HORRIBLE NOISE

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Write2Paul90277

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Hi folks,

I need your opinion on a HORRIBLE SOUND that my 84 GL1200 interstate started making the last time I fired it up.

The bike has only 19,000 miles on it and was running great earlier in the day.

The noise is a LOUD rattling, clacking metallic sound. It seems to be coming from the right side cylinder head (cylinders #2 and 4).

I have my suspicions on what it is, but I'll keep quiet until I hear some feedback from the esteemed gurus in the group.

You can hear (and see) the problem at:

https://youtu.be/1bIL1XUdlU8

[video]https://youtu.be/1bIL1XUdlU8[/video]

I'd appreciate it if you guys would chime in only if you recognize this sound as it relates to the GL1200 – not your 1500, not your 1800, not your uncle's '61 Ford Falcon or the irrigation pump you had down on the farm when you were 17.

Have a listen and tell me what you think (or not!).

Much appreciated,

Paul
 
I worked on a 1200 that sounded like that until a "lazy" hydraulic adjuster pumped up. It did it after I had been cranking it to do compression tests and a few other times after hand cranking it. It would take a couple minutes running to start quieting down. At times it would just suddenly go quiet.
 
Yup, hydraulic valve adjuster(s). At least one goes quiet after a half-second or so. I've always had great luck with Rislone in cars with sticky lifters, but I don't know how it would affect the clutch on a bike.

It's not difficult to pull the valve cover and rocker assembly. There may be an obstruction in the oil feed, or something got in and stuck up the adjusters. You also might want to check your oil pressure.
 
Actually it starts loud and stays loud -- much louder than a sticky lifter, which I experienced on one of my previous 1200s.

It's the level of noise that sounds so harmful you want to shut the engine off immediately.
 
hmmmmm sounds terrible......i never did like the 1200 heads over the adjustable heads of the earlier yrs ....seems like it is a valve noise ...and im thinking just one ....as thee noise is quite far apart and a valve stoke is the slowest thing on a motor ...personally i have never messed with 1200 heads as i discounted them and have never used them .... could be a broken valve spring ...just have to drive in and figure it out ....
 
I know the sound well as that is similar to what my 1200 sounded like just before it left me sitting on the side of I-10 outside of Houston... I'm going with the lifter as well. Is it possible there is also a bit of an exhaust leak associated with that noise?
 
I've not had that ever on any of the bikes. It really does sound bad. Like broken valve spring or rocker. I'd be pulling the cover there and see what's up. Could be the rocker arm has come loose as suggested.
 
Does it still run ok? NO misfire or anything? Sure sounds like a loose rocker to me, too, but something that loose, or damaged would also have to be running bad. Only way to know is to pull the valve cover and have a look-see. If nothing is loose/broken, or otherwise damaged, I'm thinking something on top of a piston hitting the head. :crying:
 
Thanks for the input julimike54, dan filipi, Steve83, joedrum, BikerJoe, brianinpa, slabghost and AApple!

Grouping all your suggestions together, the sound could be from one of the hydraulic adjusters, oil feed obstructions, bad oil pressure, broken valve spring(s), broken rocker arm(s), bad cam lobe(s), exhaust leaks and possibly a piston hitting the head.

The most intriguing suggestion was from dan filipi, who had experienced a "lazy" hydraulic adjuster that happened after cranking to do compression tests. I say this because I was doing a compression check just minutes before the clacking began.

I will check that first, then move on to the other suspected causes.

One other possibility is that the piston skirt may be slapping against the crankshaft counterweight because of hydro lock that resulted in a bent connecting rod or damaged rod bearing.

I PRAY that's not the problem, but it happened to another guy on YouTube and made exactly the same sound:

https://youtu.be/G2hDvcr1784

[video]https://youtu.be/G2hDvcr1784[/video]

I'll dive into the cylinder head soon and will keep you posted.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Paul
 
Paul,

I your video, you can hear the initial knock quiet down as oil fills the space. When my old 1100 engine was worn out, you could hear a similar sound as the engine started. The difference between mine and your 1200 is I had completely worn out bearings, piston skirts and over 169k miles on the engine. Listen is this video and you can hear at first start the metal to metal sound before oil fills the space:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa4m7jOulZQ[/video]

I do not believe your engine is worn out, I also think it is a stuck hydraulic lifter.
 
