yeah, every time I go back home and visit, I'm amazed at the large amount of traffic at all hours. It has only increased since I left in '99.

If the dealer does balk at you, they must not want money.

 

The service manager just called me to check up on the bike, and told me that Yamaha wanted to know what RPM range the noise was most prevalent. He says that since the fz09 is so new, Yamaha wanted to investigate any issues like these and be sure the customers are happy with the bike.

So, if yours is making that same cam chain rattling noise, take a video of it, document the RPM range that it's most noisy, mileage, duration, whether it comes and goes, hot or cold, etc. Get ahold of your dealer (email is good since you can send them links to the recording of the noise) and have them contact Yamaha about it.

 

good call. Way to go, Yamaha! Glad to see them being smart about new bike issues.

 

got new tensioner installed today!!! my noise is gone!

 

Sweet! Thanks for the update.

Did you fit a manual one or get it replaced w/OEM under warranty? Were you/they able to identify any specific fault with the original tensioner?

 

Mine is doing the same thing as urs aswell, has that rattle noise but I also find it a bit rough also for an inline 3 cyl. It ruins the experience of the bike for me as all I can hear is this dam rattle noise.

Seems to hit a peak resonance around 5k rpm and comes and goes. I gave the bike a hammering in 3rd gear up to 10k and the noise went away for the rest of the day... just coming up on first service now

 

Well guess what I heard clattering around today AGAIN after a run over the Ortega Highway. Cam chain noise, and it seemed to resonate at 5k just like before. Low speeds in 1st gear it's pretty annoying and unnerving.

I did the same thing as you and ran it hard for a little bit and for whatever reason it quieted down.

Going for a ride with dantheman tomorrow morning up on Angeles Crest Hwy. We'll see how it does after a bit of flogging!

I wonder what's flapping around in there? The chain damper assembly against the chain?

 

Finally got around to having the dealer change out the cam chain tensioner, oh the relief. Have only put on a couple hundred of miles on it with no relapse. Sure hoping this maintains, the ticking was driving me batty.

 

Glad they figured it out and it was something fairly simple.

 

Just had my first service done and of course the dealer couldn't fault it and that was the only reason I took it to them... Noise came back 20 minutes later despite new oil etc, wish Yamaha would put some sort of notice out for dealers to monitor it as I'm not going back and forth with the bike trying to fix this...

 

It's driving me nuts. Yesterday on the way to drop my son off, it suddenly became quiet. I mean perfectly quiet, purring like a kitten. I was shocked at how quiet it ran... leaned over at the stop lights, revving it up, amazed, for about 2 miles until the friggin rattling started back up again.
Now I KNOW I'm not hearing things- it's an intermittent rattle coming from the cam chain area that was temporarily fixed by the dealer replacing the tensioner.

I've a call into Alexander Smith over at Malcom's. He's contacted Yamaha... I hope they come up with something.

 

I have read thru all the responces on this tick/rattle Mine is just under 600 miles and I noticed a knock on warm up the goes away after engine reaches running temp. Is this the start of the cam chain tensioner issue?

 

So I emailed the guys at APE about an adjustable cam chain tensioner to replace the factory ones. I used their tensioner in my wifes CBR600F2 with great results, and here is their reply. So, if anyone has their tensioner replaced and can get a hold of the old one or is willing to pull theirs out, we may have a permanent solution for the tick. Replacing faulty ones with faulty ones under warranty is not going to fix the problem.

****************

Doug;
It appears by running the part number, that it only fits the 2014 FZ-09

Perhaps if we had an oem in hand, we might see if something we make fits.

Jay / Tech
On Jan 10, 2014, at 7:58 PM, Doug Holt wrote:
tech@aperaceparts.com

************

Hey guys,

I used your manual cam chain tensioner with great success on my wife's former CBR600F2, and I have recently purchased a new 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Well, a bunch of new owners on my forum are having problems with the tensioners sticking and rattling, and the factory replacements are doing the same thing.

I wanted to know if the new bike shares the tensioner with another previous model from the parts bin, or if you could reference part numbers to see if you already had an application for the new bike.

We have a thousand forum members on what is proving to be the hottest new streetbike introduced in a very long time. All of us are looking for a solution to our potentially catastrophic mechanical problem, and may prove to be profitable

Kindest regards,

Doug Holt
www.douglasmholt.com
--
Sent from my Nexus 7 with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

 

Conveniently, the engine covers are coming off this bike for shipment off to Woodcraft. Pulling the tensioner will be ready enough. Do me a favor and forward your email conversation to sales@stoltecmoto.com. I'll get in touch with Jay. I've also has success with their products...

