My 2006 KLX 250 has under 700 miles on it. I've done some mods including adding a KLX 300 header and can. I removed the butt plug but it was noisier than I wanted so I modified the plug with some stainless screen and a home made baffle. It's breathing well and is still pretty quiet. Quieter than stock I think.

It's so quiet that I can hear engine clatter when I'm riding at low speeds. Not like a hard knocking but more of a tickity tac tickity tac..........

Is the tickity tac normal??

 

Yes, our engines are known to be noisy. If it gets louder, it may be time to check the valves or it means the timing chain is getting slack, and the tensioner just has not taken up the slack.

 

Yep. Its supposed to sound that way. It will come and go, but its just the cam chain adjuster getting ready to take up a notch in its auto adjust. It might take a few hundred miles more to get quieter. Its all good.

 

Another thing to check is see if the bolts that mount the headpipe to the the engine are loose. I was tightening every bolt I could reach this weekend and mine seemed to be a little loose. Sounds like it runs quieter now. I think our engines just have a slight tick to them when they're running.

 

Yep it's normal for kawis

 

Don't worry pretty normal!

I've had mine out to supermoto track days and had to come up with a manual cam chain tensioner due to backing it in the stock one will slack the timing chain. so you street guys if you get wheel hop on the back brake and you get a noisy timing chain check the tensioner.

 

Praise (insert name of prefered deity here) !!!!

 

A soft ticking is normal. Its just the cams. If its louder than road noise and sounds like a monkey banging the engine with a wrench. Most likely, its the cam chain. I've had problems with the cam chain being over service limit with only 5k miles on the KLX.

 

I'm ready for an oil change.

Is there a particular weight oil that is best?

Any type of oil that might reduce the clatter?

I've got some 5w 30 Valvoline DURA blend synthetic in the garage. I may just use that.

Half 90w gear lube n half bar n chain oil maybe? That ought quiet er down,......way down.

 

Oil opinions will vary, but the weight you use should be based on the temps you are riding in right now. You're in N.C. and I'd imagine its pretty cold, so you'd probably want to use a lighter weight oil. If you have the owner's manual there's a useful chart. 5w or 10w should be fine.