I have an '88 3AJ and have set the tappits to .10mm inlet and .13mm outlet (as per the CLymer manual), but the tappits are still relatively noisy.

They are however not any noisier than my '83 Honda XL500, which has been going happily for years.

But then again my XL is not going to travel through the Sahara, so can anyone advise me as to wether I should be concerned about the noise or not? (Fred?)

Hi Geoff,
Mine are pretty noisy most of the time too. Mine's a 1VJ though but I reckon they are just noisy tappits.

I wouldn't be too worried about it ! ... but it will be interesting to hear what others reckon,

cheers,

Simon

So what do noisy tappets sound like? Slightly metallic, from the top end (a bit like a knocking, esp. at idle)? If so, my 3AJ has them too!

SOmething like that Lewis,
a bit like.... kluk,kluk,kluk,
especially on startup when the oil hasn't been pumped up to the top end yet.

I must admit though, if I'm not listening for the noise I don't hear it.

Geoff

Don't worry too much about this, wait until the engine is warm, put on your helmet and start riding. If you still hear the noise, start worrying.
One thing to watch though are the valve stem tops. They have a hardened flat surface, but when this is gone, your valve adjusting bolts will round them. Then it's impossible to adjust the valves properly. In other words your feeler gauges won't give you correct info.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Wooops,
time to start worrying then.

I drove my bike to work today and could hear the tappits clearly through my helmet.

The best way to describe the noise is as Lewis said, a metallic ticking, which, at about 4000 revs sounds almost like a metallic purr, except more pronounced.

So what are the causes Fred?
Worn valve stem tops as you said,
worn rockers, or do the valves need reseating?

What damage can this cause to the engine and how quickly?

Geoff

I would check the timing chain tension first.
Remove the chain tensioner and look how many splines there are left to be used. Note : the last 5 or so will not be engaged automatically by the spring, if you only have a few left, try to push the tensioner forward 1 spline, then mount and start the engine.
Success,

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Hi Geoff,

I'm doing some work on my 1vj this Saturday. If you fancy riding your Tenere over and having a cup of T and chat you're welcome. It would be interesting to hear your engine.

Give us a call,
cheers


Simon

Thanks for the advice Fred,

I took the tensioner off today, to find that,
instead of adjusting the tensioner manually as you suggested or replacing the cam chain, the previous owner had tack-welded a nut to the end of the tensioner shaft, giving it an extra 7mm in length.

So I guess this means replacing the cam chain tensioner and the chain.

I'm surprised at what seems like premature wear of the cam chain though.
The bike's odo says it has only done 18000km and the rest of the bike seems to echo this:
No play in the swing arm or other bearings, no scratches/dings on the bash plates/side covers, no oil leaks, no wear showing on the rockers/valve stem tops and the whole bike is relatively clean as well.

Geoff

had something similar some month ago.
somebody asked me to replace the cam chain on a 2KF because tensioner was at it's end.
when i opened the engine i found that a previous 'expert-mechanic' had mounted the front chain guide in a wrong position.
the chain length was o.k. ...

have fun
klaus

Miracles always happen. I bought my 660 showing 11.000 km. and looking as new. Always used a lot of engine oil, no smoke, running perfectly. No consumption when all day wide open throttle [like on the beach] and 1 litre every few hundred km when touring around the countryside. Finally at 58.000 km opened the engine, turned out that 1 inlet valve stem seal was the cause of the oil consumption. The valve stem still showed marks of a lathe clamp. The machine shop man told me that the cylinder had been honed before, however there was no oversize piston.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Geoff,
This might sound silly but if it's such an old model check where the exhaust joins the bit that goes into the cylinder head.
My original pipes broke there and when sitting on the bike it sounds very similar to noisy tappets!

Griff.