Dakar weird noises
 

Hey Kids,

How is it?

Just into Ecuador from Colombia, and for the last couple of days the Dakar's been making weird noises. Bad noises. From what sounds like the top end. 4th or 5th gear, 4 or 5 thousand revs, under power, there's a knocking, a clacking, kinda like twigs snapping (you try to accurately describe engine noises - it ain't easy). Lucky guesses? I'm leaning towards cam problems? Or is it just high altitude pinking?

Thanks in advance, Dan Walsh

SOUNDS like pinking. A twig snapping (good one that http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif ) that goes away as soon as you back off the throttle slightly is almost certainly pinking. Not to worry, just don't ride in the range that it does that. Keep the revs up a bit, and easier on the throttle at lower revs.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Ta Grant. Yep, it disappears as soon as I back off a bit. Thanks for the reassurance. I didn't fancy scrabbling about with cam tensioners. Cheers, Dan Walsh.

Hi guys,
I and my friend are on Dakars in Syria, and yesterday we filled up with slightly suspicious petrol and the same noices appeared (on both bikes). Mainly if we rode on high gears, low revs. Changing gear and keeping the revs up made it go away. Could it be too low octane - i.e. bad ignitions?
Erik

Low octane and high altitude give the same symptoms. Defninitely pinking, AKA "detonation".