clanking sound when the bike is cold

bigwonnie

I am new to motorcycles i bought the black bird that i was salivating over. When the bike is cold i hear some clanking from the motor going on for a couple of minutes until the motor comes up to speed with the choke on. My cousin pay it now mind but i am curious what the noise could be. If anyone knows school me on the mechanics of the motor and it's sounds to look out for. Big Thanks in Advance.

AntXXG

Depends how bad it is but it sounds like its normal to me, almost all bikes run forged pistons nowadays, they expand a lot more than regular pistons. Therefore when the engine is cold all you're hearing is the chatter of the piston skirt to cylinder bore, then it will disappear when the engine heats and the pistons expand. If it was the cam chain it would sound the same when the engine was hot. This is one reason why you shouldn't thrash a bike when it's not fully hot.

CanadianBird

Noisy clutch, that's the way it is on a Bird. Unless perhaps it's the CCT. Birds rattle on start up then settle down when warm. I wouldn't call the clutch "silky smooth" by any stretch of the imagination. You can however do a search of, clutch noise and CCT noise. Cheers I don't discount the above explaination but I've never heard such "disconcerning" noise other that what I've mentioned. On newer models wait for the temp gage to register, usually 36 C before riding and don't cane her till she fully warmed up, 81 C or so. It takes awhile and a few miles and a year or two of ownership before you'll get used to all her nuances.

SilverXXRider

I have a '93 CBR1000 and my Cousin has a '91 CBR1000 I know that these are not the same motors as the XX but we had the same sound on start up of a cold engine. You said you have a choke? Am I to take it that your XX has carburators? If so we both had our Carbs sync'd up and no more sound. Have you had the bike tuned up recently maybe it needs the Carbs checked out? It is only a suggestion the noise from our bikes went away but like I said before these are different motors but an out of sync Carb is an out of sync Carb.

Good luck

SilverXXRider

I have less than 6K miles on my '02 FI Bird and I don't have any noise on start up.

CanadianBird

No clutch rattle? MMMMMMMMMM

bigwonnie

I think canadian is the winner of this discussion. after i read the post, i went out and pulled in the clutch and the sound went away. Canadianbird do you know what causes it to make the noise or is the carburator out of sync making it idle to low?

Splat

when its below 40ºf and my bird has been sitting over night does the same thing when I first start it up for about a minute then goes away. It sounds like the engine or something is coming apart. Figured it was normwl for this bike but I have only owned one other bike and that was a 2006 suzuki SV650s.

__________________
HELMETS SAVE LIVES I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE
2003 Blackbird Custom Solid Gray Chromed and Polished, Dynoed 133HP (DYNOED ON 8-23-08) at rear tire with Akrapovic full exhaust 421 and Power Commander III, Lowered to 29" seat height, MotoTeck undertail. changed gearing to 16/46 9-14-08

jsfrv6

My 97 was doing the same thing with about 2500miles on the last oil change. Changed the oil and filter with Honda HP4 semi-synthetic and no more rattle..

__________________
Scott
97 BB
"Big Black"
"I'd rather die while I'm living then live while I'm dead" Jimmy Buffet

CanadianBird

I think "clutch rattle" is normal on the Bird. Mine is in a heated covered garage and the bike is covered as well. On start up, she rattles for a short while, when the temp gage shows 35 C it goes away. There are smoother clutches out there but not better bikes.

FJRkeith

what he is describing does not sound like clutch rattle as much as a misfire.

When is the last time you changed your sparks?

Splat

mine is def not miss fire the motor is firing with a smooth purr but there is a like a metal to metal clunking sound from lower engine but it seems it does go away when i pull the clutch in but the sound like I said last less than 1/2 to 1 minute then goes away. I have 8.3k miles on mine. but it was doing it when I got it at 6.3K miles last year.

__________________
HELMETS SAVE LIVES I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE
2003 Blackbird Custom Solid Gray Chromed and Polished, Dynoed 133HP (DYNOED ON 8-23-08) at rear tire with Akrapovic full exhaust 421 and Power Commander III, Lowered to 29" seat height, MotoTeck undertail. changed gearing to 16/46 9-14-08

youfly2

97 bb it's normal mine does knock abit in the first 10-15 seconds then purrrs like the tiger she is