Hello Everyone, I have been glued to this forum for the past 3 weeks since I purchased my new 2014. Mainly because I just dont know if I like the way my engine sounds. I have probably read every post about engine knocking tapping and ticking but havent seen anyone repost to say if they actually found any problems or had anything fixed. So ill open another thread and see where it goes.

1) My bike has 450 miles on it. It has only seen 93 octane. I have been breaking my bike in by using 6k rpms as my imaginary red line but have also been loading and unloading the motor in that range in diffent gears. My symptoms have been since day one and I have taken it back to the dealer who told me there is nothing wrong.

2) I hear a constant ticking that corresponds with the speed of the motor. Maybe its nothing does everyones bike do this?

3) I also have the very common knocking sound at rpms of 3k to 4k when giving the motor quick gas in any gear except 1st or 2nd. i dont think im lugging the motor and I wouldnt think it detonating but the knocking is there and it makes me concerned. Should i just always cruise around over 4k? What does eveyone else do? I have a vfr800 that i usuall cruise around at 5k but for my zx it just doesnt feel right to hold the rpms at that range.

Am I being over analytical?

Possibilities I think about
1) Sub throttle noise
2) valve adjustment needed
3) detonating lugging?
4) bearings
5) is there a motor in the intake?

Before I take it to my local speed shop and have them put it on the dyno to listen to these noises. Ill take any thoughts or ideas.

Thanks for your help

How many miles on the bike when you bought it? Can you video the noise?

1. Exhaust leak
2. Tight valve
3. Piston tick

a. Exhaust tick is every cycle of the engine and you check how tight the header nuts are.
b. Tight valve is when it ticks but sometimes goes away comes back but never a constant tick.
c. Piston tick is every cycle as the piston changes direction from top to bottom, this says I beat crap out of the bike on a test ride out of the crate before it was hot enough, and/or, I beat the crap out of it for how many miles on the bike when you first picked up the bike?

hub the bike had 1 mile on it when i picked it up. Ill try to get a video of the ticking. whats your take on the low rpm knock sound?

Well, that's not even close to involve the dealer damaging any test ride. Where is the tick? Top of head? front of the head, or behind the head?

Tick: PAIR has a faint ticking of an air gate so this is magnetically making a ticking noise and times pretty much with the engine and that is at the front

Tick: Injectors tick and these too will be constant and remain ticking with engine speed and here it's at the rear.

Tick: Valves are going to tick being the way shim buckets sound with that cup helping to sound like a bell and now we are at the top of the head.

Can you pinpoint the noise and where?

* Last updated by: Hub on 10/12/2014 @ 10:13 PM *

Low rpm knock is throttle body sync to a too low an ilde. Yours has an auto-idle system and you should be at around 1 to 1,100k rpm. Lower than that, yes, low end knock.

Piston knock? That sound might go away or become louder, not sure? Can't tell if they changed pistons thru the upgrades during the life cycle and an updated part number is showing the difference. Can't tell if that is piston or clutch knock?

Very easy to do if clutch bang. Go out to the bike. It should knock now at idle. If pulling the clutch in stopped most of the noise? There's one quick test. Try that.

Sorry Hub, when I said your take on the low end knock I meant with this scenerio.

I also have the very common knocking sound at rpms of 3k to 4k when giving the motor quick gas in any gear except 1st or 2nd. i dont think im lugging the motor and I wouldnt think it detonating but the knocking is there and it makes me concerned. Should i just always cruise around over 4k? What does eveyone else do? I have a vfr800 that i usuall cruise around at 5k but for my zx it just doesnt feel right to hold the rpms at that range just cruising.

"common knocking sound"...I don't know if it's 'common' or not...I've never had this happen.I have started out in 4th actually a couple of times accidently...but I didn't add a bunch of fuel. It wasn't 'knocking'..but...I didn't stay in 4th but only long enough to downshift into 1st.(Maybe 5 mph).

"quick gas in any gear except 1st or 2nd"...hmm...any gear but 1st or second.Sounds like you're...ahem...lugging it to me.Even though this motor will pull in any gear...even from a dead stop in 6th...you don't want to be using higher gears if you're just putting along...I mean...hitting the throttle to get a quick thrust.Not doing it in those two lower gears...it does sound(according to your 'throttle application' that it may well be lugging slightly.What power mode are you in when it does this?And your KTRC setting?

450 miles...I doubt seriously that something is going South.Mine makes a bunch of subtle ticks and such while riding...At one point I thought something may not be right...but then realized it's just NORMAL noise for THIS engine.Hard knocking however...THAT's not okay.You can correct lugging easy enough...just shift higher in the rpm range and add gas.You won't hurt your motor by going over the 6k rpm limit.Just don't go crazy(imo).

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/13/2014 @ 11:13 AM *

maybe your right grn. when it knocked yesterday it was for no more than half a second. i was in third at about 3.5k full power and ktrc at 1 when i gave it a quick thrust, maybe half throttle. I dont mind if i have to ride a little differently, just want to make sure the bike is ok.

