Hi guys,, I have what sounds like BB's in a soup can rattling aroun 3-4k rpm and then it settles out around 7-8k rpm,, or I just cant hear it over the exhaust.

One thread had a rattle sound coming from the tip over sensor behind the windshield.. Is this the same?

This is a new 2008 with about 350 miles on it.

I checked my tank bag to be sure it wasnt the zipper ends clanging together.

Any ideas ,, and or like issues?

Thanks in advance.

Welp,,, its going into dealer Monday.

From some research on it,, on the zx-14 forum,, sounds like a cam chain tenionor.

This suckssssssssss as Im just getting use to the thrust,, actually craving it.

Keep you all posted

350 miles,,, 2008 zx 14..........grrrrrrrrrrrr

Yes, let us know what's up.

At first it sounded to me like you were hearing the saet cowl rattle that has often been complained about. Mine had that since new. It starts at 3K and then stops at about 4K. A good way to fix it they say, is to get a nice loud 4-2-1 exhaust.

BB's in a soup can sure sounds like the tip over sensor, which sounds pretty different than cam chain issues. 3-4 is right around where mine rattles the most, and I can hear it reflecting off of parallel parked cars, highway dividers, or any sonically reflective surface I ride next to. It drives some people crazy, others don't notice or get used to it. If that's what it is, there are a lot of ideas on how to silence the sensor, check around here. The bracket uses a rubber shock mount that allows the sensor to shake like crazy at a resonant frequency. KHI's idea was probably to isolate the little rattler from vibration but the right frequency makes it shake like a pair of maracas.

And maybe it's the cam chain tensioner. My ZRX's supposedly automatic tensioner sucked. It got swapped out with the APE manual tensioner and was quiet from that point on.

Keep us posted.

The cam chain tensioner is that rattle you hear right on cold start up and it should go away in a few seconds. If that is the sound you are hearing perhaps it is the cam chain tensioner.

The tip over sensor is located right under the kawaski sticker in your windscreen. It is not too hard to put a couple washers in with the rubber dampers to tighten it up. Some go as far as wrapping the sensor in a sponge or foam sheets zip tied together.

You can get to the tip over sensor by removing the windshield. I wrapped it in a little neoprene and taped it up. That helped but I still have a whistle I can't locate at about those RPMs. I told the dealer service manager about the tip over sensor and he was clueless. My opinion of dealership service departments is that they are worthless rip offs. Probably the most impossible task you could ever ask for is to get someone else to find a rattle or squeek for you. All I've ever gotten is the old shoulder shrug.
What is a badly adjusted cam chain tensioner supposed to sound like?
Please post whatever you find.

* Last updated by: Sharkey on 7/22/2009 @ 8:55 PM *

Thanks Rook and Jay,

My rearseat cowl is kinda loose,, but this noise is coming from the front end. And its not just at start up.

I did just put on a zero gravity sport touring shield the other day, and notice these two loosely setting "tubes" I thought it was weird they were so loose. I guess thats the tip over sensors, right?

I did a search on rattle in the zx14 search, and came up with a guy that had a rattle and it was the chain cam sensor,, but before he got it into the shop,, it let loose and I guess he either got a new bike of motor.

Im just kind of freaked out to even start or run the bike. Maybe a good check is to start it, and rev it , and see if I can hear the rattle. Then maybe take it out back. I guess I can get some packing paper,like plastic felt, and wrapp those two really loose sensors under the sheild.

Also....

This would be the first time working with a bike service dealer, and I was just hoping they wernt as bad as car dealers. They alwasy give you the deer in the headlight look... And Yes I knew more about the car than they did,, all from car forums. Sometimes they look at me and are like,, how the hell do you know about that tsb report,,lolol

I dont know nea as much about bikes as cars,, but these forums really do get you in the know fast.

Thanks,, Ill wrapp that sucker up and see if that works,, I hope so.

It might be that the new, taller Zero Gravity shield is letting a little more sound out from behind the instrument cluster or even acting a little like a megaphone. I actually thought about trying to bypass the sensor, but running without it is obviously not too swift an idea.

