Another Startup Diagnosis (w/Video)

[Stereordinary]

Hey all, just hoping if I can get a few sets of eyes and ears on this little video I made going over what I’m experiencing when starting up my bike. Mostly it’s all explained in the video so here’s the link:

https://youtu.be/OIs0XmH9eH8

Long and short of it I’m getting a clicking sound at startup and I’m just not sure what it means or what I should do about it. Thanks for your time everyone!

[Shedman]

Hi Stereo, how long have you had the bike and how long has it been making the noise? Have you checked your valve clearances? Is your cam chain adjuster working or is it stuck? It sounds like an adjustment issue as it goes away when the engine warms up. It is hard to say where the noise is coming from on your video.

[hugojose]

The choke (enrichener) lever does not hold because the friction pad inside is worn out, or disintegrated with age. They don't sell that part. but it is possible to fabricate your own.

Like Shedman said on the noise. Cam chain tensioner, valve clearance. Hard to tell w/out being near the bike. I'd make sure also the exhaust collars are all tight enough. Have you removed the cam cover and have a look at the chain guides?? Move the crank manually?

[Freddy]

My guess, loose cam chain.

P.S. I agree with hugojose that there sounds a bit of exhaust leak in among the other noise.

[Richard]

Sounds like cam chain tensioner, it normally becomes less after the engine heats up, and I hear ticking which points in the direction of valve clearances.

You ride it on a daily basis, when was the last time the valve clearance has been inspected/set?

[Stereordinary]

Thanks everyone. I have been riding daily (or nearly daily anyway) since January, but mostly just my 3-mile round trip to work and other errands. I have had the bike since last July and I haven’t even pulled the gas tank off once. This noise has been there for the past couple months, but I assumed it was cold-weather related and thought it might go away when things warmed up here in Washington state.

It sounds like the cam chain tension is the number one suspect here, so I will do that first, then valves, and maybe try to get in there for a carb clean and balance if I have time.

[Stereordinary]

Reading my FSM now, and have a quick question. From what I can tell here, the process for adjusting the cam chain tension is removing, resetting, and then reinstalling the cam chain tensioner. Is this correct? Or is there some way to make the adjustment without fully removing the tensioner?

Also does anyone have a spare holder plate laying around?

[Richard]

There is lots of info on this forum, hence I recommend doing a search on "cam chain tensioner".

There are two ways to go, reset the one you have or install a manual one, I still need to do this myself but again read this forum for more info on the subject.

[Freddy]

Reading my FSM now, and have a quick question. From what I can tell here, the process for adjusting the cam chain tension is removing, resetting, and then reinstalling the cam chain tensioner. Is this correct? Or is there some way to make the adjustment without fully removing the tensioner?

Also does anyone have a spare holder plate laying around?

Don't waste you time trying to reset it. Kawasaki have had automatic cam chain tensioner problems since the day they first fitted them till even current models e.g. current Z100/Z900 engine. Buy a decent well made manual tensioner and have zero future problems. They are relatively inexpensive, and not at all hard to set correctly.

The biggest issue is you probably have to remove the carburetors to get access to the cam chain tensioner. I can't speak for the 550 but a lot of people seem to struggle with the task (everything being a snug fit). But if its anything like a 750, if approached correctly, actually a very easy task. The problem is you have to go through a bit of pain a couple times figuring out that 'approach'. If you had a 750 I could simply say do a,b,c, etc Perhaps someone with a 550 can do the same if you decide to tackle the task.

Happy to describe how to do it on a 750 if you don't get an answer and you decide to go ahead. The concepts are sure to be very similar. I can get mine out in max 10 minutes, and back in in about 15 minutes, the two inside airbox manifold retainer 'springs' being the trickiest part to roll back on (maybe a 550 doesn't use those things).

[Stereordinary]

Fixed! Pretty pleased to say that I got the job done and the noise is gone. I decided to try and reset the factory tensioner instead of replacing it with a manual one. Though I did purchase a manual one just in case I flubbed up the process. I’m curious to see how long it will go before the noise comes back. If it’s long enough than I don’t mind doing the reset, sort of gives me an excuse to get in there and do some other maintenance items anyway. But if it comes back sooner than later I’ll go ahead and install the manual kit.