"ticking" sound

[lawman101]

I have a R1200RT with 26,000 miles on it..Occassionally but not always I will hear a "ticking" or "tapping" sound at very low speed or when stopped..It sounds sorta like valve clatter but I don't think that's what it is..It usually fades away after several seconds..Also, seems more prevalent after warm up as oppossed to cold..Any ideas?

[henzilla]

still sounds like valve train noise to me. Even when adjusted and after oil is nearing end of it's life on hot days I get it. On start up it happens for a few seconds also. Have your valves been adjusted lately?

[lawman101]

Recently adjusted valves and changed to Amsoil..Valves have never really needed much adjustment if any...

[Andy VH]

Although the mileage is very low for this to be a throttle body bushing problem, a worn TB shaft bushing will make a ticking sound.

In the Oilhead section check out the posts about throttle body rebuilds.

[AntonLargiader]

Next time you check the valve clearances, check the rocker end play. It can really make a big difference to the sound. At compression TDC on that side (normal valve adjusting position, loose rockers) try to slide the rocker up and down. You should get barely more than a bulging of the oil film at each end. If it goes "thunk, thunk" up and down it's way too much. If you don't see the oil film move, it's too tight. If you want to make sure it's not too tight, back the valve adjuster out all the way so the rocker is free to swing more. Spec minimum is 0.05mm if you have feeler gauges that thin. More (OK, WAY more) on advrider.com under "Wisdom" at the bottom of the page. Look for rocker end play adjustment.

It can be really fussy to get both of them adjusted, since they adjustment tends to affect both, but it's worth it.

[Andy VH]

Anton, even though I have never noticed excessive ticking noise on my 94 R1100RS, since I have 126,000 miles on the bike this is something I'll definitely check.
Thanks for the info.

[AntonLargiader]

It's supposed to be done whenever the heads are retorqued (600 miles after assembly) but it looks like that doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. Once they are set, they should be set for good, or at least until the head is disassembled again.

[Bob1100RTC]

I don't know if this applies in this case but my R11Rt would tick on start up for a couple seconds and when hot at times. I replaced both cam chain tensioners and that helped a lot but at idle when hot the tick would come and go. On sugestion from someone on this forum (I can't remember his name right now) I changed the oil. No more tick. 1500 miles later I traded it for my R12RT and it was still quiet. Worth a try. The old oil only had about 2500 miles.