Katana Owners Club U.K.

Hi All
Furher to my previous post about the head gasget posibbly leaking and /or exhaust rings blowing I am not sure whats wrong.
After taking the bike for a short run the noise got much worse.
Its hard to explain what it sounds like but it almost sounded mechanical. and didnt get any louder under load if anything i couldnt hear it under load, but the exhaust is quite load so it maybe it drowns out the sound.
The bike idles a little rough but seems to run fine off idle.
Dont really want to run it again until i know what it is.
Can anyone suggest what to check apart from exhaust rings (i dont think its these).
Or I know its a big ask does anyone have 5 mins next weekend or one evening and lives near southend on sea that could kindly come and give some advice.
If not May have to start stripping down to investigate and may not know what im looking for.
Cheers
Dave

Dont know much about engines tbh Dave, but a dodgy cam chain can make a hell of a racket. My "cough" impulse had a loose one and it sounded well rattly

Good luck anyway.

Pete

Hi pete
The thought it could be cam chain did cross my mind but can they go that quick ive only done about 20 miles on it and its gone from sounding pretty quite to this!

Could be the camchain if the auto adjuster is stuck. Try turning the knurled end bit of the tensioner quarter turn clockwise with the engine running just for a second then let it go. The camchain will make a hell of a rattle then after you let it go it should quieten down. If your mystery noise is still there after that then it's probably not the camchain.
Hope this helps.

will try that tomorrow if i can, work gets in the way during the week but will let u know

if youve a small plastic bottle of petrol with some engine oil mixed in, connect it to your carbs with the tank off. if youve a blowing head gasket, you will see the smoke blowing out. i assume youve covered the daft things like a loose spark plug, a loose tappet, cam sprocket bolt, sounds like it could be the tensioner. theyre not the best thing in the world, and can be prone to sticking.