[djoaquin99]

So I haven't started my Vaquero in a week, on Saturday we headed down to Cape Cod for the week, I rode down and we put my wife's bike in the back of my truck.

When I started the bike, I heard a somewhat loud ticking noise, I figured it was a sticky lifter, by he time I got on the highway it was all but gone.

I also thought this engine had self adjusting lifters. Put around 400 miles on the bike since and hasn't made any noise when started each morning.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[zheissler]

Sounds like something that I experience also. I’d say it happens to me more often when the bike hasn’t been started in a while but also happens on occasion when starting on a frequent and consistent basis. I’ve lived with it for the past 25,000 miles and like you, have experienced it go away once the bike warms up every single time. I don’t worry about it but I’m interested to see others opinions/suggestions.

 

[stessel]

Hey,
Yeah if I'm not mistaken it has hydraulic lifters and it just did not pump up (stuck) If it happens again maybe try running a can of sea foam in your engine for a couple hundred miles then change the oil and filter.
If it keeps coming back (ticking) and it does turn out to be a lifter you may have to replace it. Most likely though it just has some build up on it (gunk) and the sea foam will clean it out.

 

[DaPreacha]

I have had three bikes with hydraulic lifters and all of them ticked some when cold. As long as it goes away when warm it is not a problem, just a by product of the hydraulic lifters.

 

[CarGuy]

You're not alone. I also get that loud tick-tick-tick, usually after the bike sits awhile. It always goes away when warm, just like yours. 32K on the bike and it still does it from time to time. Since it's done it since I bought the bike new I doubt it's due to gunk build up. I've stopped worrying about it though I'd rather it didn't do it.

 

[djoaquin99]

Thanks for the replies, so it appears to be a common thing with hydraulic lifters. My bike only has 3850 miles in it.

Do you folks think switching to Kawasaki's synthetic oil will help?

Or this synthetic Amsoil sounds good to but expensive.

 

[derekstix]

I don’t think it’s an oil issue. Just a lifter issue. I thought I had broken something the first time I heard it. Everyone said, “it’s normal, it’ll be fine”. As long as I keep riding all of the time, it hasn’t happened since.

 

[tomrtrd]

my bike does it every time I start my bike after its been sitting for a couple hours , it has 24500 miles on it and it seems to be getting worse. I talked to the dealer and he said it was normal but I dont think it is .
After 2500 miles it starts to use oil.
I have a Kawasaki warranty so when it gets colder Im going to bring it in.

 

[MRSPOCK]

After sitting for a longer period of time, the oil drains out of the lifters. It takes a bit of time for the oil to get pumped up enough to fill the lifters. This is a rather simplified explanation. I do not ride the Nomad all that much and it does it pretty much every time I start it up. But it goes away in a few miles. Since I live in TX and its 95 plus May thru September, I thought I'd be smart and went to a higher weight synthetic oil 20w-50 vs. 10w-40. Well, the ticking lasted longer upon startup. I think the oil pump had a harder time at startup with the cold heavier weight oil getting it up in the cylinder head parts. After a few months of being annoyed with the longer ticking; I drained it and went back to 10w-40.

 

[tomrtrd]

Its weird, it doesnt matter how long I let it idle , it will still tick when I start riding.
After about a 1000 miles it starts using oil. I thought maybe it was the oil that the dealer used so I changed it and put in mobil synthetic but it still uses oil.
When it gets a little colder , Im going to bring it to the dealer and see what he can do because I do have the extended warranty.