Hello everyone. :)
I'm Andrew from Sevenoaks, Kent UK and I'm very pleased to find this forum. Been riding since 1974!
I have a Monster S4 which I have owned for about 8 years. Standard except for a full Termi system, chip, air filter and a power commander. Plus a few little touches like the slotted clutch cover and extra carbon. I am a real fan of Italian bikes and also have an Aprilia RSV and a Laverda RGS.
OK, so I'm here for a reason. Last year the S4 started to make a new noise when cold at about 4200 RPM. Just a light "knock?" that I could just notice above the usual Ducati racket. :'( I have it serviced every year and it's only done 13k miles. It's not had a valve clearance check for 7k. I'm told that it might need adjustment of maybe a cam follower has worn. But I am not rich and I don't want to pay for a major service just to find the problem is still there. It's such a subtle noise that it's very difficult to communicate the symptoms to anyone.
I met a fellow owner a few years back who did his own servicing and said that he sent the valve gear to Pro-Twins for checking. I'm not too bad with spanners...With the help of the Laverda forum, I did a lot of restoration work on the Laverda myself. So, I'm hoping to get some advice from you chaps on the possibility of doing investigations myself.
I will have a good read of all the posts on this forum over the next few days and start a new thread if appropriate. If anyone wants to point me in the direction of a thread that you think would help me then I would be very grateful. (Including what the best manual is)
Thanks in advance and happy riding, Andrew
Welcome Andrew!
You'll probably hear more about rocker arms / 'cam followers?' issues on the 916/S4 engines.
Not that I know if that's your problem, but it might be...
I suggest copy/paste and open a new topic in 'Tech' - that's where you'll get answers [thumbsup]
Thanks Stopintime. (I guess when the said cam follower, they meant the face on the rocker arm that meets the cam)
Welcome. Good luck with your tech hunt - hopefully it's something minor.