Timing Belt Bearing OR Valve Noise

Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
66
Location
Bryan, Texas
Bike
1999 ST1100
All,

I am on the first leg of my 11,000 mile ride that started in May and will finish in October (see link below for details). Before I left I had the timing belt changed, timing belt tension pulley and a various other things done like oil change. I also had my valve clearance checked, and it was good.

Currently, I am intermittently hearing what sounds like valve clicking noise. The noise is coming from the right side of the bike. When I take off the oil cap, while the engine is running, the noise is NOT louder. The Honda mechanic that worked on "Roxanne" said it is most likely the pulley as he did not mess with the valves and this only started after the service. Now I am in Maryland (long distance from Texas)... I decided to take it into the dealer to get it looked at and what happened? The noise stopped. It came back a day or two later but it is not consistent. I have lately decided to not worry about it and ride. What do the great minds of this forum think? Worse case scenario the bike engine locks up and I have to get a new one... That would be a new CRF1000L...

Let me know if I should worry about it or not. I am not really in a position to let Honda have the bike to fiddle with as I am about to swing down to Georgia next weekend.

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?150581-ST1100-or-something-new-Traveling-cross-country-for-externships&highlight=
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,108
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
You could stop by Honda dealers whenever you hear the noise on your trip. It should stop when you hit their driveway and that should last you a few hundred or thousand miles. These noises are very hard to diagnose long distance - hey, I have one and the dealer completely screwed up the diagnosis and their mechanic is supposed to be very very good. Your best bet is to ride it until it becomes worse unless you have a resident genius handy to tell you what it is. Fwiw, my guess would be something to do with the belt tensioner.

Other things to test to help track it down - do you hear the noise when you start up? Or only when the bike is warm? When the noise is present, is the bike moving or stopped or both? Does noise change w/ rpm's going up? How about if you pull in the clutch? How about if you pull in the clutch and coast? Does it change if you put it in neutral and coast? (these last pesuppose the noise is present when you are moving) Do you feel the noise - as a 'ticking' in the handlebars or frame of the bike?

Good luck. keep us posted.
 
OP
OP
dualsportdave
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
66
Location
Bryan, Texas
Bike
1999 ST1100
I love the idea of stopping at a Honda dealer's loading dock. That would take care of it for a while...

As for the sound...

Makes it when ever it wants to - sometimes more related to being cold BUT sometimes after a long *** ride (300+miles).
Clutch and gear doesn't make a difference.
Does change with speed of engine - not bike.
Was really bad after a 1100 mile day from TX to TN. The next day - GONE!

Maybe she knows that I sat on the new Africa Twin and fell in love with it. She is a big broad and she knows that I like a little off-roading too.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,108
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
From what you have said, you pretty much have eliminated the clutch, but of course, maybe not. Still sounds engine speed related as opposed to wheel speed or clutch/primary drive. And, since someone here helped me out by saying - "the only thing you touched last winter in your maint. program was" - I would look to something that was disturbed when the timing belt was changed. But, in the end you will probably have to wait for things to get bad enough to correctly diagnose the problem.
 

ST1100Y

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Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
4,981
Age
59
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Vienna, AuSTria
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ST1100Y, ST1100R
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I'd obtain a mechanic's stethoscope to circle down the source...
Pretty inexpensive but comes valuable at times.
 
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