Engine Rattle

For what it's worth, my new 2022 Street Scrambler is noisier than I remember my old 2020 model being, especially when cold. The old one occasionally gave 3 or 4 loud "ticks" on hot or cold start which I attributed to the camchain tensioner building pressure and I regarded that as quite normal. The new one has never done that but does seem to clatter more from the top end when cold but it's only in comparison to the old one and it's certainly not causing me any concern.

 

No one would argue that modern engines are built to tighter specs and tolerances than those of decades ago with better materials etc but they are certainly not blue printed and one engine may perform and sound slightly different to an identical unit from the same production line run.

 

Fabio the noise in your 2 videos sound different on each video.....one I hear is a regular steady tick tick tick about 1 per second.....very slow for an engine noise....does it increase with RPM?

The other sound I hear which is a sort of irregular tapping sounds exactly the same as my tapping and the same as the taping PT was having.

His tapping like mine was due to to big a valve clearance....only just fitted new valve shims over the last few days.....

All of my 4 exhaust valves were right on the upper limit....in fact 1 was slightly over limit.

I was not confident it was what was causing my noise.....but indeed my noise has gone.

I know your mechanic says the valve gaps are ok on your bike....but can you trust them that they have indeed looked.....its quite an involved job.

Mainly due the stuff that has to be removed to get the rocker cover off.

If new shims are required....a lot of careful arithmetic is req.

My noise would disappear as the engine started to warm up....usually around 2 minutes after cold start.

 

Hi NIck

I only have one video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Bmdplvegt8Y?feature=share

In this video, the engine is hot.

 

I see....I watched 2 videos earlier....thought they were yours.....the one in your Youtube link sounds fine....never easy to tell from recorded audio.

 

Hi mate....did your ever get this prob sorted....2 years on mine is still the same.....once warm its sweet....but a mechanical rattle cold is not right.

 

How is your rattle now Lewis.....made any progress with it....I still have mine 2020 T100.

 

is this thread still active? I have the same rattle on my 2020 ST. I finally took it to the dealers and at first prognosis was that its a normal sound not to worry about it but i hate the rattle and had them listen to it again COLD and it got worse and louder. There changing the oil to a 10-50 and if it doesnt quite down there looking maybe into valve addustment possibly but it was quite obvious they were puzzled themselves. Will keep you updated. What about you guys? Any fixes yet on yours?

 

Hello! No fixes yet. Already tried 10-50 but the result is the same. No one seems to know the cause of it. "It's a triumph thing" they say.

 

My T100 has been back to the dealers 3 times.....none of them knew what it was....2 said balance shaft adjustment but as it soon disappeared as the engine warmed....they said to ignore it....to me thats a very very poor attitude.....I feel I have been fed a line.

I had the balance shaft adjustment checked twice.....it was fine.

The third time it was the Triumph Factory Engineer.....she said she could not even hears it.....maybe the battery in her hearing aids needed changing.

My valve clearances have been checked and adjusted.....as I expected that made no difference.

My present thinking is it could be the valve rocker arms jiggling back and until the alloy head warms and expands.....I say this as when the valve gaps were being checked the mechanic showed me the side to side play in the rocker arms....the sound the make contacting the support post sounds exactly like the tapping noise I hear on cold start.

I to am thinking it could be the very thin when cold 10/40 fully synthetic engine oil....as I did not hear this noise untill after the first oil change at 500 miles.

The factory running in oil is SAE 30 I was told.

My next oil change is due soon.....I am thinking of buying some SAE30 oil to put in the engine for a very short time just to see how it is during cold starts.

I wont ride the bike with this oil in it.....just try some cold starts over a few days to see how it sounds.

 

On the 900 engine there's also the adjustment of the balancer shafts which can cause excessive bottom end clatter or whine if set incorrctly. The adjusters alter the meshing of the balancer shaft drive gears, not the timing of the balancers themselves. To tight and they whine and clatter if to loose. Adjustment is is a simple job and easy to do. I'm not sure if the 1200 engine has the same setup.

 

As you say balance shaft a very easy job to adjust....10mins once you know how.....but the rattle they make when to slack is nothing like the metallic tapping noise most of us are experiencing.

But its very important to have it right or you can have them to tight they whine....not good as the gears are to tight and will wear rapidly.

If every of the water cooled motors had this cold start tapping....I would then not be bothered......but most don't.

Several people have said to me its in the top part of the engine....I agree as this is the only part of engine that heats up quickly so expanding looser clearances.

 

Any update you guys that where having this cold start rattle.

 

Any update you guys that where having this cold start rattle.

 

Nothing here. I did stumble down the balance shaft adjustment path to no avail.

 

Yes me to.

I hope when I changed my oil and filter last week I used the method from the Haynes manual....drain oil then remove filter....then....fill engine with the req oil.....and only then fit the filter....no mention of pre filling the filter so I left that empty.....

The method recommended by Haynes was to avoid air locks.

So I had my fingers cross on start up....seemed the same...though I may have been onto something there.

But its only had the one start up so you never know.

 

I've been changing oil on these engines, both 900 and 1200, since 2016. It's not rocket science, I know this because I can do it!
Looking at the owners manual, it says drain sump, remove filter, prefill new filter, fit the filter, install plug and fill sump. Nothing magical and I seriously doubt any deviation from those steps would cause issues.
I have listened to a couple of other 900/1200 bikes that I can compare against, and I can hear similar sound, it's just not as pronounced. I'm beginning to think this is just one of those "variation in manufacturing" situations. I would like to know what Triumph says would cause this.

 

I agree....but it was worth a try.....two opposing sets of instruction.....I wasn't holding my breath....but willing to try anything....like you been changing oils for over 50 years.....

 

FWIW:
This is my first read of the engine noise coming from the T100 and T120 engines; I have a new 2023 Bonneville T120 made in Jan 2023 bought in October; only have 160 miles on it; I noticed right away that there was a bit of clatter coming from the top end (4 valves per cylinder and rocker arms and valve clearances) along with a whine (I assumed from the cam chain assembly); makes no difference if the engine is cold or hot.
None of my 6 Hondas dating back to 1964 thru 1999 had any noise coming from the top end; my 2002 Harley, on the other hand, made me name it's top end 'Clank'. At my first oil change, I will use Castrol Power 1 10W50 full synthetic as recommended by the dealer.
I figure this noise is just a Triumph thing; bike runs great, its pull never ceases to amaze me.

 

Conversely, mine (similar age) is notable for the sweetness of the engine. It really is as smooth as silk.