oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted September 29, 2009 05:49 PM
I knew there was a manual tensioner, however your bike suffers either from an oil problem or a broken or weak tensioner spring. My friend has an '08 too and neither one of our makes any noise. There is a problem. Mine can even sit for 6 months and have absolutely no noise at startup. which leads me to believe that there was a problem with your tensioner... I had my new klr 250 and oil leaked from the tensioner oring, had kawi replace them and the same problem, got a whole motor off of enay for 180$ shippped, rebuile the whole thing in the winter in my basement, new tensioner as well and siliconed it as well, no more leaks. Bike is better than it ever was,
The manual tensioner does not allow for stiction which can happen in the cam area, which will force a lot of pressure on the chain and chain guides, ask ted G. As long as you ride it a lot there should be no issue, if parked for extended periods of time, could cause accelerated chain guide wear.
The 99% thing does not hold true, think you are getting the run around from the dealer, my friend also has an '08 zx-14 no issues with that bike either.
Dealers like to skirt things, the other problem with my klr was that if it sat for 2-4 days it would start fine, but getting it into 1st was a pain, you had to rev it to 4k to get it into gear or it would stall, the clutch plates were sticky, but they said that was normal, when I redid the other motor I soaked the plates in oil for a day or so, never had one problem since, and it's been 5 k miles on it, it can sit all winter, start it and put it into 1st with no issue...So, I want Ted G toinput here, he is the man, he knows what he is talking about being a kawi tech for years, and I take his advise seriously,
I freaked out the first time I changed my oil, I heard that chain rattle for like 10 sec's. I thought it might be the bearings going bad, bur he assured me it was the tensioner, now the klr and the c-14 use different setups, the klr uses a spring fed screw type addjuster, it will not back off, if it gets slack will take it up but will not back off, the c-14 uses a spring and oil pressure to keep things in check, a better design in myop.....
I do not believe for a sec that 99% have this problem, the problem lies either in high milage or mfr defect. Ted, you are more than welcome to comment...
Reguards,
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
  
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted September 30, 2009 01:53 AM
ok now what do i change it ..or do i not.. and if i do how?...
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted September 30, 2009 02:27 AM
Let's wait untill Ted throws his .02 in here, since you had it since day 1 something is not right.
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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TedG
Moderator
Posts: 8222
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posted October 10, 2009 08:13 PM
Okay I read the thread. IMHO the noise is normal. Both of my C14 made the noise. As this is a hydraulically assisted tensioner it make sense that it could back off until there is pressure. The orifice is going to be very small to regulate the pressure. If the weather is cold and the bike is not hot when shut off it doesn't do it. When both bikes were new they didn't do it but the tensioner not being locked will move back and forth letting it wear a bit and easier to back off. Also the KLR has a ratchet and pawl system that locks the tensioner. The locking tensioner can cause much more chain stretching, when the chain gets hot it expands and if it catches the next notch of the ratchet when it cools the chain can be too tight, stressing the hell out of things and stretching the chain. The hydro lets the tensioner back off and the chain lives longer. A new tensioner will stop it but only for a while. The one percent that don't do it, is probably a very even chain that isn't moving back and forth. Or it could be the oil, maybe it doesn't lose it's viscosity and the tensioner stays put, or it is so thin that it pumps up before the engine actually starts.
All in all, I wouldn't and don't worry about it.
____________
Ted
2000 Green ZX12 sold
The fast color!!
Green 2005 ZX10R
2009 Concours Black ABS
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted October 11, 2009 06:47 AM
Thanks Ted, I assume that with milage it will even happen to me, my friends has 3k on it, no noise I only have 1400, been a bad year for riding for me, too many projects.....
I would have roman put the rensioner back in and take it to the dealer and have it replaced with a new one for free, we got the best warranty in the biz, use it. The dealer says it's normal, but I cannot imagine how a ratttling chain against the guides is any good either. If a new tensioner does not fix the rattle, there is another problem that needs to be adressed, in my opinion. I would assume, there is a spring in it, and it kinda has to be 2 piece design with an o-ring to hold oil pressure, something must wear..... If this noise is from day 1 I would really be concerned...
In another opinion, everyone should get gttp, if you do not have it, you can get it from a kawi dealer on ebay, throws another 3 years on, and for the price it is wayyyyyy worth it, assume you need the tire pressure sensors replaced and itis out of warranty, right there it would pay for itself.
You have untill your original warranty is up to get it...