I read a few more posts on the tip over sensor, and was there a recall on these? Or was that taken care of in 2008-2009 models?

I will try to zipp tie it tonight, But really if its just that thing making the noise, and not the motor,, Im fine with it.

But anyways this will give me time to paint the bottom 20% of the zero gravity Black,, its dark smoke now,, and you can see the wires under the shield,, looks tacky.

The stock screen was blacked out at the sight line.

I will keep you posted.........A nice picture of one zipp tied would be nice thou.

Thanks all,,, and yes I kinda freaked out a little, I hope I wont have to take it to the shop Monday,,grrrrrrr

I've got a 2008 and like I said, it can sound like maracas. Or a baby rattle. Or one #7 birdshot in a little Red Bull can on a paint shaker.......

One of the fixes that interested me was posted on the old forum, I think. It involved taking the bushing that goes through the shock mount grommet and shortening it a bit so that the bolt (or stud, I can't remember) that it mounts on can clamp a little tighter on the grommet. Someone else tried a washer or two. I actually bought some super high tech aluminum foil with an adhesive foam backing aerospace tech shit that's supposed to be good for muting vibration. Haven't gotten around to installing it.

And painting clear or light smoke aftermarket shields is a must if you care what things look like up there. I thought about spraying a fade on mine but haven't done it yet. We'll see.

jayfell wrote:

I dont know nea as much about bikes as cars,, but these forums really do get you in the know fast.

The tip over sensor is a small grey box with a wire coming out of it. It is right below the blacked out part of the stock wind screen and it is mounted to the cross member that the front fairing is screwed down to.

There was a recall for the TOS rattling on the 06-07. The solution was to go with shorter bushings to allow the 2 nuts that fasten the TOS to compress the rubber dampers a bit more. Like you have discovered, the bushings are still pretty loose on the 08. I'm sure the nut that holds each side of the bracket is tight on your bike. It's just that the bushing is too long to tighten the nut down any more. The way to fix it is to take the nuts off, pull the bushings out, remove the rubber damper and grind the bushing down less than 1/16" with a grinding wheel. You can hold the bushing with a vise grips while you grind.

I removed the whole TOS bracket to tighten mine up but I don't think that is even necessary. If you can get each of the nuts off that go through the bushings, you can just slide the bushing right out. I did not grind mine. I just made washers out of plastic bottle caps and put them in. When I screwed the nuts back on, this caused the washer to compress the damper sightly and the TOS was held more firmly. There's no reason you couldn't just pick up some metal washers and use them. You probably will need 2 washers under each nut.

If that doesn't do it for you, just wrap on some sheets of that pink foam rubber like what is sometimes used for packing material for shipping. I suppose you could even use a cloth rag. Bind it up with zip ties so it stays put and I bet that will muffle any noise coming from the TOS. The TOS will still function because the swinging magnetic mechanism is entirely internal.

side note: when you spray paint your new windscreen, apply the paint to the underside and it will look flawless while achieving your goal of concealing the wiring and stuff under there. Try to make sure nothing is touching the underside of the windscreen or it will rubb off your paint from virations. I tied the TOS wire down to the cross member with a zip tie because it was rubbing on the black sticker on the underside of my stock windscreen.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/23/2009 @ 5:57 PM *

I think that was silvrevo there, Rook.

Yours must have been the post I was thinking of, whether here or the old forum. I've got to try the washer fix.

And by the way, that Shelby paint job kicks ass.

Thanks, Jay. The fender is a bit much but I will try to do something with that next year.

I think the washer fix is less work and safer because you don't have to worry about grinding the bushings too short. Then the dampers would be tightned down on too much. It's always good to tighten down no more than necessary on top of a rubber seal/gasket/damper/what-have-you because the rubber will distort with each snugging up. Sooner or later it runs out of spring or cracks and you need a new part.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/23/2009 @ 8:00 PM *

Thanks Rook and Jay,,, Im about 99% positive that its the TOS that is rattling.

I took off the screen last night and looked at it,, and there is alotta play ... tried to zipptie it,, na didnt come close to working.

