Rattle knocking from front of motor - timing

Yikes! Dunno, as the saying goes: "Beyond this point there be monsters." What manual are you using? Think I saw something, either in a post here or some other service manual about a shortcut. Checked my manual for the 2008 model but makes no mention of it. Good Luck.

 

The part number of the "special tool's" needed for the valve adjustment are on page 3-9 in the Honda service manual. Somebody also has done a pretty nice writeup of the procedure AND given us specs/measurements of the slide pin stopper thingies.



http://www.landofopus.com/motorcycle/valve_adj/tools_and_parts.html

 

Nutz, here's the link to the main writeup too

Valve adjustment - Overview

 

Thanks everyone I found the problem... Worn cam and cam guides how did this happen?

I'm two months past factory warranty... wasn't even running bad just had a tick and went 4300 miles like this damn damn damn

 

How the hell did that happen???? I'm VERY interested in this because my 07 has had a knock/tick since the week I bought it, it's intermittent, and I have been unable to find it and I have spent so much time and money doing this and that to try to remedy it, that I'm just on the verge of offing this thing for cheap and vowing to NEVER buy another Honda because I've had 3 of them and none of them have been all that reliable, with one leaving me sit on a major highway a few years ago.

 

hootie, do you think that you may have tightened the cam chain tensioner down too much causing the cam to wear the head down. Or at least contributed to it. Were you running a light oil. Just askin.

I had a second hand CBX back when they were still current. It cracked the head. Had a factory service rep look at it and give me a new head. It was well out of warranty. I was upset over it happening but grateful that Honda stood it. My VFR is my second road going Honda.

 

I see it but can not believe it. Not on a motor that has hardly been run in. For sure this is a problem that originated at time of manufacture.

Camo, the pressure placed on the cam by the actual valve springs is way more than can possibly originate from a CCT, so i doubt this to be the cause.

Hootie, only one cam in this state?

 

The other cam is not perfect at all but not worth a photo as this was

 

I only used the Honda oil recommended and was just now installing the new cct. so I dont think I had anything to do with it.

 

:hss:Lookie to me like someones torque wrench was a wee bit off that day on the assembly line and overtorqued the hell outta your cams on that head, just an opinion, could be many other causes too. Hopefully Honda stands up and takes care of this for you, it certainly dosen't appear to be at all your fault, manufacturing defect of some sort.

 

Honda SHOULD still warranty it since you took it in with the problem before the warranty ran out. I think they are legally obligated to but I could be wrong. Otherwise dealers could just keep putting people off till their warranty ran
Out. Best of luck!

 

Its called "An Out of Warranty Consideration". This should not be be a problem as the fact that you took this to the Rep prior to your warranty expiring. Would not matter anyway, try going through your local dealer & if they balk, go through the Honda main distributor. Since there are a few people here that are experiencing that knocking sound, especially with such low miles, everyone assumes its just normal

I've owned 4 Honda's & the worst I've ever experienced is the piece of crap regulator dieing on my previous bike & a snapped throttle cable back in 1969 on my CB250. As far as I'm concerned their the most reliable bikes around.

 

Please help

So I took the bike in to let them look at it.
They have had it a while and say now that even if it was under warranty they would not fix it because this was caused by lack of oil to that area and, that's the first area the oil goes to.
They say that I must of done a wheelie and that caused the oil to not get to the cam.
I said even when I brought it in with only 2500 miles on it making that sound it was because i you think i did a wheelie?
He said yes it was user error.

I've only had it 1.2 years now and i have to pay it off but never ride it again what a rip off. I'm afraid to fix it because what else may go wrong with it? and I don't have the money

Any Ideas how I can get them to help me?

 

Find a new dealer that will not accuse you of doing things you aren't doing, first and most important step. In the meantime I would contact Honda corporate and inform them of the false and baseless accusations their dealer is making about you and your machine.