"i was in third at about 3.5k"... "when i gave it a quick thrust, maybe half throttle".Half throttle is pretty open.One thing you MIGHT do...now...is adjust your throttle free play.Seriously.Take that slack outta there.Dial it in so you only have about a 1/16th inch...instead of the factory...'half inch' or whatever it is.Then you can feel what's doing what in regards to your fuel adding.Close it in so it has NO SLACK...then back it out just enough to allow the idle rpm to remain...at idle.With a tiny bit of play.I think you'll find you have much better control over the throttle than the factory settings.

I think that's all that's happening...too low an rpm for too high a gear.And adding fuel quickly.Could be wrong...your motor is still adjusting to being run.I'd say use a moderate to brisk pattern for upshifting as you're breaking everything in.No slow(speedwise)/ shifting up at low rpms and adding fuel abruptly.

I'm certainly NOT trying to discount anyone elses ides about this...so I hope it's not being taken that way.To me it sounds like new owner experimenting...I think if you just shift at the prescribed rpms for any of the gears...you'll do fine.Maybe even a bit higher than what's in the book...and adding throttle smoothly.

They USED to have a shift rpm table in the owners manual...is that still there?Sayin this cause the rpms in there seemed awfully low(to me).I didn't try to follow those(may have been in the early 14 manuals).

Yeah...it's in there.Hard to believe 34 mph shifting into 6th.I've never shifted according to those values.But then...I've never opened her up at 34 mph in 6th either;)I can see how a knock might occur opening the throttle in those gearing/rpm speeds possibly.

Pg 76 describes the throttle application while shifting gears."just enough"....'too much'...it doesn't say.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/13/2014 @ 12:02 PM *

Half a second of knock with a load sounds like engine knock. Or could be masked by the k-skid intervening. Not really a knock sound when it happens. I'm in 6th gear and under 4k and hammer away from cars so it's not engine noise unless we are hearing detonation going on.

This is too back and forth without hearing what/where that noise is coming from?

Glad you clarified 'knock' as opposed to 'detonation'...T/Y;)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/13/2014 @ 12:14 PM *

Just curious if you have a california version. More than one has reported similar issues (my 2012) was one of them and IIRC everyone of the complaints came from CA version bikes.

Not sure if you have a CA version bike? If it has or had 2 white stickers on the top of the tank you have the CA version.

What kind of I-4 bikes have you owned for comparison?

My 14R was pretty noise early on, but at 4000 miles the engine is making less ticking noises. I had the same rev related tick you're describing, everyone was saying it was the tip over sensor - but it has gone away at this point and it did change with engine speed too.

Also, mine seems pretty sensitive to fuel. It's tough to tell, but I'd swear there's off idle knocking (pinging) from a stop. So far, it seems to me 91 E0 runs the best. Sunoco 93 has been the second best, which seems to knock sometimes, followed by BP 93. I will not run Kroger fuel in my bike again, run it in my truck all the time no problems, but my bike was definitely knocking with it.

Toledo---- just one sticker on my tank.

Auron---- I havent owned any. The only other bike I have owned is a vfr800. I have taken a spin on an R1 but no where near long enough to say that I could compare.

Vic---- Thanks for the comments. Maybe its nothing? Other than some noises the bike runs fantastic, alot of fun.

All, Can someone explain what it sounds like when the traction control kicks in? Next time i go out im gonna shut it off and see if i hear anything.

The KTRC doesn't make any noise...it retards the ignition...momentarily.Even if it was on...it wouldn't kick in in #1 setting doing what you describe...UNLESS...you're REALLY hitting it hard and spinning the rear.Then you'd feel it.I guess it 'could' be similar in sound to a stumble.But it wouldn't stay stumbling for any length of time.A short blip..yes...it could be enough to activate it for a split second.Tell ya what...if it does this regularly when you do what you do....look at the lower right hand portion of the display.You see that longish graph there...all the way at the right part.Every time the KTRC activates...a dark bar begins to fill that graph...starting from the rightmost corner of it.See if you can repeat this engine behavior...watch that bar graph as you actually do the throttle/gear change thing.If it's as quick as you say...the KTRC bar will move REALLY FAST...so you need to be watching exactly when this happens.I wouldn't try it in traffic...but it's worth finding out....somewhere where you don't need to be looking up for a second.This will tell you if it's the KTRC stopping any wheelspin.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/13/2014 @ 7:41 PM *

F-1 is if you leave from a dead stop and take off hard, there is and ever so slight of a combo of both a faint noise and a hit-hit-hit-kind of a rat-tat-tat and goes away. It happens that fast. F-0ff it does go away, can't feel the same hits under hard accel with the intervention off.

I have the Cali model and run 87 in it year round. Zero pinging and the quickest stock wheelbase bike on the site. It's strange to me how inconsistent pump gas is.

That's a big assumption you make here amongst all these fast cats!

I like that in a pilot.

* Last updated by: Wolfman on 10/17/2014 @ 2:55 AM *