I've got an 85 ninja 600r that I brought back to life and runs real good but... I ran into a problem today. I was out riding around and when I came to a stop to make a left the power died. I tried to start it and it was making a ticking noise but wouldn't turn over. I had plenty of gas so I thought, maybe the battery. I removed the battery from my brothers bike and tried it on mine, same result. Tried pushing the bike fast and popping the clutch out to start, no dice. I then noticed that the oil was not in the site glass so I figured I f'd up the engine at this point. I continued to try and start it and it finally turned over but now there's a tapping noise, so I stopped the engine. Towed it back home, added new oil and started it again, the engine sounds perfect except Im still having the loud "ta ta ta ta ta" noise. Sounds like it's coming from the middle of the engine. Could someone tell me what you think it is and if I can repair it? I do my own repairs so I can't wait to dive into this one (sarcastic). Thank you!

 

adjust the automatic cam chain tensioner. Sounds like yours has some flat teeth on it or a weak spring. A common issue with our rides.

so where did the oil go? and when was the last time the valves were checked?

 

Can the auto tensioner get loose from the oil running very low? It felt like the engine seized for a bit. Do you think I snapped one of the piston rods? It turns over perfectly now and revs great and sounds the same except for the very loud " ta ta ta ta" noise, sounds like a tank. And it gets louder and faster with the revs. As far as the oil, i guess I'm burning it off, or it drips from the pan, but I haven't noticed white smoke from the exhaust nor do I see evidence of a puddle. I noticed a thin coat of oil on the outside of the gear shift cover. And the valves I've never checked before, I've never performed a valve check in my life. Thank you for your response!

 

Not from what I have seen yet.

That rules out a broken rod, you could put your compression gauges or leak down gauges on and check to see if all of the cylinders' pressures are close to each other.

How many miles on this thing? It really sounds like a valve check is in order, along with your cam chain adjustment. oh and stop running it out of oil! lol

 

see pg 4-18 in your factory service manual. Valve clearance inspection.

see pg 4-14 compression test 109-171 psig

see pg 4-9 and 4-10 for the CCT oh, I was incorrect on the style of CCT for this ride it appears from my above statement of "flat teeth".

 

Doubt it was a piston rod. Engines don't last very long when that happens.
I agree on the CCT. Pull the valve cover and check everything before it all lets loose; don't keep riding it.

 

I'm not to sure if the oil was the issue but I'm still not ruling it out. Oil was low about a qt and a half. I stripped the engine down, and I removed the valve cover to inspect the valves, cams, rockers, and cam chain. I did not notice any bad wear or any pieces of metal. Seemed nice and clean. The manual states that the cam tension pin should stick out of it's housing by 5mm, mine was probably out 15mm-20mm. So I followed the procedure by pushing in on the pin while turning the crankshaft, and it went in to about 5mm, but the same noise occured. I removed the whole tension housing, spring, tension pin and all. I put the tension device back on. I counted the amount of links between the two cams, which matched up the manual. With the valve cover off, I hooked up the battery and held the starter in just to see if it's all working properly and to see if I can hear that noise. It cranks perfectly and all the parts seem to move properly and I don't hear the "ta ta ta ta" noise, but then again I didn't start the engine completely. So I'm not sure if that noise is from the bottom of the engine in the crank case section. Any advice while she's apart? I'm gonna put her back together probably, and see if it's better by any chance since I removed the cam chain tensioner and re-installed it.

 

Oh, I also took pictures of the engine in pieces, and took video before I removed anything and video of the engine apart when I crank it with the starter.

 

I would do a leak down test while the cover is off. Easier to hear any air escaping from the valves.
good job on completely removing the CCT, setting it and then re-installing.

 

Ok thank you for your input once again, you've been very helpful. I need to send you a six pack! I'll have to look into a "leak down test", never did that before. me = not a mechanic, just mechanically inclined!