Scud

You might check (or upgrade) your relays first. I solved a problem with the exact same symptoms simply by upgrading to Omron relays.

Borrowed from a WildGuzzi post: Check out the Guzzis from about 0:54 to 1:10. And a lot more of the v700 at 1:40 to the end.

I think I'll buy one of those cameras. I'm sure it will be handy for other stuff too. The piston pins went in smoothly - no force required. I had a surprise visit today from my brother-in-law, who is a good mechanic. We tightened the valves to .002" In and .004" Ex. There was no change. He agrees that the noise sounds like it is coming from the top end. Since the heads appear to be in good condition, I suppose suspicions should now be focused on the camshaft.

Here's what I just did: Drained oil radiator - plenty of fresh golden oil came out. Loosened and retightened the exhaust flange nuts. Removed spark plugs and alternator cover. Spun engine with socket - didn't notice anything unusual. No clacking sounds. Replaced RH exhaust rocker with one from original engine (which had 50,000 miles of wear), rotated rocker shaft 180 degrees, verified correct length of bolts that go into rocker shaft, set valves to .004 In and .006 Ex. Started the bike, no change - still have the noise. Swapped the RH spark plug with one from my Red LeMans (in case spark plug was contacting piston) - no change. I suppose it's possible that I put a piston in backwards. I didn't take photos of that so I can't offer "proof" but backwards piston seems unlikely. I am pretty sure that I installed the pistons so the notches in the crowns face the rear to accommodate the larger intake valves. I did take a picture before I removed the pistons and I referred to it when I reinstalled. At this point I am thinking of an internal problem. I don't know the history of the motor, other than that it was in the bike during a pretty bad front-end crash. I suppose the engine could have kept running while it was on its side and that could have caused oil starvation damage. Could a noise like this be due to connecting rod bearing failure? Now I regret not checking those bearings while I had the block on the bench. ...and it looks like she's going to be a coat hanger for while.

I had the pistons out when I painted the barrels. Spent some time cleaning the pistons, so I think I would have noticed if there was obvious damage. How obvious is a cracked piston? In other news... I found the rocker arms from this bike's original engine. The Husky is prepped for next weekend, so I think I will try a few more of these fine suggestions later today.

That's good logic. I think your next step should be to remove the tail light assembly from the rear fender. Notice how all the wires are connected, then pull everything and test voltages at the connectors. If you see power, clean the connections and reassemble. If not, chase the wires further back into the loom.

My first bike was a Honda CB350-Four. I got another one a few years ago and had basically the same rear fender and oversized chrome tail-light bracket. I thought about modifying it and I just couldn't do it. Sold it to a collector. Have fun with the mods, it's a good challenge to limit the mods to bolt-ons so that the bike could always restored back to stock.

The green also has a certain *pop* to it.

The small and hard-to-read trip meter is my only complaint. Maybe we should gang-up on Speedhut and see if they will create a display within their menu that is only the trip meter. I would love a big 3 digit trip meter that used the whole LCD display.

That looks like all kinds of fun. I hope you don't cut it. The tank, side panels, and chrome front fender are great. The chain guard and rear fender don't appeal to me. The front drum looks so cool - but newer forks and a disc brake would let that motor live up to it's potential. Old cars = slow. Need new motor. Old bikes = wobbly. Need new suspension. Everybody should hold a live plug wire at least once in their life. Czakky, it is your solemn duty to initiate your younger brother.

A champagne LeMans fairing is waiting to be installed. All three oil sump gaskets are new. 1 lower and 2 uppers with a Roper Plate in between. For reference, my red LeMans had low oil pressure for a while and I finally determined that the tabs on the upper sump gasket were missing. With new gaskets, pressure went up. However, it did not make any noise. I'm gonna go clean the garage, need to re-group. I bet I will find some pushrods and rockers in a box. Maybe I'll give her one more chance before turning her into a clothes rack for a month. I'm also thinking back on the project and realize that I never detached or flushed the oil radiator. I wonder if that could have got gummed up from sitting (the tranny sure did).

I doubt that it's a floating thing because the noise is always there and it keeps pace with the RPM. Something is moving and something else is not. Noise=wear. I do have the rocker arms from the engine that Joe was getting ready to rebuild. I'll certainly try a rocker swap, oil pressure gauge, and oil inspection before pulling the engine. I seriously thought I would finish this bike this weekend. The fuel pump is not leaking anymore, so at least there's been some progress. Thanks for the ideas, keep 'em coming. I really do not want do a full tear down - but if I do, it will be another first. I've never rebuilt a whole engine before.

I think that the weight is one part of it - the lighter it is the more free-revving. But the location of the weight is also important. The closer the weight is to the center the faster is can spin. Like a figure skater spinning faster when she brings her arms in. By design, the twin plate clutch and flywheel has a lot of weight on the outside. Then you need to consider the mechanical connections of the parts. I think that having one plate contributes to a quicker, crisper, engagement - vs a twin plate. The twin plate has twice as many friction surfaces that all need to come together before power is sent to the transmission. I think the single plate clutch pull is easier because leverage is applied to the flat springs by the internal mechanisms. That leverage translates into less effort at the lever. With the twin-plate, your only leverage is the hand lever - the force you apply compresses 10 coil springs in straight line. Obviously, the hydraulic system is also a form of leverage, but both clutches use the same hydraulics so I am ignoring that. And to clarify for Baldini - the steel RAM flywheel was only available in aftermarket kits. All the single-plate V11s were originally supplied with aluminum flywheels.

Yup. Magnets stick it. I guess they switched to steel at some point. The flywheel is now smaller, with 3 prongs instead of the full circle aluminum flywheel. So while the steel is a touch heavier than the aluminum, it is stronger and the mass is all closer to the center.

