Oh...you mean...your comparison of your Vf1000F to the OP's zx.Okay...yeah...now we're back on topic.

Whatever you say chief.

Gentleman

So thanks to everyone. Hubs and rook I changed oil fresh to Castrol 1040 4t api rated to SG. Also found all header nuts to be loose by at least 3/4 turn. Fired her back up and she's much quieter...still ticks but I'm gathering this may be normal engine noise. I recorded a vid for you to hear but can't figure how to post. Any help? Also talked to my kawi Dealer mechanic and he said sometime when I'm out to swing by and he would give it a listen and go from there.

http://youtu.be/xXiwZviNHzU

For sure left side. Sounds more like the head hissing. Ticking sounds too consistent than going away coming back, whereas the stroke is somewhat consistent in that ticking. Does it go away when you rev it, that I can't hear. Others may have a better ear.

Sounds totally normal to me. The audio quality isn't great but if there was something really alarming, I think it would come through. 15 seconds of a rattly cam chain tensioner is not a problem and it is a lot noisier than anything I hear there. I see a puff of steam from above at 1:30. That is odd. Maybe it's just your own breath. Also looks like ther may be some oil on the left header. That's one of the common problems, leaky head cover gasket. If that is what you have there, Check the valve cover bolts for proper torque. DO NOT overtorque them. If torquing them to spec doesn't work, you might try the washer fix and let it go for a season. To totally fix that leak is a lot more work than you probably want to get into right now. When you do the valve lash check, that would be a good time to replace the gasket and the ringos.

Rook, is the right quieter than the left? If a BBQ lighter did not blow out the flame you spin that flame around the header and collar areas for a leak, you come back with, 'yes the right is quieter,' then why is the left not?

I'll give that lighter thing a try when it warms back up I don't like to start her up when it's freezing outsid even though it's probably 40 in the garage. Yes the noise seems to disappear if u hold the throttle steady at 2500 then from 3 to 4500 it picks up pace then can't hear it all past that just motor and exhaust

I know you mentioned that, but I was running Rook around with his ear on this thread and a straw at another thread. So, would you concur it is noisier on the left than the right side?

I hear a light noise that could be valve ticking but nothing that sounds like impending doom.
And after all the noise form Vic and Grn, your bike sounds downright quiet!

Mad

I thought I behaved fairly well....;)Wonder how THIS will sound?couldn't help myselfLOL!!!

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 2/2/2015 @ 11:03 AM *

Guys / Polish "Ch?opaki :)
I ZZR 1400 of 2006 and the same sounds on the left. I am very nervous. Last year, I set the valves with the conviction that has just the sounds come from valve clearance. It did not work so I replaced the exhaust gasket. Next, without success. I do not know whether to look further the cause of this "chirping"

amadeusz possible to record video and put it on youtube?

As far as jheathman's video. Rook says it sounds normal, possibly cam chain/tensioner related, and overall I can't disagree. Verify if your bike's cam chain tensioner has been replaced with a manual adjuster. If so, might be time to tighten it up as needed.

I see the puff of smoke at ~1:30 Rook mentions, but only after reading Rooks post. That seemed pretty odd and I don't know how that's even possible. When you start it up for the season (I also am not a fan of occasional off season start ups) record that area and see if that puff of smoke shoots out again. You might also stop occasionally and check and at the end of ride. I would monitor that until you understand where that smoke puff is coming from, unless it just literally never happens again.

The audio is difficult to tell if ticks overall just not that loud compared to other background noises or if the camera is picking it up more directionally at times. It's difficult to tell if it becomes louder as the bike warms up, or is it just where the camera happens to be at the time. Tough one that, trying to record ticks and such.

My experience
I was surprised how noisy my bike can be. It was my first new motorcycle, so I haven't been certain what to expect exactly. I noticed how noisy it was the day I bought it with 1 mile on the ODO. Mostly I thought this was it new, and would probably quiet down as it broke in. It didn't. Not that this bothers me, I love her quirks and all!