 

Nick, email sent, thanks.

 

What a coincidence... I emailed APE last night and they told me:
"Post on your forum that whoever sends us an oem to check out will get it back and a free manual one."

 

Just one thought after looking at the other APE tensioners. Whoever sends theirs over needs to make APE aware that there are clearance issues and the tensioner bolt can't be too long, as it may not fit between the frame and engine block. I'm only bringing this up after watching some of the youtube installs, some of their tensioners seem to have a longer bolt than necessary sticking out of the tensioner, without a test bike being available to them it may be something to mention. Something like the one DNFDOUG put in his post would be perfect.

 

Can't a custom bolt easily be made?

 

I have it as well, at 4k Rpms it is super annoying.
The rattling noise is under load, I can't really hear it at idle.

 

I too have a chatter type sound coming from the engine. There is also a higher pitch tick tick tick that is constantly there above the chatter. I took a video but I'm not sure how well it captured the noises.

 

I wonder, can the cam chain be noisy and still with in specs? Not causing damage etc?

Though Yamaha is replacing them, so I guess they should be quiet.



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I noticed oil weeping from my tensioner. No other oil leeks anywhere else. Going to clean and keep an eye on it.

 

whistle: Sorry, can't really hear anything weird. Sounds pretty normal-ish to me. I hear the clutch sort of clacking away, but that's ok...

Service manager who has been in contact w Yamaha emailed me today saying:
"I have a solution from Yamaha, it is something we can do while you wait. Let’s schedule a time for you to come in and have it done."

Dying to know what it is. I swear that tensioner backs off under certain conditions, then corrects itself under other conditions. I can hear the thing go in and out of tension as I ride around canyons & town (freeway is too loud), it's pretty weird. Really distracting actually. Love to get this resolved; this can't be good for the chain, guides, etc.

 

I swear that tensioner backs off under certain conditions, then corrects itself under other conditions. I can hear the thing go in and out of tension as I ride around canyons & town (freeway is too loud), it's pretty weird. Really distracting actually. Love to get this resolved; this can't be good for the chain, guides, etc.

Having the same issue here, right around 1500 miles on the clock. Rattling can faintly be heard while idling but is definitely more pronounced under load at around 4k to 5k rpm. Took off the tension cap bolt and tightened the tension bolt until I felt some resistance. Was night and day quieter but after riding around a bit the rattle came back, albeit much less noticeable than before. Thanks for the updates by the way, let us know what else you hear from your service guys.

 

Sounds like a job for the trusty hammer to me.

 

Ok, here's what the service manager told me today.
Yamaha has a bike in their fleet that was experiencing the same issue. Yamaha recommended that the dealer take the cap bolt off, give it 1/4 turn, and see how it does. If it continues, give it another 1/4 turn. If it continues, one more 1/4 turn. For a total of no more than 3/4 turn past "auto tension". He added that Yamaha tore down the motor that was having the issue and noted that there was no engine damage occurring; it's just annoying to listen to.

So, that said, they gave my tensioner 1/2 of a turn. Rode it about 50 miles today, and now the rattle is slowly returning. I bet that thing is backing off. Does anyone know if there is a mechanism in it that prevents the screw from working itself backwards? The way I understand it, it's basically a screw with spring tension behind it. Maybe someone can enlighten me on its design.

 

When they replaced my tensioner I requested the old one so I could check it out and examine it. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me have it, they were sending it back to Yamaha. I was able to look at the new tensioner briefly before install, wasn't really able to make heads or tails of how it works. The mechanic just said that it was a worm gear type, how it operates not too sure. As it stands right now guess I'll try Yamahas suggestion of 1/4 turn adjustments and patiently wait for APE to manufacture one.

 

I did a little more investigating. While the tensioner was properly adjusted so there was no rattle, I took a scribe and made a small mark next to the allen key hole on the adjuster underneath the cap bolt (the part down in there that rotates to adjust tension). The mark was right around the 11 o'clock position (easiest to point the scribe in that direction, since the frame is sort of in the way), and made another mark on the aluminum where the cap bolt goes in at the 11 o'clock position. This way when the rattle returned, I can look down in there and see if the adjuster had drifted off on its own.
Well when it started making noise again, I took the cap bolt off and lo-and-behold it appears that the adjuster had rotated counter-clockwise nearly 1/2 turn.

 

Good catch Travis, would explain why the noise (looseness) slowly comes back and gets worse only to be adjusted (by you or shop) right back to where it was only to repeat. Will be interesting to repeat your experiment and see if it repeats. I know, to many repeats but not an English major...Mark