Loud ticking and vibration

[jester]

Just picked up my first Firestorm. Never had a twin before so had no idea what to expect. Its a 1999 and done 21k. Its had manual cam chain adjusters fitted. I noticed this really loud ticking sound above the engine noise and also i lot of vibration when accelerating. I've no idea if this is normal for this bike but i expected it to be smoother. The ticking reminded me of the sound tappets make when they need adjusting. Does anyone have any experience of this and any advice as to how i can make it all a lot smoother..Thanks

[darkember]

2 things to check: first your manual CCT's may need to be adjusted. Reasonably easy process check the sticky in the knowledgebase & follow it to the T

Second: if this does not stop the tapping then find out if the previous owner had the valves checked at 21K they could well be a little slack.

As to the vibration where are u feeling it. handlebars, footpegs, seat area??? Need to be more specific.

[jester]

The vibration i can feel through the handlebars when i accelerate and the revs get high especially in first and second. The guy said the valves were done at 16k. At the risk of looking stupid what do you mean by "check the sticky in the knowledge base" i've no idea where the cam chain tensioners are even located. Is that a fairing off job? thanks for your reply though.

[darkember]

Ok, look at the thread called CCTs 5th one down in the workshop area. When u look through it you will see a picture of the 2 different typs of tensioners. The one on the left with the red anodised body is a manual & the one on the right is a Honda stoke item, the ones that fail.

Now to find them on the bike slide a little futher down this thread & u will come across another photo of the clutch side of the bike. There u will see the CCT for the rear pot (cylinder). Note the one in the picture is not the manual type. The one for the front pot is found by looking on the other side of the bike just to the left of the chock pull lever behind the fat coolant pipe.

[tinysmall]

What he said. All you need to do (with the engine not running) is undo the lock nut, turn tighten the tensioners till finger tight then back them out about a quarter to half turn, then tighten the locknut again. Two minute job and no need to remove anything, though the front can be fiddly.

[jester]

thanks guys..will have a go tomorrow

[sirch345]

What he said. All you need to do (with the engine not running) is undo the lock nut, turn tighten the tensioners till finger tight then back them out about a quarter to half turn, then tighten the locknut again. Two minute job and no need to remove anything, though the front can be fiddly.

Jester, before you even start to check or adjust your manual CCT's make sure the engine's valve timing is set correctly for each cylinder first if you're going to do this with the engine not running. Have a look at this link for setting the valve timing:-
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8326

Have you been able to work out if your CCT's are manual or standard

Balancing the carbs will help to cut down on vibration if they haven't been done for a while, but these big V twin cylinders do vibrate more than an inline four.

Chris.

[jester]

Hi. The CCT's are manual. I've been out on it this morning and anything above 4000rpm sounds like a lawnmower engine lol. I've booked it in to my local bike shop and they can give it the once over. Hopefully it just needs setting up and it'll sound sweet. The valves were set at 16k and its now done 21k so they should be ok but maybe the carbs need balancing.

[vtryorks]

Sounds like the opposite problem to me.

Maybe we could swap one cylinder over on each bike and they would both be normal

[jester]

Just looked on my bike and saw that although the guy said he'd put new CCT's on that they are auto ones and not manual...Could that be the cause of my loud ticking sound? I've just ordered a set of manuals.

[StuartWags]

Jester,

was the ticking ever resloved?

I have an issue on mine at the moment

Stuart