There's times I attribute a certain ticking sound to cam chain tension. Ticky at first but then clanky and louder later. Gets louder over time until it sounds like it's about to throw a rod and then goes away. The first time I figured if it blows up that's what the warranty is for. The 2nd time I kind of recall, I was just more aware of it getting louder and louder and then it just seemed to go away. Hopefully it's just break-in related and now the bike has 4800 miles it'll have settled in and won't self-adjust again for a while. I didn't think to log it, maybe I'll start doing that.

Good call on the tensioner. 15 seconds in I didn't count, but right after the dog bark, are we catching an ever so slight rattle? And you know this oil assist is going to push the slipper too so it quiets down. That said, there is some big ass slop reversion on lift. Why? The ratchet pin [piston] floats and does not lock.

That means jheat has to be mechanically inclined to work this repair or have it done. However:

1. Rook, concur this might work. The manually set is a no brainer. But say we work the OE tensioner for a moment. My tensioner wire needs to have the circle pulled down as in, closed some. For the wire to be able to be held in hand, the piston has to be removed and then reassembled.

2. The trigger wire that holds the ratchet piston in place; needs to be left alone. It just needs to have a hair trigger on the initial push of the piston so the wire is pushed into its own groove. So the wider it is, the more hair you added.

3. Right now, the heavy spring inside the piston and housing, the slipper is going to be able to push the spring in some. That means to spin the rear wheel real fast forward and I forget if you can do it spinning the wheel backwards, but try it forward and at the same time; lift the shift lever. You want to centrifugally push the balls out and shift past the 2nd gear lock. It's more like a one move in the inertia of it. It takes a little practice. Then shift to 6th gear. No clutch to be pulled in, just move the wheel back and forth as you shift.

4. This makes moving the crank a lot easier rolling the wheel backwards and the tensioner pushing the spring back into the housing. Why backwards? To move the chain with a lot of slack moving forward. This is where you break loose both tensioner housing bolts and evenly walk the bolts back out. What should happen next is the tensioner housing walking out with the bolts and the housing is away from the cylinder by a business card gap.

5. Then, push the wheel forward or with the crank side cover off, move the crank forward with a 17mm box end wrench. Move slowly as you push the tensioner in as well. Now, move the wheel backwards and take up that slack. Did the housing walk out and home itself to the bolts?

6. So, once I have the wraparound wire with all trick looking bends at the ends, all I have to do is pull those ends like making a wish I do not kink the wire too narrow a circle. I want it to just hug the piston grooves meaning. It is too wide and needs to be pulled in some so it locks the piston in place. When I slip the ring over the piston, make it hug some. When I try out the hair trigger wire, I now it by how both ends of the wire ends are evenly bent. So even I can flip the trigger wire. However, I cannot with the trick wire ends. Just for safety, shoot it with the phone cam to know its direction it is reassembled back on.

7. So again, I am trying to see if I can trigger the hair trigger without removing the valve cover. I want the tensioner to be pushed back against the piston via a long screwdriver by having the valve cover off. Well, couldn't I pop the rear wheel backwards and make the chain pop the trigger? How could I tell it will work? I hand tighten the housing back in place. The bolts move back out once I can move or rattle the tensioner housing just a tiny bit. I want to see that I cannot move it once I pop the rear wheel backwards to snap the tensioner at the piston. Did I not release the piston is why you can't move the housing? And the more you spin the bolts out, the more the spring keeps moving the piston out?

8. On the crank cover side, can't you jam a tire iron along up the side of the slipper as far as you can? Then, push that slipper back into the hair trigger wire, but really the piston's tip? Might the backup of the tire iron work? Or for sure, a snap of tire moving back and the slap to the cam chain at the slipper, which slaps the piston in to trigger the hair; so as to release the piston to fly out?

9. Do you concur? Anyone? Had to read it 3 times so it sinks in they say.