The manual tensioner, which was mentioned before needs a lot of adjustments, the factory one needs none... Roman, see if the dealer will replace the factory one with a new one, and if the new one fixes it, your set.
Reguards,
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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DrewHerc130
Expert Class
Posts: 140
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posted October 12, 2009 08:16 PM
I'll have to check that out.
____________
2008 C14, flies out, Area P-Carbon, BMC, PC3, Spencer Seat Mod, Alaska Leather, Helibars with Ram GPS mount, Nuvi 250W
"Life moves pretty quick. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted October 27, 2009 10:54 PM
19 miles in it and miine still has that noise anyone know how much the dealer charge to replace it..last time i went to my dealer they did even know about the two recalls..I had to educate them..
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted October 28, 2009 02:09 AM
 Edited By: oncourse on 28 Oct 2009 10:11
How much to change it, well that should be free.... warranty.
Recalls are what the dealer should have been on top of the '08 had 3 the '09 had 1. I took my bike in to the dealer this summer 'cause I kept getting mail from kawi saying the brake thiingy wasn't done. When there I watched the guy put it in, then they said it was done, I went back into the shop after not seeing my bike outside ready to go and they were in the process of replacing the rear rack again. I asked what they were doing because it was already done last year, here they never updated their computer.
I do not see anywhere in the manual where it says this noise is normal, Mine does not do it, I just have a slight tick which gradually goes away, which I think the exhaust nuts are coming off, another winter project. Only time I ever heard the chain rattle was after an oil change...
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted October 28, 2009 11:29 AM
but that does not include labor....and i have been checking aound online and other peple are having the same noise with the 08's only
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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TedG
Moderator
Posts: 8222
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posted October 28, 2009 03:33 PM
My 09 makes the exact same noise my 08 did. It didn't show up till about 5000 miles.
____________
Ted
2000 Green ZX12 sold
The fast color!!
Green 2005 ZX10R
2009 Concours Black ABS
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted October 29, 2009 02:02 AM
There should be no labor charge, kawi warranty is parts and labor for 3 yrs unlmited milage. As Ted pointed out his did not show up untill 5k or so, on an 08 and 09, something is wearing, and IF the tensioner fixes the noise we know what is wearing.
Silver hawk, you mentioned 19 miles, are you actually refering to 19 miles or 19k miles? If 19 miles I would be upset too. I just have no noise, except what sounds like a small ex. leak on 1 cyl untill warm, but never any other noise, cold out or hot out, engine hot or cold, none. Like I said earlier, I do not have the miles on it, 1400 or so, and would trust ted as far as mileage goes, the more miles the better chance of noise, but from the factory, day 1 I would be concerned.
I do not know if anyone has ever had this tensioner apart, I do not think there is a blow up diagram of how it is made, I would only assume it uses an oring and a piston sliding within a sleve with a spring and a small orifice.
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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Roman
Parking Attendant
Live 2 ride ride 2 live
Posts: 19
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posted November 01, 2009 02:55 AM
Hello. I don't want to switch back to factory tensioner just because the manual one is a lot better , I don't mind to adjust it sometimes, not a big deal. After manual tensioner was installed the bike accelerates much better, MPG is better also. I'm not a big specialist in motorcycles, but my guess is that factory tensioner was applying too much pressure on timing chain>camshafts>crankshaft on high RPMs, because of higher oil pressure of course. I've adjusted tensioner a bit loose, on running engine I tightened it until chain nose almost disappeared. Was riding ever since (over 4000 Miles) without any problems, better acceleration, better MPG, and no startup rattling. Don't know yet when I will need to adjust tensioner again, will post it here later. Thank you guys.
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted November 08, 2009 11:44 PM
hey oncourse i have 19k miles on it..just did my oil change last week..and yes the noise is still there..
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted November 10, 2009 03:32 AM
Someone needs to take thier bike in to figure this out, I Would have them replace the tensioner for free under warranty and go from there, if the noise is gone we know the culprit, are you sure your not mistaking the noise for missing ex. header nuts, as at this point you probably have a few missing....
