Could be cam chain adjusters, stretched cam chain or too wide valve clearances. if it gets quieter when warmed up I really wouldn't worry about it too much. The other, quite rare issue , is the starter clutch bolts come loose and create all sorts of alarming rattles. Simple fix is to remove left hand engine cover and tighten them up. Make sure you have a spare gasket, before attempting this one. A complete gasket kit can be purchased off evilbay for $20 or you can pay Mr Honda $30 for the single bit of paper that I reckon costs between 10 and 20 cents to produce Paint looks great btw !
I just listened a couple more times to your video: Really sounds like too much valve clearance. There is a sort of high pitched hammering sound. Use a screw drive as a stethoscope, Put it against your ear and against each cylinder with the engine running and give it a small rev. You can easily identify which cylinder is out ow whack this way. Hopefully its the rear cylinder making all the racket as its much , much easier to adjust for a fast fix. Only 4 rocker bolts and your in, while the front requires radiator removal. (remember to place beautiful blue fuel tank on level floor, wrapped up in a dooner with pillows placed on top to protect from misadventure
hahaha! crack me up! thanks heaps for the advice Gizzi! Gonna try that that screwdriver stethoscope trick of yours, but I'll make sure I put the pointy end on the engine and not in my ear!
Trying to clean up the rear pillion foot peg mounts (no point having a nicely painted tank if the rest looks like rubbish) and was wondering if the helmet/seat release is removable so I can do it properly. Cant seem to find any screw/boltheads which I presume is for security reasons. If it is removable, I was hoping I could swap the barrel out with the helmet lock (far right in pic) that came with the ignition/fuel cap set that I got off ebay. Only having one key for everything would be kinda nice. Also any tips for polishing these bits would be greatly appreciated. Ive been using 180 grit wet and plan to keep going finer until 1200 grit.
Do you have a sander / polisher? if so you can get a screw on arbour and calico / cotton mop's for it and buff it up as is, no sanding needed Or can also use an 8" bench grinder with an arbour and mop / polish
Smaller bench grinders dont really have enough torque to keep them spinning These were quickly polished without any prep
That lock is held on with 'shear' screws (where the heads shear off when they tighten) and you may be able to grab the top bits with some aggressive multigrips or similar and unscrew them. If not then drilling the heads off and winding the shank out, then replace with socket head cap screws (allen head type) and fill the tops with Devcon or similar epoxy before painting.
Unfortunately no and there's no power in the garage (live in units) I do have a cordless drill though, would that work? thanks Murdo, just hope that barrel can be swapped out though