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Rattely tappet noise? manufactured or historic?

S

Smartleynz

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
92
Location
Taranaki New Zealand
Hi, I have been told that the rattely tappet noise in the c14 motor is a result of Guzzi desire to sound like an authentic Guzzi engine. Can this be true? Can I get rid of rattle? Thanks
 
Smartleynz said:
Hi, I have been told that the rattely tappet noise in the c14 motor is a result of Guzzi desire to sound like an authentic Guzzi engine. Can this be true? Can I get rid of rattle? Thanks
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I will second Longrider's suggestion. All of the undesirable noises I have had on my California have originated at the exhaust heat shields. I am going to get some rubber washers to put between them and the mounts in an effort to isolate the vibration that is passed to them from the exhaust system.
 
Two other suggestions: 1) There is a dealer update to the fuel injection which will smooth out your idle a bit and reduce the vibration. 2) Check your exhaust header bolts too. My left ones were so loose that the clanking evolved to a loud exhaust leak. The nut was so loose I could turn it with my fingers.

All this said, I do hear some engine noise coming from the valve train. Seems kind of normal in an air cooled engine. Having my valve clearance checked/adjusted next week so we'll see if there is any change.
 
Joe Wiza said:
Two other suggestions: 1) There is a dealer update to the fuel injection which will smooth out your idle a bit and reduce the vibration. 2) Check your exhaust header bolts too. My left ones were so loose that the clanking evolved to a loud exhaust leak. The nut was so loose I could turn it with my fingers.

All this said, I do hear some engine noise coming from the valve train. Seems kind of normal in an air cooled engine. Having my valve clearance checked/adjusted next week so we'll see if there is any change.
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Funny you should mention these things Joe. I just had my 6,000 service last week. I had to bring it back today for them to clear the code for service and make the little "wrench" go away from the dash. They also hooked it up to the computer and I swear it is running more quietly and smoothly too! Later in the week, I'm going to let them know about the improvement. I like your suggestion about the exhaust header bolts--I'll check mine tomorrow. I like Dave "road venture"'s suggestion about rubber washers under the heat shields, but might they melt?
 
roadventure said:
I will second Longrider's suggestion. All of the undesirable noises I have had on my California have originated at the exhaust heat shields. I am going to get some rubber washers to put between them and the mounts in an effort to isolate the vibration that is passed to them from the exhaust system.
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Interesting ... this is a very noisy engine and I certainly hear the valve clatter but I'll have to check the exhaust for loose bolts ... may even remove them (the shields) and go for a spin to see if it improves on the other noises.
 
Guzzi_Lou said:
Interesting ... this is a very noisy engine and I certainly hear the valve clatter but I'll have to check the exhaust for loose bolts ... may even remove them (the shields) and go for a spin to see if it improves on the other noises.
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Lou, Let us know the result.
 
Little Don said:
Lou, Let us know the result.
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Indeed there was a rattle on the left side heat shield (the small piece just to the left of the heal shifter). On both ends of that piece I took a long screwdriver and with a folded up rag for leverage & protection from scuffing/denting I forced the corners up & away.

It's much better now as I no longer have the rattling noise ... it really annoyed me as I was second-guessing my decision to buy it. But after reading what Joe Wiza said (thx Joe!!) I had it in the back of my mind and heard it on the left side and said to myself 'that's not the engine'.

The bolts were nice and tight for me, it was just the heat shield banging either against the actual exhaust pipe on the back side or against the front chrome pipe ... don't know for sure which it was but I'm a happy camper.

Now if we can find a way to quiet the valves/lifters/whatever ....
 
Guzzi_Lou said:
Indeed there was a rattle on the left side heat shield (the small piece just to the left of the heal shifter). On both ends of that piece I took a long screwdriver and with a folded up rag for leverage & protection from scuffing/denting I forced the corners up & away.

It's much better now as I no longer have the rattling noise ... it really annoyed me as I was second-guessing my decision to buy it. But after reading what Joe Wiza said (thx Joe!!) I had it in the back of my mind and heard it on the left side and said to myself 'that's not the engine'.

The bolts were nice and tight for me, it was just the heat shield banging either against the actual exhaust pipe on the back side or against the front chrome pipe ... don't know for sure which it was but I'm a happy camper.

Now if we can find a way to quiet the valves/lifters/whatever ....
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STP & 40 weight oil! LOL
 
I'm new to Moto Guzzi's and I'm all for pleasing sounds (why I have the Agostini's) and why I ride (the whole experience) but a rattley engine is not pleasing in my opinion and I know at least 1 other person who feels the same way with the same bike.

