HELP! On road trip ~400 miles from home

[dougindixie]

Parked bike on side stand, came back out of restaurant, cranked it and heard tapping which sounded like right cylinder head. Put on center stand, checked oil, fine and clean, let it sit for 30 minutes, cranked it again and now it sounds like it’s in the middle of engine towards the rear, aft of carburetors. Ideas? Thoughts?

[virgilmobile]

Possible loud ticking fuel pump.Does it tap with the rpm if bumped up briefly?

[dougindixie]

No sir it doesn’t. Seems consistent no matter the rpm. Bike just turned over 60k.

[virgilmobile]

This is tough...I'm guessing something electrical.
If it were mechanical,it would change with the engine rpm...
Double check that fuel pump.They can sound just like a loose tappet.

[dougindixie]

Well, got up this morning, checked everything out and everything sounded normal so I hit the road (at 3AM to beat the heat and traffic). Bike ran perfect and no problems, just rolled into home and still no more clicking or ticking. Gremlins disappeared.

[virgilmobile]

This is tough...I'm guessing something electrical.
If it were mechanical,it would change with the engine rpm...
Double check that fuel pump.They can sound just like a loose tappet.

[dougindixie]

You nailed it! It's the fuel pump! A more mechanically inclined friend came over and he found it within 5 seconds of cranking. Thank-you for the help and I am greatly relieved it's not something more serious!

[virgilmobile]

Is the ticking fuel pump a sign of impending failure????
Better check into that before your next trip.
Search "ticking fuel pump" on this site for more details.

[dougindixie]

Apparently so. I’m not going to wait on it to quit so I went ahead and ordered a new one. Twenty dollar part isn’t going to ruin my next trip.

[oldishwinger]

it does sound consistent with the fuel pump, as its the right side where its situated. They can be quite loud, they are an on demand pump which means they only deploy when required.

they usually can be heard when the bike is cold, or the choke is on, if you can get close enough to the pump, to listen go from there.

If not it may be electrical, and blowing a spark plug could be worth a look.

good luck.

[oldishwinger]

glad to hear you found it nice one