I did tape off the screen and painted the inside,, right under where you cant see from the gauge panel.

Ummmmm Paint is about 5-6 inches from the bottom. I use a very good paint, quick drying,,llolol,, like 10 seconds.

Ill put it on tonight.

As far as the rattle,, like I said if thats all it is,, no motor issues,, Im fine. I will try to tighten down those bolts, maybe get a washer in there. But its a tight fit for my Ham Hocks!!!

Might wrapp it in some foam, duct tape it, and forget it. It wont be seen.

Anyways thanks for all the Info.

I will cancel my appointment to the dealership,, thank goodness.

I'm not sure you can stop it from rattling because of the way they mounted it. But by wraping it in foam you can mute the rattle. I used some pieces from an old wetsuit.

siverevo wrote:

I will try to tighten down those bolts, maybe get a washer in there.

It's not readily apparent until you take the bushings out, but the bushing is what prevents you from tightening up the nut. The nut snugs against the bushing. You won't be able to tighten on the rubber by screwing the nut on more unless you tighten so hard that you crush the bushing. Obviously, you don't want to do that. 2 washers under each nut and I think you'll be set.

Might wrapp it in some foam, duct tape it, and forget it. It wont be seen.

When you order that Pit Bull, you'll get a nice big sheet of packing foam as an added bonus!

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/25/2009 @ 6:12 AM *

Hey Rook,,,

I took the whole thing off,, got that contector to pop off, then just the one screw. I put a wahser in there on each side. Then snugged the nut one tight,, its on about half way through. I hope it stays. Is there anyway that if it came loose it could wind up in the intake?

Anyways Im getting really good at installing and uninstalling the windshield. Which by the way looks really really nice after I painted the bottom 20% so you cant see the tos wires.

I havnt fired it up yet,, but Its alot tighter than stock. And if it rattles,, rattle away u bytch...lololol

Rook,, you dont happen to play chess do you?

silverevo wrote:

Then snugged the nut one tight,, its on about half way through.

You mean after putting the washer in there, the tip of the bolt that runs through the bushing only threads half way through the nut that tightens the whole thing- right? You must have used a pretty thick washer. You could use blue (not red) locktight on the threads and that should hold it. Try not to get any on the rubber, that's all. Or you could just try a thinner washer.

If any of the nuts bolts or other small parts fell out, they could not get into your intake because there is a rubber seal inside of the front fairing that fits over the large, triagular tube inlet. Parts would either fall inside the fairing or bounce out onto the road but no danger of getting in engine. The air filter would stop anything from entering you engine that made it through the ram air system anyway. See how well covered you are?

Only thing is, if both the nuts came off, the TOS would fall off and this would very likely simulate a tip over. The bike would shut down on the spot. Make sure those nuts are tight.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/25/2009 @ 12:28 PM *

Thanks Rook,, I think stock that bolt didnt go all the way to the end of the nutt. Its on really tight thou.

I dont think it will come off at all,, and rattle,, I dont think I heard it last time out.

Mine never did rattle much but I decided to do the washer trick anyway. I can still hear a soft tick when the bike gets real warm but it's not a big enough deal to bother me.

Rook,, you dont happen to play chess do you?

Nope. I always wished I did, though. There's a lot of other things i want to learn to do more so becoming a world class chess player might not be in the cards for me. I picked the name "Rook" because that is the name of the European raven. They are blue black like my bike. Also I like the sound of the name and I am sort of a rookie as Hub likes to point out from time to time.

Silvrevo,

I had the same problem on my new '08 - TOS rattling. Mine was buzzing from 4 to 4.6k. And while advice from other peeps on here is sure to help, my solution was to simply add 2 small rubber washers to each bolt (one on each side of the bolt, I think between the two metal washers or something, that's what's making noise). This fixed it. I can now BARELY hear something exactly around 3.5k but only if I listen for it... and since I never stay at that RPM (usually either 3k or 4k, never 3.5), I never hear it at all :)

Hope this helps. I can take a pic if you need more help, just let me know. Bike is taken apart anyway after the crash.

Cheers!