It doesn't have to be sewing machine sounding either ... just a happy medium. :)

Love the bike otherwise - what a beast!
 
Not sure how rattley your engine is or if it is worse than a normal Guzzi, but the only noise from both my 1200 sport ( 65,000 kms ) and 1974 Eldorado Police ( 62,000 miles) is a little tappet noise if you get your ear down close to the heads,
As far as I know this is normal for these bikes. In New Zealand the main Moto Guzzi meeting is called "The ratterly tappet run" probably for that reason. I will make a point of listening to a 1400 next time i get a chance and let you know what I think.Very nice bike from what i have heard.
 
Little Don said:
STP & 40 weight oil! LOL
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The Triumph 1600 motor is also quite loud and sounds like it's gonna give birth at anytime.Triumph recommends 15W50 synthethic oil which is what I was using,but due to the way that motor was wrappin and bangin away,I figured I had to do somethin before it came apart which is what it sounded like it was gonna do.So what I did,[and not everybody agrees with me] which I learned from my last machine,was change to Shell Rotella T [diesel oil]15W40 with 4 ounces of STP added to the mix,and that motor quieted right down.After listening to the results,I immediately dumped that synthetic crap in my three brand new vehicles and now they too run a lot quieter.When you hear metalic noises comin from a motor,you can bet your bippy that damage is being done.And like I said,not everyone agrees with what I did,but it worked for me in my bike,my cars,and my truck,and synthetic oil is what is recommended in all three vehicles.And FWIW,the main purpose of synthetic oil is for ECONOMY and EMISSION purposes.PERIOD!! So ya may wanna give it a try to see if it will quiet down the Guzzi motor.If you don't hear any difference,then just go back to what you were previously using.Ca pishe??? If the motor is,infact,that loud,it's worth a shot!! Dave!!!
 
kiwi croc said:
Not sure how rattley your engine is or if it is worse than a normal Guzzi, but the only noise from both my 1200 sport ( 65,000 kms ) and 1974 Eldorado Police ( 62,000 miles) is a little tappet noise if you get your ear down close to the heads,.
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I'm gonna say I can stand 10 feet away and still hear it ... not bad when it first starts up but as it warms up, she starts clicking away like mad.
 
Davetac1 said:
change to Shell Rotella T [diesel oil]15W40 with 4 ounces of STP added to the mix,and that motor quieted right down.After listening to the results,I immediately dumped that synthetic crap in my three brand new vehicles and now they too run a lot quieter.When you hear metalic noises comin from a motor,you can bet your bippy that damage is being done.
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Verrry interesting Dave ... yeah, that's metal to metal contact going on when you hear noises like that. A thicker grade of oil leaves more of a coating to buffer the metal-to-metal contact but I wonder what other effects there might be down the road if passageways, etc aren't designed for it??

Having said that, I may try a 1 grade thicker oil than recommended ... actually come to think of it, I may see if anyone at Moto Guzzi HO can comment ...
 
I too am hearing the ticking noise, the noise increase as the engine is brought up to temperature. The engine is already running recommended 10W60, I would not thicken if you are starting in cooler weather.
 
The difference between the 10W60 ,Guzzi recommends,and the 15W40 I'm using is,your's is synthethic,mine is dino or regular oil.If you're running the 10W60 synthetic,after it gets hot[not too hot]but enough so you can take a couple drops off the dip stick and run it between your fingers without burning yourself,I think you're gonna find that it feels like water.In other words,it has NO BODY to it,hence poor lubrication properties.Now do the same thing with the 15W40 dino oil like I'm using and you WILL feel body to it,hence better lubrication properties.Try it and you be the judge.I mean,it's only a suggestion and I can't give you an absolute that it will quiet the Guzzi's motor down like it did my Triumph's motor,but if the Guzzi motor is as noisy as you guys are claiming,then it's worth a shot.And like I said,it's only a suggestion. Dave!!!
 
Thanks Dave.
I see your point. I am a fan of synthetics once the engine is broken in. I also take in account what the manufacturer is recommending, Not that they are always the best recommendations. BMW is recommending 24k intervals in the car I am currently driving, this seems absurd to me. I still use want to change at 10k interval, piece of mind I guess. I am not sure if the noise represents metal on metal as someone was suggested.
 
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