www.zxrworld.co.uk

cargo wrote:

hendo1990 wrote:i tried the bike again today and it fired up ok with the choke on. I left it on choke for a bit then knocked it off and it was still tapping but it didn't cut out this time. i let it idle for a while and when the engine temperature went up the tapping went away and it sounded fine. I recently changed the oil and filter and the filter they gave me was only a cheap one. (i checked the oil and water and theres plenty in and doesnt appear to have lost any) The one previously on the bike was a genuine Kawasaki filter could this have anything to do with it?
cheers for the replies
John

From a personal point of view I don't like " cheap" oil filters and would never use one.
Having said that I would imagine that if a cheap oil filter was going to contribute towards engine damage then it would occur over a period of time and not overnight.
So when you next change the oil use a genuine Kawasaki filter.

Now back to your tapping noise.........................you say the noise faded when the bike warmed up.....................that gives a clue as to what it might be be.
When metal gets warmed it expands this is a fact (and nothing lewisdale says can change it).............so I'm guessing that somewhere in or on you engine a tapping noise is going away as the metal expands to take up the space between the two components that are doing the tapping. There is within every engine a gap the must be maintained at a specfic distance so as to allow for expansion due to heat. If that gap is on the large side due to wear and tear then a noise can develop especially when it is cold...................expansion occurs as the engine warms and the gap closes and the noise fades.........................

I'm not saying this is definatly what you problem is it is just a suggestion that seems to fit with the symptons you describe...................it is not a wild guess.

But in your search for the mystery noise I'd have a look at you valve clearances........and check them......................all sixteen in fact.............................even if you find them all to be correct it's a job that needs done from time to time anyway and while your doing it you may find something else in the valve gear that is the source of yoour noise.

IF it is a valve clearance problem and you ignore it it will get worse and over time will do even more serious engine damage and ultimatly engine failure

You could of course just change the head gasket .............................(note sarcastic tone)

lewisdale wrote:lmao jack, i knew what was wrong with that black zxr you bought, that overheated, melted the piston, siezed and rattled like a bitch, infact i even bought it down to you