rattle towards the front over bumps

I've only had my 06 VFR for about a month. I've put about 800 miles on it and so far I really like it. One thing that bothers me however is this rattle. It sounds like it would be in the exhaust kind of like the rattle a catalytic converter can make when they start to go bad and break apart. I changed oil this last weekend and while I had the side cover off looked it all over and couldn't find the source of the rattle. I tapped on the exhaust with a dead blow hammer from the headers back to the catalytic converter to try and replicate it but the exhaust was silent. I would describe it as sounding like a marble bouncing around inside an old metal coffee can. We have brick streets here in town and it will do it on the rough brick streets, or crossing rail road tracks, or sometimes on rough highway roads. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and could steer me in the right direction.

 

As odd as this might sound, check the airbox. A few members have found some interesting items left behind from rodents that have made their way into the innards of the bike.

 

I was thinking maybe someone did some work previously, and dropped a nut/bolt/socket etc. and never found it? So its bouncing around on the engine somewhere?

 

maybe to obvious but i was hearing a weird noise, it was my house key, i have bike key in, mini garage door opener and a house key, the house key was tinging sometimes.

 

Check your head bearings. Mine made kinda the same thing and I was going to change the head bearings but on an unrelated note I backed the preload out two turns and now no noise. If someone can explain that to me I would like to hear it.

 

I had the air filter out while I was servicing it and didn't find anything unusual in there. It could be in the steering pivot bearings. It sounds like its about that far forward. Its only got 9000 miles on it but I will look into this.

 

I had that it stopped when I tightened the chain. I think it rubs on the frame or something

 

A noise very similar almost make me fkng crazy time ago!!!!

Check the flap valve into the airbox, this is a valve activated by a switch in the clutch lever, which only works, when you engage the 1st gear, and you're just about to run, playing a little with the clutch.. if the micro-switch is dirty it makes false contact and the valve gets crazy and you hear the famous rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle, exactly below the gas tank.

Try this:
You choose if you rise the fuel tank or you can do it with everything in place, just keep your ear tuned close the tank or airbox.
Put the bike in centerstand, rear tire in the air, put 1st gear, engine just in idle running, and start to play with the clutch lever, press all and release veeery slow.. until you hear the "click" of the switch.

If everything is OK you'll hear something like a "PLAP" into the airbox, which is correct.
Try again attempting to get the intermediate point of the lever where the switch acts.. may be (like mine) the dirty switch starts to open-close-open-close effect, so the valve does it the same with that particular noise.

The valve controller is a vacuum device round and metallic located on the top of the airbox that OPEN-CLOSE extra air inlet to improve the PAIR at the "take off" if this is what is happening it sounds like a RELAY open and closing "tlik--...-tlrrrrrlik..- tlikrrrclic", when you're just to start moving the bike from zero MPH.

Normally we use the clutch crossing railroads in 1st gear and in bad roads.
If the noise you hear EXCLUSIVELY appears in these conditions probably is this thing.
But if also you hear it in high speed on highway.. try to found another thing, because as far as I know the valve only acts in very low RPM, 1st gear, or playing with the clutch.

If you hear it in brick roads and railroad crossings with NO GEAR and only free rolling, probably your steering bearings are dead.

 

Kind of waking up an old thread, but on my bike I found the ambient air temp sensor rattling between the headlights. The previous owner apparently just slapped it together indiscriminately.

 

My rattle was the exhaust. The heat shield over the cat had rusted and was only attached via one weld.

 

Check the front turn signal assembly. Mine was loose when i bought my 06 last year.