Pinging Engine

[Sullyman]

I have a 2003 R1150RT with 40,000 km on it. It recently has started to ping under a bit of load, either hard acceleration or going up a hill in too tall a gear. I use only premium fuel (Shell V-Power). I have kept up with all servicing and valves are recently adjusted. I know this can be bad news on piston & valves if it continues. I don't lug the engine - quite the opposite :-) My service guys tell me there is no timing to adjust, which also means it cannot have slipped. The pinging is not weather or altitude dependent - happens in both cool weather and warm, at sea level and 6000 ft.

Has anyone experienced this problem? Any suggestions?
Mike

[MotorradMike]

Hi Mike:

Around here we have Sunoco 94 octane. I'd try that.

Timing not adjustable? Are you sure? My service manual covers 1150s to 2004 and timing is adjustable behind the alt pulley. Maybe your mechanic means it shouldn't require adjustment.

I'd also check peak cylinder pressure with a compression test so you have that info when the guys who know what they're talking about chime in.

[PETDOC]

..... ping under a bit of load, either hard acceleration or going up a hill in too tall a gear.
Has anyone experienced this problem? Any suggestions?
Mike
Mike,
Same but slightly different problem in my '04 1150 GS. It would always ping under a load (ie, acceleration in too tall a gear, esp. when going up a grade) during summer months. Nothing I did improved that until.....I replaced my left side cam chain tensioner with the newer version. Now no matter how hard I try it is impossible for me to get the engine to ping. After the cam chain tensioner swap I intentionally dropped the rpms down to 2500 in 6th gear during a day when it was in the mid 90's and opened the throttle--very slow acceleration, but no pinging. Others have reported a similar resolution of pinging by up grading the cam chain tensioner. You can find posts on Advrider.com in the GSpot thread.

[Zygmund]

Mike,
I have a late 2002 RT with 44,000 miles on it and I experience the ping as well. I have tried different ccp configurations and have done all the adjustments possible, including the cam chain tensioner upgrade. Go for a ride, drop a gear and keep the boxer above 3500 rpm and report back.

:lurk

[snoone]

I've found that adding Techron additive helps somewhat....

[BubbaZanetti]

this may seem a bit paradoxical (with regards to the "health" of our bikes) but i found 2 or 3 summers ago, when the price of premium got real expensive for the first time, i began encountering some pinning with my 99S. so what did i do? i began running 89 "mid grade" octane and the ping went away. my guess? no one was buying 93 octane and it was becoming stale, perhaps even to the point that it was no better than the 89. not very scientific but it worked for me.

also, a new cam chain tensioner is not going to eliminate pinning, my guess is your noise was coming from your running gear.

[Cruzin]

I ride an R1200CL with 40K on it and have had a "pinging" type of noise which wasn't due to pre-ignition. The problem I was having was a "pinging" when pulling away cold and also when decelerating under 3500 rpm. To make a long story short, I proved the possibility of valve and exhaust leaks out. I ended up changing both cam chain tensioners which has eliminated 80-90% on the noise. I found the new tensioner springs are longer than the ones I removed by about one to two coils. Next time I would try just changing the springs first without purchasing the whole tensioner. I still have some noise while riding, including the occasional "slap" when I start the bike. I believe that the cam chains might be stretched... plan on replacing them in the near future.
The tensioners seam to work on both spring and hydraulic pressure. The original excessive noise I had must have been from the spring being too compressed. I was getting the noise mainly under lower oil pressure situations where I believe the spring was supposed to make up for the lower oil pressure. With the new springs in, and still getting a bit of noise, I'm assuming that it could only be due to the new tensioners having trouble taking up all the chain slack due to the chains being stretched. I know the mileage is low, but I do ride the bike hard.

Olaf

[ragtoplvr]

I originally had pinger 02 R1150RS.

Tensioner upgrade helped a bunch, plus I do not cringe when I start it up.

Then I went to the Bosch 4417 4 electrode plug. No more pinging, plus the low speed torque is much increased, on low idle of 1150 rpm, on smooth pavement I can pull away without adding throttle at all. Before it would stall anytime the RPM dropped much below 900.

I like these changes.

Rod

[Dave_Faria]

If you tried everything else.

I have a 2004 R1150RT that was an oil burner up to 65k miles. My RPM range has always been 3.5k to 4.5k. I had the pinging also. On a hot day under hard acceleration in 5th gear it would start at 5.5k rpm and at 3.5k rpm in 6th. I noticed if I eased up on the throttle the pinging would stop or become less. On the Adventure rider list they talk about adjusting the TPS for different things and I think pinging was one of them. Its been a few months.... Anyway I tried it and it helped. I had nothing to lose. Basicly it says to measure the voltage at pins 1 and 4(I'm not sure of the pin numbers anymore) so you can return to the original setting if you don't like the result. Make sure the butterfly is mechannically seated when you measure the voltage because it may be floatiing off the throttle body seat when the engine is off. I think the article was in their wisdom section at the bottom of the page. It might be worth trying. My mpg is still 42 to 44mpg. They give a voltage setting range in the article. I think do a search on the TPS.

I've not decarbonized the heads.

Anyone else tried this ????

[murray2]

I had the same problem. I used a product called ring free from yamaha, and it made a huge difference. Loaded up the first time and the a little once in a while.

Jay

[PGlaves]

Well, there are really three possibilities - other than bad gas.

1. The timing is off. Not supposed to be. Not supposed to need adjustment - but it can be checked and can be adjusted.

2. Mixture too lean. This could be caused by partially clogged injectors or a TPS that has gone out of spec. Read the spark plugs and look for any sign of blistering. Tan is good - white is not.

3. Carbon buildup causing compression to be too high. Look into the spark plug hole and see if it looks all black and lumpy in there. Seafoam in several tanks of fuel may help, but the reliable way is to remove the heads and manually clean the combustion chamber and piston top.

[bubbagazoo]

I have a 2003 R1150RT with 40,000 km on it. It recently has started to ping under a bit of load, either hard acceleration or going up a hill in too tall a gear. I use only premium fuel (Shell V-Power). I have kept up with all servicing and valves are recently adjusted. I know this can be bad news on piston & valves if it continues. I don't lug the engine - quite the opposite :-) My service guys tell me there is no timing to adjust, which also means it cannot have slipped. The pinging is not weather or altitude dependent - happens in both cool weather and warm, at sea level and 6000 ft.

Has anyone experienced this problem? Any suggestions?
Mike

If you want to try a higher octane level, go to Husky. Their premium is 94 Octane while the Shell V-Power is 91 Octane. The Husky 94 is the same price per litre as the Shell 91. Give it a shot.