There is a flat spot on the rocker face and I can feel a little lip with my fingernail. It's kind of hard to see and I had to get the light *just right* to show it. This causes the .001" measurement difference - but what caused the wear in the first place? I thought the fuel pump was going to be last hurdle. Yes, take care of other stuff... go riding... clean the garage... ruminate...

There's the *answer* right there . . . It was. I feel better. And I draped my riding gear over the Champagne LeMans to shame her.

Sooo.... pushrods are straight, they make a nice popping sound when coming out of the lifters. There is a little worn spot on the rocker for the RH exhaust valve. This causes a .001" difference in measured clearance. Measured as shown, I get .008" but if I insert the gauge at 90 degrees from the picture it feels more like .007" This is interesting... but was not enough to change the noise I'm hearing. Now I'm feeling stuck. I'm concerned that there may be an internal problem. Maybe I should haul it over to the dealer and pay for a diagnosis? I may have to push her in the corner for a time-out while I focus attention elsewhere. My ridiculously reliable and un-fussy K75s needs an oil change... the Husky needs some attention before an upcoming mountain adventure... the truck needs some love... and then there is a Greenie with a different sort of puzzle waiting to be solved... and this is prime riding season... and there are rideable bikes on call... in fact, I feel a night-time canyon-raid coming on...

I've been commuting on my LeMans all week. There are few choice curves between my home and work, although they are not on the most direct route between those two points. The Dunlop Roadsmart III tires are great - very stable, sticky, and predictable.

I think the performance differences have been covered. So here's the basic mechanical difference. The two systems are totally different. There is no compatible part between the crankshaft and the transmission. RAM: steel flywheel with no friction surfaces or teeth - flywheel will theoretically last forever one friction disc mass is more centalized, so less inertia springs are part of the pressure plate requires a special transmission input hub Lightened aluminum flywheel this is the same shape and function as the stock flywheel all the clutch parts go into the flywheel (2 friction discs, intermediate plate, 10 coil springs)

+1 - and good job reducing the wire clutter that comes from Speedhut. The constant power for the speedo only keeps the last location in memory when the bike is off. It's not powering the GPS function. I forget the numbers but it's a tiny amount of power - far less than running a clock - so it would take a very long time to drain the battery. I regret not hooking that up on my installation because the bike "forgets" where it is even when I turn it off to get gas. Then I have to wait for it to acquire the signal before I can reset the trip meter.

Oil volume looks about the same on both sides. In the video, you can see oil accumulating on the cast part that holds the rocker arms. There was about the same amount of oil splatter on the floor on both sides of the bike. All the parts appear to be original and correct, including the bolts that secure the rocker arm shafts. This was a low (12,000 mile) motor from a crashed bike - so I assumed it was running well at the time of the crash. Other than carbon deposits on the combustion chamber, the heads looked new inside - no discoloration from heat, no sign of rounding on any nut or bolt. I guess I could take the RH rocker arms off and inspect the surfaces, verify the pushrods are straight, and I could try tighter valve clearances to see if that changes the noise. That might be tonight's project...

I thought it might flow more oil too, but I have no experience to compare against. It's still cold, but the oil was definitely flying. My phone case has oil splatter from taking the video and there was oil spray on the garage floor. Probably less than a minute of total run time like that. I believe the pressurized oil only goes up into the rocker arm pins, then it oozes out and sort of flows and flings its way around the rest of the head.

I found some RaceCo specs at those tolerances and Meinolf seems also to get good results with looser settings. As I understand it (and I'm open to being corrected) loose settings are also good for extreme heat and I do sometimes venture off into deserts and mountains in the summer. So here's the fun news... she moved under her own power today for the first time in several years. Shifted smoothly up and down through all 6 gears - but I only lugged it up and down the street at low RPMs. Idles and purrs along very nicely at low RPMs. So... it seems we almost have a motorcycle... and would you look at that red stiletto? Without any nasty silver clutter around it to distract from it's shapeliness... It's still clacky, especially on the right. I checked all the stuff that Tinus and Chuck suggested and did not see any problems. The valves were still at the clearances I had set. So I poured some oil in the pushrod area and squirted it around everything else in the heads that still looked dry. Started it - still noisy. Set the valves to .006 In and .008 Ex. Started again and here is the video. It shows the LH for a couple seconds then goes to the RH, which seems to be where the noise is coming from. http://vid1128.photobucket.com/albums/m492/timscudder/Champagne%20LeMans/IMG_6152.mp4 I think it's a little quieter than before, but I still don't like the noise. I must say it was fun seeing it run with the covers off. That alone was worth the effort.

That's a lightweight version of the twin-plate flywheel. RAM is totally different. Here's a thread on it: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19510

Thanks guys, I'll pop the covers off again in a few hours. For your consideration, here is how I adjust the valves: Covers off, plugs out. Rear wheel off ground - transmission in 6th. Turn rear wheel in direction of travel while watching rocker arms. After intake closes, get piston to top (verify by touching piston crown through plug hole and easily spinning both pushrods) Adjust valves till feeler gauge has light friction and next size up won't go in. (.08" In and .10" Ex) The valve action seemed normal to me while doing the above on two occasions. Since the engine sat for a while and I did not disassemble everything, some parts probably have no oil residue remaining. I am suspicious of the lifters. After removing the covers last night there was only a small amount of fresh oil in each head. I think the lifters rely on run-off down the tubes for lubrication. Is that right? And if so, should I pour a little oil down each pushrod? Of course, I will inspect all the other stuff as suggested while I'm in there. Interesting idea to run it with the covers off... probably won't be too messy. The covers were totally dry inside last night (after less than a minute of total run-time.)