Hey gang. Recently bought a mint 2009 vfr with 80k kms. Crazy high kms but I loved the fact that the bike has been ridden and enjoyed. About a month after riding for almost 1000kms I noticed that a knocking sound had occurred similar to A CCT issue. I had the valves done and a major service on the bike at a Honda dealer. I had hoped that would cure any issues. The dealer said the bike was good to go. After the service I noticed the knocking sound again, but this time the sound seemed more consistent and louder. When I start the bike it makes the sound after a short period. Its fairly loud and sounds terrible. Here's the weird part and I'm hoping for some tips from the more experienced: when I press the brake the noise stops immediately. When I turn on the high beams the sound stops also. Wtf is going on here? I assumed the CCT and maybe the cam chain which the dealer says is likely the issue (though I don't think they really have any atucla facts to go on). Help? Thanks
May be ride it with your high beams on all the time? lol I’d try to locate where exactly the sound is coming from first. Get an stethoscope, or a piece of hose and put it around the engine, clutch, cylinder heads, stator etc and find out. Isolating the noise would help the experts here in diagnosing the problem.
I just might keep the high beams on all the time. Lol. Certainly a lot cheaper than doing the other fixes that may not even be the problem. Thanks for the reply. Ill see if I can determine the area where the noise is coming from. Ill continue my discussions with Honda and see what comes of it.
You're changing nothing mechanical by using the head, tail & brake-lights, so maybe you need to look for something electrical like arcing HT leads? A spark jumping from a plug-cap to earth can sound loud and much like a knock ~ although it's grasping at straws here to correlate such a fault with your 'solution'!
Hi Ryan and Welcome to the MadHouse When you get time please visit the "Introductions" part of the forum to say Hi to the rest of the folks on here and tell us a bit about your VFR and your riding history and add a photo or two of your bike - its easy - click the "add a file link at the bottom" and follow the prompts to select and upload photos or video from your computer. You may also want to update your forum profile information to include an approximate location city/province is ample - as you never know if there is forum member nearby willing to swing by and offer advice/spannering especially if you have a well stocked beer fridge . As for the currect issue diagnosis from the other side of the planet is problematic without seeing the bike close up - but a short video of the noise and ideally it stopping when the brake is applied may help a lot. I recently sold my 6th gen which was still running perfectly with well over 200km on the clock so I would not be getting stressed by that mileage. Form the information you provide I am trying to identify something common which is affected by both brake and headlights being operated and that makes me think electrical and in turn is it possible the noise you are hearing is coming from the fuel injection pump which is also electrically powered. You say the noise occurs when you start the bike - but does it also occur when you switch the ignition to the on position but before you press the starter button? - as that would implicate the fuel pump. If the noise only starts onceh the engine fired up then it has to be engine related and if it dissapears after a short while this suggests something is lacking lubrication or worse still is loose. You may need to remove the fairings for access then use a long handled screwdriver to act as a stethoscope at several points around the engine to try and locate the source of the noise. Hopefully you can quickly home in which side the noise is coming from and then the area of the engine closest to where the sound is loudest. It could indeed be the CCT needs attention but could be something as simple as a stator bolt has worked slightly loose and is just scraping the cover until it gets coated in oil and the noise stops. Good luck and let us know how you get on. SkiMad
I'd second that request to know if it occurring before or after re-starting after you have initially warmed it up. Also hearing exactly what it sounds like in a clip moving around the bike would really help. When you engange the brakes, or use high beam you are obviously further loading the electrics. Which would induce a charging load, but it also reduces the available voltage if the battery is old and the charging is weak at that time - which it would be if you are at idle RPM whilst testing it, or if the RR is failing. As skimad4x4 says I would check the stator mounting bolts. But I wonder, and I know its a extremely long shot, but I wonder if, once it is warm and a bit looser, the starter is partially engaging and kicking it in/out/in/out until the voltage is lower when the lights are on? If so its time to check the starter relay. You didn't say if the sound frequency rises directly with RPM, or some partial rate of increase from RPM, or not at all. That may help ID the source. But even then we are all guessing until we know where the sound is coming from. Again, as skimad4x4 says, a very long screwdriver makes an excellent stethoscope. Rest the metal tip against a potential culprint and your ear against the dome top of the handle. You can get very close to the source of mechanical noises this way. But keep safe and keep it a long way away from the HT leads, even if you have wrapped the shaft in tape.
