excessive noise

[jomama]

OK Lads here goes my 1st post. I seems to me that I have seen a few coments on noisy engines and I would also like to add mine to the list. When the bike is cold or even half warm, it is the noisiest engine I have ever owned. ( except for my 1950 Harley ) Its a 99 with 9,000 Miles on it. Its in pretty much pristine shape and I can only guess the previous owner (s) must have taken as good care with the mechanics as the outside. The one thing I have noticed is when the clutch is pulled in that a lot of the noise goes away . Now I have had countless Japanese motorcycles over the years and most do have some degree of clutch rattle which goes away when the lever is pulled but none as noisy a this. However it does quiet down when the engine reaches full warm up temp. Is this a common trait of this machine?. I also wonder if the fact that its a single would have some bearing on it. Thanks for any responses.

[mrlmd1]

Noise means many different things to different people - can you characterize it any better, like ticking, whining, rattling, loud exhaust? Can you post an audio clip so we might be able to hear it too?
Have you checked the oil level at the site glass with the bike level?

[jomama]

As you said, noise means differert things to different people but to me it means loose tollerances . My main beef is the clutch rattle. As I said I have had many older well used hondas and the 4 cylinder models were the worst offenders. Pull the lever in and it goes away pure and simple. I just dont understand why a bike with 9 thousand miles on it shuold like that . My neighbor has an 88 GN250 with about the same mileage and it also does it thats why I asked if its a common thing. Once again when they both are fully warmed up it pretty much subsides. As for the oil, when I got it 300 miles ago it was fresh. Now not knowing for sure just what oil was used I changed it to Mobil 1 Vtwin synthetic and it shifts smoother but the cold clutch noise is still there. I was once riding at the Americade in Lake George NY with 3 other harley riders and I was on a 76 BMW R/60. Sheriffs pull us over and go to everyone individually and have them start the bikes. Well 2 guys get paper for loud mufflers and when the deputy comes to me and tells me to start mine I tell him " Its Running" . He couldn't believe it. Neither could anyone else that heard that thing run. That was a sweet engine.

[Water Warrior 2]

I wouldn't worry about the noise too much. As you say the noise decreases after the bike is warmed up. That is likely tolerances closing up to a proper fit as parts heat up and expand a slight bit. A good example is valve adjustment. The valves must set when the engine is cold. When the valve train warms up thing get quieter.
As for the clutch noise don't sweat it. Pulling in the lever likely releases some internal forces on parts from each other and they cease to make noise.
Have you heard a Ducati with the clutch pulled in? Scary stuff that.

[jomama]

I love the sound of the Ducati engine .