Ninja 650ER clanking noise?

[jonbuoy]

Dump the oil into a clean bucket and "pan" or filter it for bearing material. If it's cleanish and your not too ham fisted with tools whip off the cam cover and take a peak inside. It does sound more top end than bottom end from the video. I don't know these engines but have a google for cam chain top end issues. Really you just want to determine if your better off spending the money on a second hand engine- you don't want to waste 400 just to confirm that it's beyond repair.

[oneblackflag]

Yes I do have the tools and I am not unfamiliar with opening the fairing and all. And honestly I might have to go through a "learning phase" and get more "adventurous" in a couple of months when my patience runs out. If the engine is stuffed I might as well get something out of it. LoL

Are you saying your gonna run it for a couple more months? If you are I really like you

[Floppy disk]

All right folks,

I took off the fairing and the bike is now naked. I then started it and followed the noise around, multiple times. It appears to be coming from the central upper section of the engine “box”. Using a screw driver to listen to vibration was a difficult exercise for me, maybe because I don’t have an expert’s feel for it.

I am trying to find a book on Ninja 2008’s engine so I can understand what is inside there that box, but if you know what that could be, please shoot through your thoughts.

What is puzzling is that except for that noise, and maybe a little loss of initial acceleration everything sounds and feels the same as before. Also, the cranking noise does not get louder as the accelerator is pulled. It certainly increases in frequency to match the bike's normal sounds, but does not increase in noise level.

I have uploaded a new video that you can view in this link: http://1drv.ms/1enKsy6 (22MB video).

[James Deuce]

Have.

You.

Been.

To.

A.

Mechanic?

[Mike.Gayner]

The (mobile) mechanic had a look at it and he is sure it's an engine issue

He must be some kind of detective.

[Floppy disk]

Have. You. Been. To. A. Mechanic?

No. Any other interesting question?

[SNF]

Talk to another mechanic and get a second opinion? It does sound like sooner rather than later it will rattle itself to death.
If it was me I'd get a ZX14 motor and slot it in

Jokes aside, find a good running replacement motor, get a Haynes/Chilton book read it look over it, take your time and enjoy it. It looks like a huge job but its just logic. Bolts, screws, nuts and electrical connectors. Because it's the same engine, its a case of old one out, other one in. Label everything, number plugs, take pictures. Its all in the book, if you can take fairings off and you can read which I'm sure you can then you can do it!

[iranana]

Get yerself a torque wrench and have at it. It's hard to tell from the video, but that sounds like noise from the valve train or perhaps even piston slap or something similar... but I doubt it's piston slap if it went from no noise to lots of noise in three rides.

The fact it's a light clicking or slapping noise consistent with RPM leads me to think it's likely to be in the top end of the engine. At the very worst, you might be looking at worn conrods or a fucked needle roller at the big end...but I doubt it, unless you ran out of oil at some point, or if the bike has a loooot of mileage. Conrods are hard. They don't wear very easily.

Piece of cake to pull a top end apart, though. Get a manual and a torque wrench before taking anything apart, though. Bottom end noises are sound heavier... if your crank bearings are shot then you'll start to hear more of a deep rumbling, or a deep knocking kind of tock tock tock. They're more obvious at low RPM and aren't necessarily consistent. I'd be surprised if the conrods had worn enough to create play between the conrod and bearing face. I would advise against going to mechanics... easy to spend a couple of grand and then some more to have them beat around the bush.

[p.dath]

Cam chain plus cam chain tensioner?

[James Deuce]

No. Any other interesting question?

Just keep riding it then. Don't forget to post a You Tube video asking if you need that bit poking through the cases.
You're not saving any money. You're just making the eventual bill bigger.

[iranana]

You're not saving any money. You're just making the eventual bill bigger.

He's right. Not to mention that catastrophic engine failure can quite easily result in a crash. Riding your bike when it's making scary noises is not a good idea...

[schrodingers cat]

Get yerself a torque wrench and have at it. It's hard to tell from the video, but that sounds like noise from the valve train or perhaps even piston slap or something similar... but I doubt it's piston slap if it went from no noise to lots of noise in three rides.

The fact it's a light clicking or slapping noise consistent with RPM leads me to think it's likely to be in the top end of the engine. At the very worst, you might be looking at worn conrods or a fucked needle roller at the big end...but I doubt it, unless you ran out of oil at some point, or if the bike has a loooot of mileage. Conrods are hard. They don't wear very easily.

Piece of cake to pull a top end apart, though. Get a manual and a torque wrench before taking anything apart, though. Bottom end noises are sound heavier... if your crank bearings are shot then you'll start to hear more of a deep rumbling, or a deep knocking kind of tock tock tock. They're more obvious at low RPM and aren't necessarily consistent. I'd be surprised if the conrods had worn enough to create play between the conrod and bearing face. I would advise against going to mechanics... easy to spend a couple of grand and then some more to have them beat around the bush.

Lots of stuff is easy.

If you know how.

OP has admitted to not knowing too much. He could certainly take your advise and learn how to make a jigsaw. He would learn something in the process.

Possibly something along the lines of 'know your limits' and 'take it to a mechanic and pay him for his knowledge'

[Mo NZ]

Sounds ......bad....real bad.
You do have oil in that puppy?
May be easier to obtain a replacement engine.

[Floppy disk]

Ok. Let’s get this thread more helpful. Thank you to all those who suggested I do nothing and take the bike to the mechanic. I acknowledge reception of your wise message, and I will consult with mechanics when/if I can no longer push it forward. But to pay $400 just to open the engine and find the problem is a prelude to a huge expenditure, which I can't and won't do. I am now after advices on how to actually get closer to the problem. It is technical help that I am after, not life coaching.

[Floppy disk]

Sounds ......bad....real bad.
You do have oil in that puppy?
May be easier to obtain a replacement engine.

Yeah there is still enough oil in it, and the oil is good quality. It does have high mileage though, so I am thinking it could be something that needs replacement. The noise while is not a good sign tells me it is coming from one place, so if that "thing" is replaced I might get away with cheaper cost. Getting a new engine might be a bit trickier to find so that would be my before-last resort. Kawasaki don't even sell engines as such.