[url=https://forum.classicgoldwings.com/viewtopic.php?p=183211#p183211:1fft8r61 said:
Write2Paul90277 » Wed Nov 02, 2016 3:00 pm[/url]":1fft8r61]
* * * *

One other possibility is that the piston skirt may be slapping against the crankshaft counterweight because of hydro lock that resulted in a bent connecting rod or damaged rod bearing.

I PRAY that's not the problem, but it happened to another guy on YouTube and made exactly the same sound:
Click to expand...

I don't know, Paul. If you've been riding the thing, even had it running earlier in the day and didn't experience hydro-lock symptoms, I'd think that's off the table. And with the low miles on that machine - and its apparent well-kept condition, I'd be more suspect of valve train than bottom end. But, sometimes bad things happen to good engines (or what should be good engines).

Good luck, buddy.
 
Thanks, mcgovern61 and desert refugee,

You're right -- with only 19,000 miles there's no way my engine would be that worn out. I will keep investigating the valve train before I even THINK about anything deeper, darker or more evil that may be lurking deeper in the engine!

Ride Safe,

Paul
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=183310#p183310:3h7xy3dq said:
Denver » Sat Nov 05, 2016 12:03 pm[/url]":3h7xy3dq]
Could it be a hundred and 19,000 miles? :headscratch:
Click to expand...
+1 :yes:
 
Thanks for the thought, Denver.

I was about to deny it categorically... maybe it DOES have 119K on it, not 19K. In looking back, here's why you might be right:

When I bought the bike I was impressed how all of the plastic, paint and chrome was in such excellent condition. Plus, it ran beautifully.

After getting the beast home for the first time, I stripped off all the Tupperware in order to clean, inspect and detail the bike (in other words, to put my "scent" on it).

In the process I was surprised at how dirty the frame and components were, but shrugged it off as road grime. I was also a bit suspicious that the underside of the engine was caked with so much black grit and grime, as though it had been leaking fluids for a long time. But because the engine wasn't actively dripping (and hasn't ever since) I put my suspicions aside. Was I in denial??

A few days ago while doing a routine compression test, cylinders #1, 2 and 3 read 180 to 185psi, but #4 registered only 160psi. I was going to repeat the test but at the time didn't want to run the battery down or overheat the starter.

Later that same day I fired up the engine and heard that HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE CLACKING NOISE you listened to in my video clip.

Today and tomorrow I will investigate the possible causes that you guys have suggested. I will also re-test the compression on #4. For the record, the clattering sound APPEARS to be coming from the other side of the bike (cylinder#2).

So thanks, Denver (I think!?) for bringing up the possibility of the very high mileage. It could explain a lot. I will now look at everything without the rose-colored glasses I was wearing before!

Arrrrghh!

Paul
 
A new piece to the puzzle...a compression test! With all four plugs out and cranking the engine, what's the possibility of something falling into a cylinder? If you have, or can get access to an endoscope, you can look into the cylinders through the plug hole. A small magnetic retriever might pull any object out. Just a thought...
 
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Correction:

The noise appears to be coming from cylinder #1, which is on the opposite side from #4 which had the low compression reading.

Thanks,

Paul
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Oh my god, Steve, say it isn't so!!

On my last GL1200 I DID drop a screw into the a combustion chamber and actually seized the engine.

Please do a topic search on this forum for Seized engine! (don't forget the exclamation mark) and you'll see the months of group diagnostics that eventually led to replacing the whole engine.

No, no, no. :beg: I can't accept the possibility of that happening twice in a lifetime!

But just in case you're right, I think I'll pick up one of those $15 remote endoscope cameras that attach to your smartphone and have a look.

Woefully,

Paul
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