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So today while riding home from college I noticed a grinding/rattling noise coming from the front nearside of the bike, whenever I initially pulle away, changed down, and I could feel it a little through the clutch also. It almost sounds a bit like chain shake but I'm not 100% sure.

She's a L4, on 40k and no knowledge of wether the timing chain has been changed before so this was already on the to do list ASAP.

This of course with the sound it is making is the first thing to pop to mind, but also thinking it could be the clutch as a possibility.

I'm about to whip the fairing off and see if I can check the timing chain tension (once I've found and downloaded the workshop manual)

Any other thoughts on what this could be?

i thought cam chain noise was most apparent at idle? the clutch does rattle a bit on the zxr (as noted by others), maybe its time for some new plates and springs?

There is no noise at idle.

So I have removed the tenstioner, checked the condition of the chain which looks to be in good condition visually, no wear or stress marks. Reassembled and reset the tensioner and this has stopped the noise. Obviously new chain and tensioner are still on the list.

It does however still have the vibration when pulling away, although I don't think it's as bad. No noise when pulling or releasing clutch during idle. Chain tension is fine, so will keep riding her gently and see if it improves or gets any worse. Nothing easily noticable otherwise...

There is a possibility the clutch is on its way out, and the noise was coincidental at the same time.

Any futher suggestions on what to check or what it could be much appreciated!

Well the noise is back again today, although this time it only makes it while the clutch is engaged. Pull the clutch and it goes so I'm thinking it may be a clutch issue after all! I also spoke to a friend who is pretty knowledgable bike wise, he said his ZX9 had a very similar noise from his clutch and it's not that abnormal on Kawasakis. He thinks it's not much to worry about, but I'm still thinking I should keep a pretty sharp eye on it. It wasn't as bad when he was looking at it as it can be.

Any further seuggestions very welcome!

i did say they are known for rattling
if you can afford to do it, get some new friction plates (check the steels for excessive blueing) and some stronger springs, might help? ...well it cant hurt

replacing the plates and steels won't do much for the noise, replacing the actual basket helps a fair bit but it'll soon become noisy again, clutch rattle on kwak bikes is perfectly normal most models do it aslong as it goes away with the clutch pulled in it'll be fine

chris

thomp1983 wrote:replacing the plates and steels won't do much for the noise, replacing the actual basket helps a fair bit but it'll soon become noisy again, clutch rattle on kwak bikes is perfectly normal most models do it aslong as it goes away with the clutch pulled in it'll be fine

chris

ah so its the plates hitting the sides of the basket, not the sound of the plates rumbling together that causes the noise then?