Vavle noise

[MeanMarysXS11]

Hi i over reved & missed a gear & now the valves seem 2 be ticking louder than b4... is this something that needs 2 be fixed right away or can i finish the riding season out & have the valves redone this winter....

[Mike Hart]

Probably you're okay. Try a cam chain adjust:
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=63

[xjguy]

Mary, I hope all is okay with your cycle and your senses are just more finely tuned. However there is a chance you bent a valve(s) and it's not one of those things that get better with time. A compression test will provide you with some insight. 100psi or less indicates a problem-or a wide variance in compression readings between cylinders is also an indicator. Another way is to perform a cylinder leakage test. If you want to do leakage test I can tell you a back yard method that works.

I guesss i really should have asked if it was a missed upshift or missed down shift? I would think missed downshift would do more damage. Hope you just knocked some carbon loose!

xjguy

[xjguy]

noise

Mary, I would listen to Mike first. He is definitely more familiar with these bikes than me.

xjguy

[xExcessive 1120]

Valve Noise

Mary, I tend to agree with Mike. The XS engine is extremely rugged and resilient. When my first new bike ever, a 79 XS1100F had under 5000 mi. on it I foolishly let someone else run it with me hovering nervously on the back. We were in the village and going about 20mph in Ist gear when the "operator" went around a slower car. I watched in horror as the tach. went up to the 8500 red-line and on past 9000, past 9500, and as I was pounding the idiot on the back and screaming "Shift! SHIFT!!" it cruised on past 10000RPM before the guy calmy hit second. My mechanic had told me the engine was so well built that he recommended doing the first valve adjustment @ 7000mi instead of the 2000mi in the book. When I took the bike in for the break-in valve adjustment, 2000mi later, only two valves needed shimming, and those took the smallest shim made. Over the next three years I occasionally missed the three-four shift @ redline with no apparent damage. Sooo... I would think that what mike said about cam chain adjustment is a good bet if you are hearing a noticable difference in upper end noise. Lastly, don't underestimate the power of the mind to convince us that "something's wrong!". I think we all tend to suffer anxiety over some little noise we hear after we "blow a shift". It comes from a well deserved concern for these much loved and appreciated machines! C.J.

[TopCatGr58]

Re: Valve Noise

Originally posted by xExcessive 1120
SNIP I watched in horror as the tach. went up to the 8500 red-line and on past 9000, past 9500, and as I was pounding the idiot on the back and screaming "Shift! SHIFT!!" it cruised on past 10000RPM before the guy calmy hit second. My mechanic had told me the engine was so well built that he recommended doing the first valve adjustment @ 7000mi instead of the 2000mi in the book. SNIP C.J.

Great news there C.J., now I can repaint my tach's faded redline starting at 10,000 instead of 8,500!! Can't wait to try it out.....I know 8,5krpm in 4th is 100mph, wonder what 10k is??

Yes, Mary, these are very hardy machines, cam chain adjustment sounds about right. I can't imagine you would have dropped a valve seat!! Also, you could recheck your valve clearances, but aside from that, probably nothing to worry about!! Happy riding.

[MeanMarysXS11]

THanks 2 Mike Hart & the rest on the forum

I just wanted every1 2 know that mike was right on the button with the cam chain adjustment... bike is back up & running beautifully again...
& i just wanted 2 thank the rest of u who interjected thier cncern 4 my baby... this site is as tony the tiger would say GGGGREEAAATT!!!!
thanks again every1
mb

[xExcessive 1120]

Well T.C. May I assume you are running a Special and not a Standard? My XS-Standard is running @ around 93 MPH @ 8500 RPM (100 MPH @ 9000 RPM) Are final drive ratios different between the Special and the Standard? I'll have to break out the calculator to see if the one inch dia. difference between rear wheels (16in. for Special, 17in. for Standard) accounts for this apparent discrepancy. I DO know however, that at 8500 in 4th gear my eyes are on the road, not the tach!! C.J.

[Dragonrider]

I do know that on a 80 Midnight Special, that 8500 on the tach equals 135 on the speedo. Confirmed multiple times. Phew!

[xExcessive 1120]

Valve noise- Speed in Gears

Whoops! My mistake! I meant to say that @ 8500 RPM in THIRD GEAR is around 93 MPH and 9000 is 100 MPH in 3rd! In 5th "The Beast" is pulling about 137 MPH @ 8500 with no sign of flattening out. In other words it will pull OVER redline in 5th! Triple figure "Yikes"!! C.J.