Noises

[oseaghdha]

Got the dinosaur rompin and stompin, Hell yeah!
I notice quite a bit of cam chain racket. Sort of a 'whirring/hissing' noise. I checked the tensioner, and it still has some travel left. Not being familiar, is this normal noise? 29K miles on the clock.

I suspect the fairing is concentrating noise, but there is a good deal of engine(?) sound above 4.5K RPM/65-70MPH. Can't be sure how much is wind or fairing. Did not have my helmet with me, so I'm sure I heard more than usual. Could be some piston slap? Compression was not super, about 130 +- 5. Filled it with premium just to be sure there was no spark knock. Have not checked the valve clearance yet. Could be front wheel noise, but I doubt it. No misbehavior noted from up there otherwise. Spins ok, no wobbles. Don't notice at lower speeds same RPM.
Comments/suggestions? Shutup and drive?

Other than the chain noise, it sounds fine at idle or whacking the throttle while stopped.

Lots of what sounds like straight cut gear noise. Fresh Mobil1 75/140 gear oil in both holes. Survey says: Normal.

Upshifting is very clunky. I read this is common. Learned to not clutch. Filled it with Mobil1 15/50.

Bad buzz about 5KRPM from left side stock exhaust. Nothing obvious externally. Are there baffles inside that will go stupid? The pipes are in good condition, but blew a lot of rust dust out when I started it up.

Overall, pretty pleased with it, only 80 hrs to revive it from its 15 year slumber Hope to get it home next week, then the fun starts. Man, is the Virago gonna be pissed.

Cheers

[mro]

originally posted by oseaghdha
I checked the tensioner, and it still has some travel left.

Loose chain will make noise at idle too. (you did adjust as per manual?)

Piston slap.........when just starting may not hear at idle and at higher revs normally sounds kinda like the tap/knock of a bearing going bad. As it gets worse, gets louder and over wider rpm range (especially under load).

When I got my first XS running, was expecting it to self destruct. Noise from top end was disturbing
(Maxed the cam chain adjustment and noise still there 12000 miles later)

If you have after market muff's, you might be able to switch em around to see if sound follows........

Oil?.....ain't gona go there


mro

[prometheus578]

Oil?.....ain't gonna go there

But I am.
Ditch the Mobile 1 synthetic. Have had two bikes in the shop that sounded like they were going to fly apart. Drained the oil to look for metal chunks, found none. Refilled the bikes with regular oil and fired them up to search further for the cause of the noise. Within 5 minutes, bikes were so quiet you'd barely know they were runnin' at all.
On a recent trip, I tried everything to try to isolate just what this noise was comin' from the engine. Lowered my head to hear it better, but than didn't help. Flopped my bulbous head from side to side to see what side of the engine was cryin... nothing!
"Now ain't that a kick in the groin". Turns out... at a certain speed, t'was my open visor vibrating!

[trbig]

I had the same reaction. I had installed a new head and new cam chain. I had adjusted the valves and the chain, so I knew they were good. I rode at first with a helmet and everything was great. When I rode without a helmet... I pulled over. I thought something was about to go! Sounds like metal shearing sort of to me. Rode with a helmet next time.. sounded just fine. THEN I put a fairing on. It funneled all that noise right to me, like you say. Man, what a racket from those heads. I thought that maybe it was just my bike... hadn't been around any other XS's. This weekend on the rally, I found out mine is just about like everyone else's.... except for that KNOCK I developed... lol. It's a litttle un-nerving at times, but my bet is that it's a normal sound from these if you checked everything else.
As bad as I hate to say it, I agree with Pro about not using synthetic oils. A few people do, but most won't. Most clutches don't do well with it. But if you do a search about oil preferences... you'll find that EVERYONE seems to have an opinion about it. Mine just hapens to agree with him this time. I hope I don't make a habbit of it though! Good Luck.

Tod

[oseaghdha]

Oil?.....ain't gona go there

Ha. Yeah, I hear that. Usually, I won't argue religeon, politics, or oil! I had initially filled the engine with 10w40 dino oil for startup/cleanout. Ran it about 30 miles and dumped it. Same noises as after I changed it out, FWIW.

I did adjust the camchain per instructions.

Being new to the windjammer crowd, I am wondering if they generally have a boot or something that blocks off the area underneath where the forks are. This one was PO'd and is not an OEM part. Seems like a lot of wind, bugs, rain would come up from there. Guess I never looked at other installs.

[trbig]

My fairing was pretty opened up on the bottom side also. I used a piece of aluminum... it may have looked an aweful lot like an old highway sign.. but can't be sure.. I ground it to fit, drilled a few holes, painted it black to match and screwed it down. It blocks most of the wind now and actually forces it down onto the jugs better. Just make sure it doesn't interfere with that, or your steering.


Tod

[Poprock]

Check your muffs for round holes along the lower portion. If you have holes, your muffler guts are vibrating. Happened to me. I fixed it with Harley Sportster mufflers. Don't have that noice anymore. The lids on my Pacifico fairing are loose. The rubber pad inside has compressed enough to let them buzz at highway speeds. Any fairing amplifies noise. Kong had a weird new buzz the other day till I fully tightened the tank bolt.