First, thank you for all the feedback. I will update my profile and add pics and more info. I will post a more detailed description of the issue along with some video. Cheers Ryan
Hopefully I did this video upload properly. Im kind of a noob. When the high beams are off there is a noise that occurs at cold idle and at very low throttle from first gear. At idle when the front brake lever is applied, the sound stops. At idle when the high beams are on, there is no sound. I have absolutely no mechanical skills whatsoever, but I do have a friend who is excellent with cars and I'm willing to learn a thing or two. I love my new bike and I plan on owning it for years. I just got a new PUIG double bubble windscreen in dark smoke (I find the stock one really doesnt give very good wind coverage at speed). Next season I will likely install the Delkovic exhaust to let the glorious noise out! I noticed that there are quite a few members of this forum that live in Vancouver, BC also. Good to be here! Cheers Ryan
It seems to e coming from the left side of the bike and that is where the stator is. The noise also goes away when electrical load is applied which is connected to the stator. I would start there with a close inspection.
Update: Bike is sounding good and running well with the high beams on. The high beams can be turned off after awhile of riding. I'm waiting for the slower season to approach my Honda service guy to look into the issue (stator perhaps?). Having just dropped a bunch of $$$ on the valves im happy to wait. Does anybody think that waiting is a bad idea, meaning that more damage could be caused by not trying to fix the issue asap?? Thanks. Ryan
That depends on what the issue actually is Ryan. Something could be tearing itself apart in there. But I doubt it. It will continue to charge... until it doesn't. Normally doesn't happen in your driveway tho.
If you are now confident the noise is in the vicinity of the Stator then personally I would try to carefully unbolt the stator cover and look inside to see if there is an obvious source of the noise. The cover has a gasket which more often than not will come off perfectly intact and could be reused at least until you source a replacement - as the gasket is not under great load and is basically to stop any minor oil leak. The gasket is also relatively cheap and still available from Honda dealers (or online) as the same gasket is also used on 8th Gen models. Obviously I do not wish to rain on your parade but if however there is a bolt working loose inside the housing, then you really should address this asap as it could be creating metal shavings which could contaminate the oil and possibly cause engine damage. Indeed if something is loose inside, then there may be obvious scrapes on the offending bolt(s) and the inside of the stator housing cover - so round up a decent torch and prepare for small oil spill when you open the stator housing cover. Feel free to post up photos if you want a second opinion, but if you are greeted by the acrid smell of burnt electrical windings and can see sections of the stator windings are a crispy black colour then you will be needing at least a new stator - and should consult "the drill" for more advice. Good luck let us know how you get on. SkiMad
If you're looking for the easiest thing you can do that may just enlighten you, try to run the bike in a very dark garage or somewhere similar, and peer through any slot or opening in the fairing. You're looking for a spark jumping to earth from one or more of the HT leads (..plug leads). HT leads deteriorate over the years in the heat generated by the engine, and when old can 'leak' high-tension electricity ~ which is often heard as a loud/intermittent/irregular 'clicking' such as the sound you're hearing. Why it would stop when you pull the brake lever or switch on the lights would need further investigation into the electronics/wiring, but it will cost you nothing to eliminate this as the cause and it would put your mind at rest re. any potential mechanical fault. Were the bike mine, I'd do nothing else until I'd done this. Regarding the screwdriver pressed to the ear as a 'stethoscope': that would help if the issue is mechanical, but if the fault is electrical 'arcing' you'd do better to use a length of rubber tubing. Put one end to your ear, and feed the other end through the fairing to reach around the spark plug leads while the engine is running (..esp where they feed down into the cyl-heads). If at any point the clicking gets louder, you've located its origin; and the cure for it (..at least until you can fit new HT leads) could be as simple as spraying the area with WD40 or a similar moisture dispersant.
Ryan. Your issue seems to be very much like a typical CCT failure. Simply listen closely as to wether you are hearing the sound from the front or rear cylinder heads. Replace either the front or rear CCT and re-assess the situation. A very common 6gen issue.
Latest update Problem appears to have been found. Skimad nailed it! Looks like a previous owner replaced the stator and one of the bolts had loosened every so slightly and making contact inside. The logic is that the added electric charge (brake lever, high beams) reduces idle vibribation just enough to make it avoid contact. Or eventually the oil lubricates it enough to stop the sound. Waiting on a new stator gasket to prove the theory but it appears to be the issue. Also my battery died. So I went out and got myself a new Shorai Lithium battery for my baby. Weight saving never hurt. Looking forward to the off season to get a delkevic slip on installed and a tidy tail done. Thanks for the all the feedback! Keep you posted
