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Himalayan excessive tappet noise

Jerk

The Boss at On An Adventure
Staff member
One of my Himmas has developed a fairly loud tappet ticking sound at about 5,000 miles. I've double checked the valve clearance and everything is good. Oil level is good and has not changed recently.

Anyone else have this? Normal?

 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
Cars with adjustable valves went pretty much extinct 50 years ago. There's a particular feel to properly setting valve clearances. I reckon the number of folks familiar with that feel has been on the decline since hydraulic lifter became the norm.

When screw and lock nut valves are set right the feeler gages don't slide out or glide out smoothly, there's drag when they're pulled.
That said, on my air cooled engines like pre unit Enfield I set mine a little on the loose side of tolerance so the valves make a very faint ticking sound at normal operating temperature. The reason why I do this is that cast iron cylinders don't dissipate heat as well as aluminum. When the valves start getting quiet it lets me know before the head temps get critical that they are starting to climb. Do I need to do this with my all aluminum oil & air cooled LS 410 ? nope. Is it needed? nope. I do do it anyway because without that faint tic-tic-tic-tic my subconscious goes nuts searching the missing proprioceptive inputs that have become part and parcel of riding.

On the other site a LOT of owners mention valves to tight from the factory. I wonder how many of those valves were on tight side. I wonder if folks doing the checking at first service are used to bucket and shims.

With your valves set right on compression and the correct TDC mark they should be quiet or at least quieter than the video. My next thing would be to double check it and if it's still correct, pull the cam cover and take a look at the automatic compression release mechanism and also take a look at the cam lobes.
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Mine pipe gasket was leaking, because the exhaust was slightly out of tolerance and had to be forced up to get the fixing bolt in.
Fixing that seriously quieted the motor.
There was also a loose clamp on one of the breather? emission hoses which was squawking.
Pro mechanics don't use feller gauges, they know the thread on the adjuster is 1mm/40 thou and have a valve adjusting tool with one thou clicks on the knob.
On my airheads it is possible to run the motor with the rocker covers off, and you can check the clearances by feel - shows up problems like rocker bearing wear or end float,
etc.
And any pilot error - DAHIK!
Surprising little difference between hot and cold, not much more than one thou, if anyone wondered!
Lining the bottom of the tank with some form of matt or heat shield works too - I had a bit heat shield, thin foil faced self adhesive foam and that has made a difference.
Stuck it everywhere I could when I was changing the shock too, made a difference.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
If you are sure it's on the intake side check the flange, throttle body to head, a small air leak there would make it run lean especially on decl and cause the popping you are hearing.
There's an EVAP system controlled by, and plumbed to, the intake side. Don't forget to check the hoses and control valve too. Just consider it an element of the intake track.
 

Jerk

The Boss at On An Adventure
Staff member
I poked around and didnt find anything loose or obvious. The noise seems a little louder on the exhaust side, but its actually pretty loud all over the top-end, so I can't say definitively if its intake or exhaust. I'm probably going to take it to the dealer for warranty repair.
 
I poked around and didnt find anything loose or obvious. The noise seems a little louder on the exhaust side, but its actually pretty loud all over the top-end, so I can't say definitively if its intake or exhaust. I'm probably going to take it to the dealer for warranty repair.
Or to find out it's just a noisy engine with a rattley top end .... ... my tappets are set up to goldilocks settings and it still sounds like a pile of spanners in a tin biscuit box .... it's not a Kawasaki ...... :)
 

Shearboy

Well travelled
Location
USA CO
Or to find out it's just a noisy engine with a rattley top end .... ... my tappets are set up to goldilocks settings and it still sounds like a pile of spanners in a tin biscuit box .... it's not a Kawasaki ...... :)
I think Jerk has a few Himalayan's and this is one that makes more noise than the others so probably not normal. I do know what you mean though, I could never allow myself to own a Triumph Bonneville back in the day cause they rattled so bloody much, I stuck with Nortons and BSA.
 

TN_twowheeladdict

Well travelled
Location
Tennessee
These valves are really easy to set. You don't even need feeler guages, as the tappet screw pitch is 1.0mm. The inlet valve is 1/8 turn (0.125mm) from tight and the outlet is 1/4 turn (0,25mm) from tight.

So just get engine on TDC, turn adjusters until just totally tight and then turn them the 1/8th turn for inlet and 1/4 turn for outlet valve.
Did you verify this with the feeler gauge the first time?
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Pro mechanics usually have a gauge similar to the RE/ MotionPro tool but with micrometer clicks to avoid having to guess 1/8 of a turn or whatever.
Sone consider it may be more accurate than feeler gauges, as there may be uneven wear on the contact surfaces between the valve / rocker and the feeler gauges may give a false reading.
And it also takes away any notion/ requirement that there is some magical feel to the sliding friction of the feelers as you slide them through.
It is probably a bit faster too, particularly with slow running six cylinder auto motors where the factory service manual procedure was to set them on a hot, running motor.
Just make certain you have the correct TDC ---!
 
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