I to have this going on in my 02. Mine almost reminds me of a dieseling piston slap noise. I bought a temp gun and hit the motor after coming off the eway. The hottest spots (exhaust ports on head) where around 300 degrees. Does anyone know what the safe zones are. Around the cylinders the where about 245-265. The difference from front to back cylinders where 7 degrees. I know this is not a answer to anyone’s question but id thought i would throw it out there since theirs allot of talk of running hot.
As far as the loud Vavles, And the whole adjusting system really sucks, (as least in my opinion) Has anyone tried to put in over size (length) pushrods to make up the gap. To help get rid of the ticking. Honestly im not sure if it would work but seams like an idea.

Checked mine today from the left side pointed directly at the cylinders so the exhaust temps would not affect the reading. I had 253 front, and 245 back.

Thought I might put my 2 cents worth in. I use premium fuel I:E 93 octane in my roadstar and the ambient temperature gets in the upper 90's regularly with the heat index well over 100degrees F. in Alabama, never have had a problem with pinging. But, the Roadstar has the noisiest transmissiom I have ever heard. I was told by a Yamaha mechanic that The tranny has Spur gears. this would definately make it noisy. Harley Davidson gets around this problem by seperating the Tranny from the engine which seriously quietens the unit. The point is I also have a Harley and H.D. recommends 91 octane as Minimum for thier engines, the Yamaha operators manual states if thier is pinging up to premium fuel. At least that is what my 2008 manuel for my 2008 Roadstar says.

Everyone -

Thank you for all the food for thought. I'm like really pressed for time right now, but will be chiming in soon.
MS07

Darn wrote:
I've been reading this thread, and I'm by far no expert like Doc, Gram, Musky and about 80% of the others here.

PINGING noice? Not a rattle?
Is it consistent with RPM?
Does it do it only while moving?
To be clear, it's ONLY once it warms up? Or does it do it before too?
It's ONLY 1/16 - 1/8 Throttle?
Does it sound like it's coming from the top of the motor or lower?
Gas additives and octane make no difference?
Changing oil to a thicker oil made no difference?

I'm just trying to get a true fix on what it is and when it happens and where it might be.

Lets start fresh with this and see if we can help.

Hey Darn,

First off, thank you for the questions and thank you to everyone else who's ready to "start fresh" on this issue. For those of us with this noise, it would mean a lot to get to the bottom of it.

Pinging: yes, in the context of what pinging or detonation sounds like in other applications, like my old Chevy Van.

Constant with RPM: No, this can happen at any RPM, although you'd be beyond 1/8th throttle at the really high RPMs.

ONLY at 1/8th - 1/16th throttle: YES, only there. If it's really loud and bothering me, I can just gas it a bit and it goes away. Unfortunately, I can't always ride that way, else I end up hitting the car in front of me

Noise is definitely from the top end, not the tranny. Additives and octane seem to have ZERO effect, and it's done it with every type/weight oil.

I'm really starting to think it's something about the ignition advancing too much in this throttle position zone (1/16th - 1/8th). Reason I say this is that if this were a case of straight detonation, wouldn't it only get worse with more throttle applied? Something about giving it more throttle immediately cures it. In every vehicle where I've had detonation/pinging, it usually got worse the more you opened the throttle.

MS07

Hi
Just a new roadstar owner about three weeks
The knock that we all seem to here is explained in a Yamaha Service bulletin that I located on the net.

They say the Road star Rattle as it is called comes from the generator
gears pulsing as the aluminum case expands and the clearence become greater.

Here is a link to the PDF
http://weislake.com/sig/mucker/tsb2-2-05.htm

Hello crs3000 and
Thanks for posting the bulletin...

-=Mike

As the engine heats up and the aluminum crankcase expands, the gear lash (clearance) is increased between the alternator shaft drive and driven gear. Inform the customer that, normally, the oil viscosity dampens the gear contact surfaces and helps reduce mechanical noise. However, in this case, the oil is thin which reduces the damping effect.

Re-reading the bulletin this morning as mine has these symptoms on the Interstate at 70 degrees. If it's the thin oil that allows the gear contact to clatter, shouldn't different oil give different results?

:Update - looks like I have other issues...I see oil around my air filter

-=Mike

For anyone concerned with tranny noise, I would highly recommend either Mobil 1 (what I run) or Amsoil (what my bro-in-law runs)...you will never go back once you go synthetic - RK. Might help your pinging too (can't hurt...)

I know this may be off the path of where the author of this thread is going, but for what it is worth, I have tried the premium fuel for 3 tanks now, and I have not had any pinging since I started using it. Temps here have been over 100 degrees F for a week straight and the premium seems to be working in preventing detonation (pinging).