2011 Vulcan vaquero tapping noise

[GARRETTCA]

ALCON, I'M new to this forum and need some assistance
I have a 2011 vulcan vaquero, last year i got a screw stuck in the rear cylinder exhaust valve from a loose bolt on my aftermarket air cleaner.

Here is the issue, bike ben apart about 6 months. I had the heads port and polished and bored the cylinder. Mechanic put engine back together and installed it. Now I have that ticking sound I seen people talking about on other forms. Never had this noise before. Any suggestions, mechanic wants to start over and open the rear cylinder.

[redjay]

It is possible that a hydraulic valve lifter has bled down if the bike has been sat a while.

[Snake Ranch]

Originally Posted by GARRETTCA

ALCON, I'M new to this forum and need some assistance
I have a 2011 vulcan vaquero, last year i got a screw stuck in the rear cylinder exhaust valve from a loose bolt on my aftermarket air cleaner.

Here is the issue, bike ben apart about 6 months. I had the heads port and polished and bored the cylinder. Mechanic put engine back together and installed it. Now I have that ticking sound I seen people talking about on other forms. Never had this noise before. Any suggestions, mechanic wants to start over and open the rear cylinder.

+ 1 on what Redjay said. Mine was so bad it was not a tic tic noise it was bang bang bang. To make it go away I let the engine idle till it was at operating temp or till the fan came on for several cycles. Then I had to rev the engine to about 2500 rpm and held it there till it went away.

In the end the HLA's were replaced to correct the problem. I had bought the extended warranty.

There is a small hole in the lifter the dealer drilled out to help correct the problem.

[Vulcanrider03]

Garrett,,, since ur new here please formally introduce yourself and welcome aboard

[GARRETTCA]

Well friends , I have been riding since 1997. 1 SUZUKI, 1 ZX9, 2ZX12 and now a 2011 Vulcan vaquero bored and stroked, ported and polished, 21inch custom front rim, 12 inch aps and a cobra
exhaust. I live in Florida, Cowboys fan and retired Navy.

Thanks for the feedback, going to chat with the mechanic tomorrow. Garrett

[tukibandit]

Originally Posted by GARRETTCA

Well friends , I have been riding since 1997. 1 SUZUKI, 1 ZX9, 2ZX12 and now a 2011 Vulcan vaquero bored and stroked, ported and polished, 21inch custom front rim, 12 inch aps and a cobra
exhaust. I live in Florida, Cowboys fan and retired Navy.

Thanks for the feedback, going to chat with the mechanic tomorrow. Garrett

AWESOME on FLORIDA living!

Sorry about the Cowboys fan thing..

Thank you for your service with the Navy

PHOTOS of the bike would be awesome! sounds sweet.. !

[smokier]

Originally Posted by GARRETTCA

...2011 Vulcan vaquero bored and stroked, ported and polished, ...
Garrett

Welcome Garrett,
Thank you for your service.
Lots of good riding time in Fla!
Cowboys... well, no one is perfect.

Now the engine description caught my eye...
+1 on the lifter thought.
Mine tappity-taps after sitting for a few days. It goes away within a few miles. I try to be gentle those first few miles anyway to let things warm up and and get lubed. (The bike, not me...)
Ride safe,
Smokier

[JD Hog]

Welcome from Northern California!
Thank you for your service

[Zeineth]

My 2014 is going in to have the HLA's replaced under warranty for the same tic tic and bang bang.

[MET-RICK]

Originally Posted by Zeineth

My 2014 is going in to have the HLA's replaced under warranty for the same tic tic and bang bang.

*** just wondering if anyone has mentioned or offered (or could and would), any advise on how to try to prevent this from possibly happening to others, with some type of prevention maintenance routine. Hope they get 'er all fixed and up running soon. cheers

[Scootergptx]

If it's just a bit of oil gunk making it stick, maybe some seafoam in the crankcase before an oil change will help.

[terryd]

Originally Posted by MET-RICK

*** just wondering if anyone has mentioned or offered (or could and would), any advise on how to try to prevent this from possibly happening to others, with some type of prevention maintenance routine. Hope they get 'er all fixed and up running soon. cheers

We had a few warm days here in IA last month where I fired up my Nomad and the valves were ticking. I road out to my dealer and by the time I got there it had stopped. The dealer said it's characteristic of these engines because the hydraulic valves drain when the bike sits for a long period of time without being run and not to worry about it.

[twowheeladdict]

My 2010 had the HLA replaced with an updated design in 2015 with 50,000 miles on the bike.

[Snake Ranch]

Originally Posted by MET-RICK

*** just wondering if anyone has mentioned or offered (or could and would), any advise on how to try to prevent this from possibly happening to others, with some type of prevention maintenance routine. Hope they get 'er all fixed and up running soon. cheers

I don't know if there is any preventive measures you can take short of installing the updated HLA's and drilling the holes bigger in them.

From what I get from the dealer is the HLA's leak off when the engine sits for a time, and the oil passage in the lifter is small enough the oil doesn't flow well enough to pump the lifter up after it has leaked off.

Mine would clatter after it set in the evening and the temperature would get into the low 50's. I get off work after midnight and it would do it every night.

So my best guess is there is a tolerance issue and the lifter would leak off when cold and was not getting enough oil flow on startup. The oil had to get hot and thin out the get to the lifter chamber. And the oil pressure at low idle was not enough, I had to rev the engine up to get the oil pressure up to pump the lifter up.

Hence, the redesigned lifters and still drilling the oil passages bigger. Now it don't clatter.

[MET-RICK]

Originally Posted by Snake Ranch

I don't know if there is any preventive measures you can take short of installing the updated HLA's and drilling the holes bigger in them.

From what I get from the dealer is the HLA's leak off when the engine sits for a time, and the oil passage in the lifter is small enough the oil doesn't flow well enough to pump the lifter up after it has leaked off.

Mine would clatter after it set in the evening and the temperature would get into the low 50's. I get off work after midnight and it would do it every night.

So my best guess is there is a tolerance issue and the lifter would leak off when cold and was not getting enough oil flow on startup. The oil had to get hot and thin out the get to the lifter chamber. And the oil pressure at low idle was not enough, I had to rev the engine up to get the oil pressure up to pump the lifter up.

Hence, the redesigned lifters and still drilling the oil passages bigger. Now it don't clatter.

*** Thanks for that info. S R, glad to hear they got yours fixed. With my 2013 I've only had the occasional time I heard the tapping which was noticeable but not overly loud and didn't last long and only after the bike had not been ridden for a while or sometimes in colder temps... Was there any mention as to if and when they started to use the design change in production models, or is this just being offered as an after production repair if and only when required? cheers