a puzzle for you mechanic geniuses...

[barryhoward]

i was riding my '80 gl1100, which has 47'000 miles on it and it was running flawlessly as usual...stopped at a light and suddenly, as if something broke, i had a very loud, horrible noise which made me think immediately that my engine had suffered a fatal attack of some kind...i would describe it as something between a scraping noise and a squealing noise...the engine died...i pushed it to the side, horrified and stared...my first thought was that i broke a ring, (this was a wild guess as i am, by no stretch, a mechanic and have never had a broken ring and don't have a clue what one sounds like.) after staring for awhile, i started it....the noise was still there but i noticed that it ran smooth as silk, like always....i eventually elected to drive it home...(probably not advisable, but i did...) and the sound was less audible as the rpm's increased...everything still functions normally...clutch and shifting don't affect the noise...no smoke, doesn't miss...got home and my next thought was maybe something to do with a timing belt tensioner...(i did replace the belts, but not the tensioners, at about 45,000 miles...) so i opened it up and everything looks normal....belt tension appears normal...so i started it with the covers off....the noise is gone...let it warm up....revved it several times...nothing....put it all back together and went for a test ride....nothing...runs perfectly...so now i am uneasy and perplexed...wondering if it will happen again and what it could have been...my lady friend thinks it may have passed a kidney stone...so, ok honda geniuses...any ideas??? it's made me very nervous....thank you, in advance for your help...

 

[dan filipi]

Hmm, kind of a tough one.

What do you think caused it to die, Any clues or anything leading up to that?

Does it crank at a normal speed?

Check that the stator nut is tight, that will cause a scraping knocking noise.

I wonder if the starter clutch locked up for an instant.
Might want to drain the oil and look for any particles in it, maybe cut the filter open to have a look.

 

[barryhoward]

no signs of anything before the big noise....was sitting at a stoplight with the clutch in when it happened...cranks normally...does everything normally...i shall have to checkout what and where the stator nut is....would that happen suddenly and then vanish? i'm due for an oil change anyway so i will check the filter and see if anything comes out...thanx for your thoughts on it...

 

[barryhoward]

oh, and i may have possibly killed the engine out of shear surprise when it happened...but it started fine...

 

[joedrum]

im sator bolt is very likely but maybe timing belt ideler pulley but id check the sator bolt first...on the left hand side and upper back of motor ....plug cap first and bolt under the cap....

 

[jdegase]

stator bolt was my first thought too...
and yes it COULD go away after a bit..
this is pretty common thing for this type of motor...
I might get some negative comments on this, but I would dose the threads with locktight and run it back in then torque it up....
if that was the noise (you'll notice its loose when you get the cover off.. ) consider yourself lucky it wasnt something worse

oh and if ya need a cover let us know...
I bought mine for $1 at the local salvage yard.

 

[dan filipi]

I would use lok tite also. Clean the threads best you can with brake cleaner or carb spray before applying it.

 

[barryhoward]

many thanx....i will check these things out....

 

[Raveller]

I hope you nailed it already but if not here is my 2 cents.
It sounds like your tachometer bushing has gone dry. Try disconnecting the cable to the Tach. If the noise goes away then all you have to do is turn the tach upside down and very carefully put 1 drop of light machine oil on the bushing at the cable entrance and work that around and I will bet the problem will be solved. If I had not had my speedo do the same thing to me I would never believe that such a clatter could arise from the guages.
Good luck
Greg

 

[dan filipi]

I hope you nailed it already but if not here is my 2 cents.
It sounds like your tachometer bushing has gone dry. Try disconnecting the cable to the Tach. If the noise goes away then all you have to do is turn the tach upside down and very carefully put 1 drop of light machine oil on the bushing at the cable entrance and work that around and I will bet the problem will be solved. If I had not had my speedo do the same thing to me I would never believe that such a clatter could arise from the guages.
Good luck
Greg

I hadn't thought of that, good call.