2003 Vulcan Classic loud clicking noise

3231 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Dogmaii, Feb 21, 2015

Dogmaii

Discussion Starter · Feb 7, 2015

This relates to a 2003 Vulcan 1500 Classic Carb version. This bike sat for almost a year without being run. When I started it I heard a loud clicking sound from the rear cylinder. The sound diminishes somewhat after the bike has been run for awhile but returns when cold. If I were to guess I would say it's probably a bad hydraulic lifter. Any opinions? Has anyone experienced this problem?

Miles on bike: about 83000
Type of Oil used: Castrol Actevo Xtra 10/40
Frequency of oil changes: every 3000 miles

This was originally posted under new users.

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sfair

· #2 · Feb 7, 2015

I am not a fan of snake oil, but I did have success with this one time.
I have an old motorhome that also does a LOT of sitting. Getting ready for a holiday trip, started up and had a noisy lifter. With not too many options, I added some Rislone to the oil, half strength. Within a few minutes, that old 360 was as quiet as a church mouse.
Now, you could try it out. This product is designed? to go in the oil vs. those that go in the gas, oil, radiator, battery, etc. They shall remain nameless.

It is totally up to you. One case does not a rule make.

I am suspecting a little varnish on the HLA or more likely a partially plugged HLA filter.

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Dogmaii

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 8, 2015

sfair said:
I am not a fan of snake oil, but I did have success with this one time.
I have an old motorhome that also does a LOT of sitting. Getting ready for a holiday trip, started up and had a noisy lifter. With not too many options, I added some Rislone to the oil, half strength. Within a few minutes, that old 360 was as quiet as a church mouse.
Now, you could try it out. This product is designed? to go in the oil vs. those that go in the gas, oil, radiator, battery, etc. They shall remain nameless.

It is totally up to you. One case does not a rule make.

I am suspecting a little varnish on the HLA or more likely a partially plugged HLA filter.

Did you use Rislone Engine Oil Treatment pn 100QR? I'm concerned about using any oil additive on my bike because it has a wet clutch.

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Inkydoggy

· #4 · Feb 8, 2015

One additive you will never hurt an engine with is Seafoam. Put some of that into your oil and run the bike a couple hundred miles then do an oil change with filter. It will clean out any gunked up oil deposits and carbon in the crank case. It can also be added to your fuel too at the same time then you got it all covered.

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spyglass

· #5 · Feb 9, 2015

Mine 1600 Nomad had the same sort of clicking/rattle, and every shop (even dealers) I went to swore it was tappets. That never sounded right to me, so I searched blogs and found the likely cause was cam chain tension. The noise is from the slackened chain rubbing against the spark plug tubes. Once the proper tension was restored, the noise was largely gone. Keep in mind Vulcan motors are notoriously noisy, even when everything is perfect.

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Dogmaii

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 14, 2015

Dogmaii said:
Did you use Rislone Engine Oil Treatment pn 100QR? I'm concerned about using any oil additive on my bike because it has a wet clutch.

I put the concentrate in pn: 4102. I contacted Rislone and they said either 100QR or the 4102 should work and are safe for wet cluches but to adjust the amount accordingly. I used 1/2 bottle of the concentrate, 8 oz, for 3 qts of oil. I haven't run it long enough to see if it will completely solve my problem, about 40 miles, but so far it seems to have quieted it down a little.

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Dogmaii

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 14, 2015

The day I bought it in 2003 it had 1 mile on it. They told me the Vulcan engines had some weird sounds and it did/does. It now has 83000 miles and this clicking sound started after I bought my 2012 VV and let the Classic sit for a year. If the Rislone doesn't work I'll investigate further.

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smedlin

· #8 · Feb 14, 2015

Inkydoggy said:
One additive you will never hurt an engine with is Seafoam. Put some of that into your oil and run the bike a couple hundred miles then do an oil change with filter. It will clean out any gunked up oil deposits and carbon in the crank case. It can also be added to your fuel too at the same time then you got it all covered.

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Dogmaii

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 21, 2015

spyglass said:
Mine 1600 Nomad had the same sort of clicking/rattle, and every shop (even dealers) I went to swore it was tappets. That never sounded right to me, so I searched blogs and found the likely cause was cam chain tension. The noise is from the slackened chain rubbing against the spark plug tubes. Once the proper tension was restored, the noise was largely gone. Keep in mind Vulcan motors are notoriously noisy, even when everything is perfect.

I checked my Cam Chain Tensioner and sure enough it was fully extended. I also check my spark plug wells and no damage that I can see. I've ordered the extenders and probably will install them next week. Thanks for your help.

_________________
'03 VN1500 Classic
'12 Vulcan 1700 Voyager

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