Topic: Tick, tick, tick

[Kevin D]

On my last ride of the season last October I heard a faint tick, tick, tick noise. I shut the engine off and the noise persisted as long as the bike was rolling with clutch pulled in, but I couldn't locate the source. For my spring prep I have a lubed the speedo drive and cable, and I have installed a new RK o-ring chain as the old Diamond chain was ?? old. I have adjusted the disc brake wipe. The wheels spin freely and the wheel bearings seem OK. I have read here about clutch rattle but I don't know what it sounds like. Does the speedo ever need a lube job? The front tire has a center groove but there was no rock trapped there. Most of the bike is OE. Or is there some kind of time bomb hidden here? 750K1-56Kmiles

[JakeLee]

I had a the Tick tick thing on my 78 750.  It turned out to be the master link on the new chain I put on was just barely hitting the chain gaurd and only under steady or accelerating load.  The slight bit of deflection in the bike made it touch just enough to catch my attention. Bent the chain gaurd a little, fixed.

[Kevin D]

Thanks for reply, JakeLee. I will look the old chain over for unusual wear marks. I hope the noise is gone cause I want to ride this bike, not work on it. Worst case - the output shaft bearing is going - but I have NEVER heard of a Honda ball bearing failing.

[Terry in Australia]

The output shaft bearings will sometimes collapse if someone has overtightened the chain, an all-too common ailment. Cheers, Terry.

[dpen]

Clutch rattle will cease when the lever is pulled in-go for the chain adjustment & check the chain guard