[peterboroughninja]

I was at the kawi dealer today and he said it's not supposed to make that much noise. he say he c 's it all the time, some are even louder tic 'n but still run great. He thinks it could be the primary chain off the crank. Anyone heard of this? It sound like valve's but I have had the head off and dissassembled....all measurments taken and re-assembled in good working order. the noise is really only noticable at lower idle to 2 grand mabey. any input my ninja brothers?

 

[cstem]

Uhhh, what noise? Describe it. How it sounds, when it sounds and what changes it and where it sounds like it is coming from. Checked the oil to see if there is any metal in it?

 

[fog]

The EX is one of the few bikes left in the world with a primary chain drive and it does make noise. It is more like a thudding, or shuddering sound. another noise is Piston slap. Neither of these really sound like valve noise.

FOG

 

[peterboroughninja]

Sorry i was a little vag on my problem. The motor runs great , lots of power starts perfect no problems. but when at idle u can hear a tic noise ......kinda like a clock. I have heard from many people that these motors make that noise normally but i haven't had a chance to here another one. When I was a the dealer today the mechanic said it shouldn't be that noisy, but he has heard worst from other ex 500's. does anyone else have this problem? when it reved up u can't hear it. ???

 

[Frog]

If you take out the exhaust fart, mine sound like a mechanical sewing machine from the early 1900

 

[mycat8urskidoo]

yeah mines pretty damn noisy too, its almost embarassing, haha, if anyone has any sort of an ear for a motor , im sure they're wondering what the hells wrong with that thing when i drive by

 

[peterboroughninja]

That's what i'm talking about , so it is normal....... anything over 2 grand and it's none existant. great i can sleep again! ..........or mabey make a shirt out of my kawasaki sewing machine hahahahahaha.

 

[MrSciTrek]

I thought my 500 was somehow screwed up by the previous owner... and that's why it was kind of clattery (?) at low rpms. But mid & upper sound good & are FUN!

Glad you asked about this, PeteBNinja.

 

[mycat8urskidoo]

my ticking continues througout the whole rpm range, the exhaust just covers it up once youg et up there rpm wise

 

[MrSciTrek]

my ticking continues througout the whole rpm range, the exhaust just covers it up once youg et up there rpm wise

Does it "tick" the same in all gears?
Is the "Tick" going-up proportionately with the engine speed or w/ the bike/chain speed?

 

[Frog]

it seems to follow the engine speed

it's ticking on idle in neutral, past 3k I can't distinguis it from the engine noise (still in neutral)

I dunno in gears, I ride with earplugs

 

[redline]

I thought my 500 was somehow screwed up by the previous owner... and that's why it was kind of clattery (?) at low rpms. But mid & upper sound good & are FUN!

Glad you asked about this, PeteBNinja.

I went to look at a 92 EX last week. It only had 12800 KM's. I started it up and within 2 or 3 minutes the clattery sound was also heard at low rpms. Sort of like a bag of hammers ;D Looks to be a common thing for this engine to make this noise. Mine has made this sound for years, and I have not had any engine problems yet. The oil still shows no metal/engine breakdown etc.

 

[calamarichris]

Two suggestions:
When you adjusted the valves, are you certain you used the METRIC measurements on the feeler gauge? Most feeler gauges available in the US have both the metric and SAE measurements on the blade (and some have only the SAE measurements.)

The numbers on top are fractions of an inch, the lower numbers are the fractions of a millimeter--the one you should be using.

No offense intended if you're certain you have the valve clearances set to the metric measurements. It's more common than you might think.

And if you'd like to quiet down the engine's natural, perceived mechanical noise from the rider's perspective, you can always order the sheet foam from another Ninja model like I did. Pictured is the foam set from a 2002 ZX9R I put on my 500's fairing. (Also got the foil/foam sheeting lining the underside of the gas tank, for good measure:

It always twisted my sack that KHI saw fit to put this noise-damping material on their smoother, quieter I-4 engines, but they don't do it on our 500.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

[fog]

Metric Schmetric. Dimensions are all the same . Make the proper conversion and it don't maka noa difference. 1 mm =.03937 inches.

Inlet tol..13-.18 mm or .005" - .007 exhaust .18- .23 mm or .007-.009"
Numbers is Numbers why you gotta confuse the matter. or as long as you use the equivalent thickness gage it don't matter what is stamped on it.

FOG

 

[MrSciTrek]

I tnink he was just reminding us to look at the proper number on the feeler gauges:
Be sure that we're looking at metric labels on the gauge if using metric specifications, and use the SAE fractional inches labels if we're looking at SAE Specs.

As FOG wrote, a given thickness is still the same thickness... just make sure of the above.

Many of the 8th graders struggle to get their minds around unusual measurements. Seems like the suburban kids have less & less hands-on activities/hobbies, and less mechanical/spatial reasoning, than what they used to even 10-20 years ago. They get lots of sports/computer motor skills but little in terms of actual mechanics and related concepts with measurement.

 

[D.C.]

So how much did you have to shell out for the padding and what did it do in the say of head dissipation? Is it running any hotter than it did fefore adding it? I'm in Pensacola, FL and it gets pretty hot down here. I'm trying to weigh my options on noise reduction. Thanx

 

[ZEDhead]

These engines just tick, tick, tick.... it's the cams and the valves. You know when the ticking stops, the valve clearances are too tight and you are heading for problems.

It's exactly the same on my ZX11. If you hear the tick, you know you are good (should still check the valve clearances at the correct interval though). When the engine stops ticking, you had better adjust the valve clearances asap or you will burn a valve.

 

[calamarichris]

So how much did you have to shell out for the padding and what did it do in the say of head dissipation? Is it running any hotter than it did fefore adding it? I'm in Pensacola, FL and it gets pretty hot down here. I'm trying to weigh my options on noise reduction. Thanx

I think it was around $90 for the complete set. Since the damping material is placed on the fairing & underside of the fuel-tank, it doesn't affect the airflow or cooling much, and the narrowed spaces might even enhance the airflow over those hot surfaces.
I've traded bikes with another 500 owner since then and it does a good job of reducing the perceived noise while you're on the bike. But of course the engine is exposed, so if you get off the bike you can still hear most of the clatter.
You can also hear the clatter reflecting off other surfaces like when you ride next to a curb. Also off the asphalt when you have the bike leaned over far enough.
I'm in North San Diego County if you ever want to take it for a spin and see for yourself.
-CCinC

 

[duckwize]

Mine ticks in all gears, at all RPM's. I first thought it was the chain, cause it started to happen after I cleaned and adjusted it. But I realized that this noise would happen even when the clutch engaged, and reving the engine. The tick seems to be louder or more noticable when the throttle is on, when I let off on the throttle, the tick goes away... I'm almost certain this tick was not there before... and now here it is.. and all you guys say its normal... but no one has explained what it is. or what is causing it.. I kinda find the tick annoying. what to do, what to do??

 

[m-clar70]

Metric Schmetric. Dimensions are all the same . Make the proper conversion and it don't maka noa difference. 1 mm =.03937 inches.

Inlet tol..13-.18 mm or .005" - .007 exhaust .18- .23 mm or .007-.009"
Numbers is Numbers why you gotta confuse the matter. or as long as you use the equivalent thickness gage it don't matter what is stamped on it.

FOG

Hey if anyone dosn't like converting anything like i do, let this freebie do it for u its good stuff i reccomend it to anyone (except the blind) http://joshmadison.com/software/convert/

Oh and by the way my ex sounds like a old VW bug as far as engine noise goes..lol