Forum

[Michael]

Well... after a few weeks trying to locate the source of the noise I *may* have had a breakthrough. Believe it or not, a jubilee clip around the exhaust heat shield *may* have solved this issue. I always knew the exhaust heat shield hits a resonance at certain engine speeds, making a tinny noise on the RH side of the bike, but I have only ever heard it in neutral, whilst the bike is standing and I am working on it - helmet off. Turns out that wearing a helmet changes the noise ever so slightly... that plus paranoia about ever increasing sound levels on my bike means I may have missed the obvious. 40 miles later, jubilee clip in place, and no real evidence of the rattle any more That being said, my now quieter bike is revealing its other noisy wonders... but... hey, once problem solved...................... hopefully!

[Michael]

Oh, and regarding kicking through and kickback... I obtained a very sore knee yesterday trying to kick the bike, only to be met with an upward motion on the kick start lever. Kick back, compression or otherwise, my normally strong(ish) right leg is now a little sorer. It did, however, kick through under more force. I wonder if the compression in the cylinder is increasing slightly with age and use? Is this possible? I would have thought wear would reduce compression with time.

[grunda 12]

hi michael i currently have an efi engine in bits with a blown big end it has 15000 miles on the clock and the bore is as like new condition pity the same could not be said for the big end bearing hence good compression ,i would also imagine that the auto decompressor is of more use when cranking the engine over with the electric start as one swing of the limited kickstart only turns the motor over 1 and a bit times per kick hence auto decomp not much good atb paul.

[Michael]

Noise is back... No such luck with the jubilee clip. Tinny rattle at high revs now, when accelerating. Plug was white as snow when I pulled it out. Also, caught a glimpse of exhaust valve through plug hole - the valve face was also whitish. Any ideas before I go trawling again?

[Alan (Lancashire)]

if the plug is white then she is running weak , and probably going to overheat (and sieze) , spend time sorting the mixture out , then go back and sort the noiseys , if they are still there!

[Alan R]

Hi guys----------from that last description I would say you have an "under-fuelling" problem with the fuel injection gizmo... "Snow White" may have been a pretty little thing in the cartoon but NOT inside your engine it 'aint !! ---------- You are probably hearing some "Pinking" now that the fuel/air mixture has gone AWOL !!!! Please read this }---- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking ---------- I'm not familiar with the EFi in detail but whatever it is that controls the fuel/air mixture needs checking ( assuming all other "standard" checks prove to be ok eg}-- injector air leak on manifold etc ??)

[Michael]

Hi Alan(s)! Thanks for the tips. On my run into work this morning there was a lot of gas of some sort emanating from the exhaust manifold, and I could feel the bike was hotter than normal. The gas was most likely residue from its wash last night... but the mind does wander. Is it just a visual check for inlet manifold air leaks (or holes/cracks)? Where else should be a first port of call in your opinion... other than a mechanic!! I did recently switch back to regular unleaded from super... purely due to availability in the local garages... might this be part of it?

[Alan R]

Hello MICHAEL, if she's running hotter,----- enough for YOU to notice,----- then I wouldn't use it any more until the problem has been solved......Going by your descriptions, my gut feeling is that you have a fault within the electronics department involving the quantity of fuel injected. Maybe also the injection timing could be at fault (Hence the kickback when trying to Kick-start it).. Allied to those is the TPI unit (Throttle Position Indicator) which might be giving a false reading to the "Black Box" CPU....Certainly the change to regular unleaded fuel would enhance an already bad situation, IMHO.... Apart from physically checking all electrical connections for soundness, then if you are not electronically minded there's not much else you can do other than have it put on an electronic diagnostic machine for an "in-depth" read-out.........Have you considered changing it to a carb. set-up ???............... Just to reiterate, that snow-white plug and exhaust valve, the extra hot engine, means you are very close to an Enfield "China Syndrome"....Have at this}--- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Synd ... _Syndromek -------- Of course, I may be totally wrong !!!!

[Alan (Lancashire)]

agree with alan R , can you locate a "colourtune" , or visit your local mot place to have the emmissions "sniffed" , I would not be rideing a bike if the mixture was so weak

[Michael]

Cheers folks... urgh. Alternative transport seems to be heading my way I checked all connections a few months ago for soundness and found a few faults which were repaired at the time. Nothing sensor related though, only lights. This one is getting beyond me sadly - really want to learn and do things myself, but getting a bit lost now. Oh well... off find an enfield savvy mechanic.