On a side note, what a load of :bs:

 

In addition, if oil starvation due to wheelies were a problem for these engines, everyone here and on VFRD with a Torocharger installed would be blowing through engines like cheap kleenex.

 

If It is oil starvation, it should only be happening when you first start it. It should go away when oil starts flowing.
You can correct this by putting in a free flowing oil filter like the OEM honda filter and or a standard purolator filter L14612 I think is the number. Some bikes can't deal with some of the more restrictive filters. If the filter is clogged/collapsed, then I guess it could be happening all the time but they have a bypass valve that should correct this but it could be faulty I guess. Also you can switch to a 5w-40 oil it will flow faster and more freely at startup.
It is quick and cheep to try. Worst case, you have a fresh filter and oil.

If the knocking continues after the bike is warm and oil is flowing freely , then you have something else wrong. Find another dealer.

 

I can tell you exactly how to get rid of the noise.....get rid of the piece of shit, cause that's what I did. I couldn't take it anymore. THere's no reason on earth that I should have to endure poor engineering and the totally pointless and worthless implementation of VTEC on a motorcycle. I thought VTEC would be pretty cool until I actually had it.....most annoying and useless thing I know of. This will be the last Honda I will have ever owned. I had a Honda leave me set on the racetrack while I was fighting for a championship, I had another Honda leave me set along a major highway, and then there was this bike with the ridiculous and embarrassing knock it had. I traded it in, I don't miss it, and I'm back to the brand that has forever been the most reliable bike I've ever had, street or track: Kawasaki.
I forgot what POWER was....I now realize the VFR had very little in the way of it.
Sorry if I offended anybody, but I'm sure I have. It's just that this VFR put a bad taste in my mouth to the extreme. Combine that with all the other Hondas that have left me down, and you get the picture. If you don't, oh well.

 

This is what they told me that Honda corporate had said to them.....Honda corporate inst open until Monday so I haven talked to them.

 

That will be an expensive repair because the camshaft runs in the head without any bearing shells, so probably new head and camshaft.
If it was me I would be screaming. If Honda corporate dont come to the party, I would be posting pictures on every website known to man.
Honda would hate the bad publicity.
It looks like the motor ran out of oil, or was run without oil. If it did then there would be other damage too, probably main bearings and big ends.
If you are sure it didnt, then its a manufacuring fault, IMO.
Didnt you report this to a dealer when the bike was still in warranty?
If so they should honour it.

2007 VFR what kwaka did you buy? Was it a ninja 1000?
Its a shame that you have had bad experiences with Hondas, I have had none, but I know of others who have had, but no more than any other brand.
I agree that vtec is a waste of time, but its reliable, and there arent any other bikes that I can think of that tick all the boxes of the VFR, just my 2c.
I hope you enjoy your Kwaka.
The only other bikes I personally would consider would be a FZ1 if they put the crossplane crank engine in it, but they arent going to, or a Tuono v4 if it had a fairing, but it doesnt.

 

I'd give the Respected Honda-san crew the benefit of the doubt this time and guess that it must have been starved of oil for some undetermined reason at sometime and just got worse. It's a mystery and not a common failure, so the possibility of owner error cannot be ruled out yet. If it's a problem known to the Honda factory service department they should have done something or said something to owners, but you can't expect that sort of honesty from any for-profit corporation anyone knows about today.


Was the cam bearing clearance too small from day 1 due to machining errors (doubt it very much), debris clogged in an oil passage?

Cold-startup oil starvation can damage some engines at the topmost points, where oil pressure takes time to build, builds last, and where soft aluminum alloy is especially vulnerable to under-lubrication failure. Aren't your feet colder than your hands ?? Circulation ! Farther away from the pump. If oil at the top end drains back into the nether regions during disuse, and it takes time to pressurize the cam bearings up top so excess wear might be expected there the first time the oil pressure ever runs low for any undetermined reason whatever. Could be caused by owner unintentially if oil weight was too high for the temperature or level too low at any time even briefly.