Engine knocking/ticking sounds and spark problems
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Jun 2025
Posts: 1
Engine knocking/ticking sounds and spark problems
Greetings from Finland.
My VTR has been having some issues lately. Last summer, the bike stalled while I was riding, and after it had cooled down, I was able to ride it back home. I built manual cam chain tensioners for the bike myself and installed them. I thought this had fixed the problem because the bike started running and ran well, except that I began to hear a slight ticking sound from the engine. This sound is steady in rhythm with the engine’s RPMs and is a very light noise.
Last Sunday, I was out for about a 100 km ride when the bike stalled again on its own. After it had cooled down, I was able to ride another 10 km until it stalled again and wouldn’t start anymore. I got the bike to the garage and have had a bit of time to investigate the issue. The front cylinder’s spark plug isn’t getting a spark. The rear cylinder’s spark plug is getting a spark, and I tested both spark plugs with the rear cylinder’s coil, so the plugs themselves work.
The front cylinder’s coil makes a strange “whining” sound when the ignition is on. And I noticed that just by turning on the ignition, if the spark plug thread touches the frame, a spark jumps between them. But no spark is produced when trying to start the bike. The “whine” disappeared when I disconnected the front cylinder’s coil. I measured the coils’ resistance: 13.1 kΩ for the rear cylinder and 13.45 kΩ for the front. I think I should swap the front and rear cylinder coils to see if the problem follows. But what could be causing the whining sound?
I have yet to check my valve clearance and re check my cam timing. But is there anything else that could cause the ticking sound?
The bike has done 62,000 km, and the oil still looks clean. Does anyone have the knowledge to help solve this problem or these problems?
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My VTR has been having some issues lately. Last summer, the bike stalled while I was riding, and after it had cooled down, I was able to ride it back home. I built manual cam chain tensioners for the bike myself and installed them. I thought this had fixed the problem because the bike started running and ran well, except that I began to hear a slight ticking sound from the engine. This sound is steady in rhythm with the engine’s RPMs and is a very light noise.
Last Sunday, I was out for about a 100 km ride when the bike stalled again on its own. After it had cooled down, I was able to ride another 10 km until it stalled again and wouldn’t start anymore. I got the bike to the garage and have had a bit of time to investigate the issue. The front cylinder’s spark plug isn’t getting a spark. The rear cylinder’s spark plug is getting a spark, and I tested both spark plugs with the rear cylinder’s coil, so the plugs themselves work.
The front cylinder’s coil makes a strange “whining” sound when the ignition is on. And I noticed that just by turning on the ignition, if the spark plug thread touches the frame, a spark jumps between them. But no spark is produced when trying to start the bike. The “whine” disappeared when I disconnected the front cylinder’s coil. I measured the coils’ resistance: 13.1 kΩ for the rear cylinder and 13.45 kΩ for the front. I think I should swap the front and rear cylinder coils to see if the problem follows. But what could be causing the whining sound?
I have yet to check my valve clearance and re check my cam timing. But is there anything else that could cause the ticking sound?
The bike has done 62,000 km, and the oil still looks clean. Does anyone have the knowledge to help solve this problem or these problems?
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Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,987
From: Bisbee, AZ
Yes, swap the coils. It take a lot more current to fire a spark plug inside the cylinder with compression. Coils can fail after getting hot. Do the swap before anything else. Take a look here.
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...42/#post417362
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...42/#post417362
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