Left side rattle on 2007 FZ1

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wayneg

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Hi,
I'm looking at buying an FZ1(09) but have looked at some used ones (07) first. Both 07's had rattling noises on the left hand side coming from the engine cases. It goes away after ~3000 rpm but sounds like crap off of idle till the noise goes away. Does any one know what this is and if they fixed the problem by 09 model year.

Thanks,
Wayne
 
wayneg said:
Hi,
I'm looking at buying an FZ1(09) but have looked at some used ones (07) first. Both 07's had rattling noises on the left hand side coming from the engine cases. It goes away after ~3000 rpm but sounds like crap off of idle till the noise goes away. Does any one know what this is and if they fixed the problem by 09 model year.

Thanks,
Wayne
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Hi Wayne and welcome! Another NY'er here (Bronx). I'm not sure what noise your talking about but there shouldn't be any rattling noises coming from anywhere on the bike. Also, it's not something thats inherent to the bike at all. I am thinking that maybe if the bikes still had the EXUP Valve in place and was loose or out of adjustment, maybe that would rattle around. I'm sure there are many guys here with 07's that will chime in. I've never heard any of those guys complaining about a rattling noise, especially from the engine case. Where in NY are ya?
 
Welcome wayneg!

Not sure what the noise could be. I guess I am used to whatever it may be on my '06. I can tell you that it's not the EXUP valve as Billy suggested because that's only applicable to the Gen I. the Gen II EXUP is right before the muffler and not prone to rattling like the older valves that were located in the collector. I'm thinking that what you're hearing is just the injectors or maybe the cam chain. Either way the noise is probably normal and just something that you get used to after a while.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
I didn't know your EXUP wasn't in the collector.:confused: You definitely learn something new everyday. Those silly GenII bikes, I'll never get used to them!!:confused0024:
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Yea, Gen II EXUP is right before the muffler. It's more for noise control than anything else on the Gen II...see it circled in the pic.

3555d1280071237-left-side-rattle-2007-fz1-exup.jpg
 
Actually, we just remove the EXUP when we take off the potato cannon and put on the slip-on. ;)

From the left, my first guess would be an after-market non-OEM front sprocket (no dampening rubber) and the chain isn't adjusted properly. THAT makes a great left side rattle. :D It will smooth out under load, thus it going away over the 3/4k RPM range.

Second guess is something isn't torqued down properly. If you can see a nut/bolt. apply the proper torque after loosening it first. Then you are sure it is spec'd.
 
07 here and no noise except for the vent thingy that i recently with double sided tape. If you are getting noise then it's something with that particular bike and not inherent to all 07. GL with your purchase and don't buy one with problem and the hassle with warranty. Oh yeah those are only good for 1yr on bikes, better get the 09
 
FZ1 Rattle

Thanks, guys.
I'm up in Putnam Valley FZ1riderNY. I started out looking at an 03 FZ1 since I didn't want to spend a lot. Then I decided to look at the 06 and up models since I wanted fuel injection. I'm tired of fixing the carburators on everthing I own because of this crappy gas with ethanol in it. I looked at 2 07's (4K and 2K miles) which both had the same noise. One was worse than the other. It's not coming from the exhaust valve but from the other side of the bike from the engine cases. It sound like a clacking noise but goes away as the bike revs. When I asked about it, the second guy said it was a clutch rattle and that they all had it. I also looked at an 08 (4K miles)but I don't remember hearing it on that bike(it was the first one I looked at).
All the used bikes I looked at where going to set me back ~ $5,500 but I found a leftover 09 for $7,200. I think I'm just going to spend the extra money and get a new one.
 
wayneg said:
All the used bikes I looked at where going to set me back ~ $5,500 but I found a leftover 09 for $7,200. I think I'm just going to spend the extra money and get a new one.
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You are a wise man Wayne. ;) Now, I came from the FZ6 which was a very smooth running engine. To me, the FZ1 sounds like it is coming apart when it is under 2500 RPMs and that is all the time, but I now know that this is absolutely normal. It's that small block trying to hold in all those HP!!! :tup:
 
Thanks, Eric. That's the noise I was talking about. You don't hear it at idle and it goes away after 3K but between that range, it sounds like something is going to come through the left side of the engine. I don't know if it still makes the same noise under load (when riding the bike) since I only got to ride the 03 I looked at. I didn't get to test ride the other bikes, one had a dead battery which we jumped but wouldn't hold a charge and the other two guys didn't want to let me ride if I didn't commit to buying it.
Maybe my wife is right, I should keep my 05 VTX 1300(6K miles) and my 93 CBR 1000 (8K miles) for all the riding I do but the VTX is boring and I'm always scraping the floorboards and my CBR cramps my knees up after 1 hr on the bike.
 
If that is the case with the two current bikes, then I'd have to disagree with your wife and put your personal comfort/enjoyment up on the pedestal first. If you cannot go out and truly enjoy the ride, then a change must be made. You can sell the other two bikes on craigslist and recoup a fair amount toward the new bike. Explain to her just this, that you cannot enjoy either bike and want to be comfortable and have fun doing it.

Are you replacing these two bikes or adding to the stable? I can understand her not wanting to see yet another bike out there so I'd be selling at least one to make the room (and offset the costs.)

Hope this works out for you because the FZ1, for me, is the single best bike I have ever had the pleasure of riding. It really can do all the jobs you ask of her.
 
I have an 07 friend, and I don't know what noise that might be. It being a naked, and of course if you do the various mods, you will have a little more engine noise then other bikes. I've had 10 bikes over my 20+ years of riding ( if I say the exact years you all will know how ancient I am) and I LOVE this bike like no other. This is my first sport type bike tho. :) you can't go wrong with this bike in my opinion!!!
 
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