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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LAB3
Needs a job
Posts: 2977
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posted November 12, 2009 01:13 PM
quote:
I went to dealer and was told that startup rattling is normal for this particular engine, 99% of ZX14 and C14 have that noise and running forever without any problems. Anyways, even if I had insisted to replace tensioner what would they do? They would replace it with exactly the same model of tensioner, because there is no newer model exist yet, and there is no recall for it either. So, what I did was I went online, found the aftermarket tensioner designed for racing bikes ( that why it's manual ) and installed it. And what do you think? NO STARTUP RATTLE AT ALL ! Engine is amazingly quiet now. I don't mind to adjust the tensioner every 10K miles - it's not a big deal, that startup rattle was freaking me out a lot, it was the only one thing I did not like about concours 14. The tensioner model is APE KTZX14, can be found freely on internet, it cost around $50 and it takes about 30 min to install it.
The ZX-14 has the same CCT rattle. A ZX-12R OEM CCT with .120 milled off is a perfect fit and it is spring loaded no oil. No rattle and no manual adj needed. Bob Cartenter Racing Engines does this mod to his 2X4 and larger engine packages.
Louis
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted November 22, 2009 11:03 PM
I will take it in to the dealer today ....I have a long ride ahead of me on the 25th to back to the country of Tarboro, NC for some viddles..lol.
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
|
posted November 23, 2009 09:25 PM
it rained emailed to General Manager so happens my dad sold him a Lincoln back in the day..so the 24th (today) I will take it in when they open i will post the results as soon as they put it on and I ride it for a min.
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted November 25, 2009 03:21 AM
for 78 bucks and hour I will do all the work myself..the dealers are hurting right now..and cutting hours so they want pass on the loss to me...sorry I am not the one..but at least they tried to get to buy an 13k R-1..HA..
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted December 01, 2009 05:01 PM
I kinda got lost by the wording, are you going to do it, have you done it? I am really interested in the results for down the road....
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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Silver Hawk
Zone Head
addition to riding no rehab4me
Posts: 725
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posted December 01, 2009 10:46 PM
Nope have not got it done yet...it is kind of funny that now that it is colder the noise is gone....but it is still vibrating a little to much for me ..I rode it over 500 mile during the Thanksgiving break..u know when u can just feel when something just is not right..well i have that feeling..
____________
2008 Concours ABS 23k miles in a yr Sold
2009 R1 16k miles in a yr Sold
2005 Honda Goldwing..6k miles in 2 months ..Sold
2012 Concours ABS 5k in 1 month..Sold
2011 ZX 10r 2k in 1 month...Sold..
2012 ZX 10R ABS black and red 144 miles as of 4-23-2013 sold.
2013 F6B deluxe sold
Back to the 2012 Connie present
2014 Green and Black ZX14r ..Beast mode!! present.
|
oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
|
posted December 02, 2009 03:37 AM
must be oil pressure is bleeding down, but not as fast when colder, my best guess....
The vibration might be a whole 'nuther story, possible counterbalancer chain needs adjusting? Something loose? Did you ever tighten the header nuts?, if not some might be missing by now....
Dealer time, that's what I would do, at least I have a good one!
We got the best warranty, just need someone to honor it...
Rob
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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omegaman
Parking Attendant
lettin the good time roll
Posts: 5
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posted December 05, 2009 08:45 PM
How is the low end tourque and overall performance of this Machine , is it heavy feeling at low speed ?
Thanks Guy's 
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oncourse
Expert Class
I hate flies!!!
Posts: 467
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posted December 06, 2009 10:01 AM
OK, I will answer this the best I can...
Low end torque, mine is an '08 and from the factory is it not what it should be, but a slip on and flies removed with a pc3 or v makes a huge difference, not a difference where you have to think about it 2x, but an immediate difference. I was real unhappy coming from a hayabusa to this, but the mods work wonders...... I can now short shift and be Gone, period.
The connie does not like to be "steered" at lower speeds, I live atop a mountain and when going down it through the twisties I find it best to just lean into it, if you try to steer it it just does not like it....
Once past 40 or so, it is a toatally different bike, feels really lighter than it is and can hang with the best of 'em. steering is responsive and the brakes just plain rock. I have never had a bike that can brake as good as this one, just watch out first who is behind you or they might be into you very soon... Almost happened to me this summer, there was a pickup behind me as I was trying to determine which left I should make, all I heard was Rrrrrrrrrrrrr of tires, the guy in the pickup avoided me and went into the woods.....
Hope this helps,
Rob
Ps: it is the most comfy bike I ever owned....
____________
True intellegence is not measured by your degrees.
04 klr 250 Lots of mods and 70 MPG!!
08 Connie 2 bros. Carbon. Helibars. Flies out, PC3!!!
2003 kx 500 SOLD
2004 KX 500 In service now, whata BEAST!
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