with Stabil) not necessary.
The fewer very cold starts the better regarding engine bearings, piston rings, cylinder walls......

A motorcycle engine is not an efficient battery charger.

 

ticking

i have 07 rwb it ticks also cold maybe is becuase when sitting for a long period of time more then a week 4 me the oil drains to the pan and is a little dry up there and the oil and valve train not up to temperature maqkes a little noise if u r really worried put on gloves and snow suit ride it for 20 miles down the highway defrost ur fingers and wipe your nose and see if the noise stopped bet it did idling in garage is not circulating the oil as it does in gear riding........

 

chain guard

anyone know where you can get a carbon fiber chain guard?? or mirrors bar ends tank bra looking everywhere it seems most major companys do not include the vfr in there list of roadrace replicas.............:frown:

 

Do the '07's have hydraulic valve lash adjusters? If so, having sat for a while may have drained them of the oil that they rely upon. If these are not filled with oil, they will tick a little bit until the oil filles them back up...

 

Nope, they are mechanical, shim under bucket. The VTEC valves are hydraulically activated with engine oil, but they are also shim under bucket.

 

My bike doesn't sit for more than 2 days ina row; I ride everyday I can rain or shine (benefit for living in California!!) The ticking occurs whether the bike is cold or at running temperatures. Maybe I should have said morning starts to stop all the confusion. I'll have to try the battery test when I'm back in town to see if it is in need of a charge or replacement. If it is the original battery (3+ years) then a replacement would be in order.

 

Today it got up to 60 during the day so I took the bike out for a few hours... Once she got completely warmed up and did a few wide open runs to redline to see how it behaved.

The engine was as smooth as ever and sounded great as usual. It felt as though the horsepower leveled off a bit once I got to about 11,000 RPM. I suppose that might be normal but honestly I've never really paid enough attention to the "butt dyno" when revved that high before. I'm probably being too picky and worrying about nothing... I should just shut up and ride.

Perhaps it really was just a weak battery and some normal cold-engine ticking that I heard.

On a side note, I had a close call almost while negotiating a tight turn on a piece of road I'm not 100% familiar with. Most of the time I scope out a stretch of road before attempting to "enjoy it", but this time I got a little impulsive and entered a curve a bit fast. Live and learn (or learn and live)...

While I was completely leaned, I noticed a huge stretch of cracked and busted pavement right in the middle of the lane where my tires were about to hit. Having been bitten in the past by such pavement, I had to avoid it. I stayed calm and quickly adjusted my course to swing to the right of it, mostly without even thinking.

Well, the radius of the curve tightened up a bit, so I ended up coming within mere inches of running off the road and down a very steep but grassy hill. Again, I quickly adjusted back the left just a bit to stay on the pavement.

I guess the point of this story is that the handling characteristics of this bike are awesome. It's heavy for a sportbike, but it moves with grace and it responded perfectly to what my body told it to do. I'm just an average rider, but she kept me on course like a pro. :wink:

 

yeah, when the battery gets low, I've gotten the same symptoms. I disconnect the ground to the battery while it charges, or after a funkie electronics issue to reboot the brains. connect it up and *try* to remember to reset the clock so I don't get confused on time during the ride to work (oh, nuts! I'm late!!)

hasn't happened since I got the battery tender (or NorCal's recommended European smurfy tender thingy) or while commuting daily.