knocking from engine

hi everybody I am hoping for some advice . i am new to the st 1100 but not to motorcycling or the mechanical side of it having done up a few old girls in the past .but my st1100 has a knock from the engine when pulling off the sound disappears when when moving its just as you are feeding out the clutch . the bikes a 20,000 mile 2000 non abs thanks in advance :bow1:

What grade fuel?

Last tune up? Check your plugs.

Bike hot or cold when condition reveals itself?

I suspect that you are just fine, tho not sure. One of mine does that (cold), the other does not. I have no idea what that brief noise is.

If it is sort of a short squawking grabbing sound rather than a knock it is the clutch plates chattering as they come together. This is somewhat common especially with running automotive type oils that have additives that are not compatible with wet motorcycle type clutches. Sometimes changing to a different oil will stop this and other times replacing the fiber plates will be necessary if the original plates have become glazed. Overall it really doesn't hurt anything but can get worse to the point that it will be really annoying. Sometimes with some lubricants it will happen only when cold others it will do it only when warm.

I have some knocking noise as well! sounded horrific when cold, and not constant just out of the blue. changed pulgs wires and that helped quite a bit, but i also susspect with mine that its running lean. waiting till winter to yank carb assy out and rebuild! good luck

thanks for the suggestions a few a updates the fuel i use is Ordinary unleaded – 95 RON . had new iridium spark plugs just 2000 miles ago .as for the temp seems OK when cold gets worse and the engine temp rises i use motul 100% synthetic the same stuff I put in my zzr1100 . as for the knock sound itself it sounds like someone knocking on a door hope this helps cheers .by the way loving the st she bigger and a lot heavy er than the zzr it feels like a 750 .but did a 500 mile trip to Scotland in a day couldn't have done it on the zzr

yep. It's a knock in the engine, not a clutch noise, and it goes away in a couple miles.

JAT - be sure to set your idle rpm to spec (1,200 +/- 100). Too low has been linked to knocking sounds many times on the forums. Low idle also doesn't provide adequate oil pressure/lubrication.

John

John OoSTerhuis said:

JAT - be sure to set your idle rpm to spec (1,200 +/- 100). Too low has been linked to knocking sounds many times on the forums. Low idle also doesn't provide adequate oil pressure/lubrication.

John

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+1 spot on, hate that sound, perhaps go to a different weight oil, and put on a good oil filter too