Hitchcocks Forum

My 05 electra x has an annoying rattle from the engine. It runs great uses no oil and has no metal contamination in the oil. The rattle is there on a light throttle but goes off under load and on the over-run. It has good compression and starts first or second kick. Any ideas what it may be, I have had a listen all round the engine using a screwdriver and can't locate any noises. Dont know if I last till the winter to pull the engine apart for a top end 535 conversion and locate the source of the noise

Hi Davie, it might be no more than the big nut behind the flywheel generator, which holds the engine sprocket tight has come loose. I fixed that problem on one once and it sounded like the big end was on the way out before I tightened the nut. You can see if this is the problem by looking and feeling behind the flywheel generator, but you have to remove this item to get access to tighten the nut. regards, Paul.

Thanks Whisperer will have a look at that. That reminded me of a Yam Xs 850 many years ago with a similar rattle and it was the nut on the end of the crank that holds the camchain sprocket on was loose. Thanks for the reply

Hi Davie. A rattle I had once turned out to be nothing more than a loose tax disc holder vibrating against the cylinder. Check for a loose head steady. If all external bits and bobs appear well secured, open up the primary chain case and check for a loose chain or nuts. Hope this helps.

Loose exhaust mounting bolt?

Well I finally got to look at my bike, I took off the primary chain cover for a look see and found that the adjuster bolt was loose and had screwed itself right back in. There must have been 2 inches of free play on the chain, put it back together and normal service has resumed. Thanks for all the replies they were all appreciated.
Cheers Dave

Thanks Davie, nice when people finish off a thread properly.

The strange thing about the rattle was you couldn't place it to one area , no matter where you listened it was there. Just glad it wasn't anything expensive. Once again thanks for the replies

Well after a week enjoying riding the rattle is back with a vengeance. Its now in the back of the brother in laws van ready to go to his workshop. Tomorrow morning will see me performing open heart surgery to see what the problem is. Just now the big money is on the big end bearing on its way out. Strange thing is there is still no signs of metal in the oil.

Bad news Davie. Sorry to hear that. Might be wrong, as I often am, but to check for busted big end, I think the head has to come off and check for excessive side to side play in the rod. More than 5 -6mm side play, and you may have found the problem. More knowledgeable forum members, please verify that I am correct and help Davie out. Good luck with the operation.