UK Monster Owners Club Forum » .: Technical :. » Engines, Clutch, Gears » Anybody have a clapping sound

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Old 19-03-2020, 11:21 PM   #1
CarloL
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Anybody have a clapping sound

Ducati Monster 900 1997

Took the old girl out , was off the road since October, New oil, new starter solenoid to replace the oe plug type with a cable and I wired in a superseal connector, should fix the intermittent starting issues

Not too sure if I am imagining things, she runs great, loads of torque low down , makes all the right sounds down low to mid rev, no power loss

When I seem to go mid rev, especially top end ; she makes a clapping sound, similar to those clappers you had on your bmx as a kid, from what I remember she had a throaty sound up top too with pops and bangs on over run,

It's hard to do a wot pull with traffic but I think power drops off when this happens, maybe a misfire up top?
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Old 20-03-2020, 02:25 AM   #2
350TSS
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If you have messed with the wiring in that area you may have disturbed the coil connections, or the fact of just standing means possible corrosion on them which may not be allowing full current at higher revs. Worth a check.
My next port of call would be the earth leads to the frame.
Followed by plug leads and possibly new plugs.
If it persists I would find a bit of road where you can replicate the issue for 30 seconds or so, hold it at those revs and cut the engine dead and check the plugs to find out which cylinder is misbehaving
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Old 20-03-2020, 01:17 PM   #3
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No guidance on the electrics I’m afraid but my 900 had serious pops and bangs on overrun... Turned out to be a cracked clamp on the front cylinder exhaust header was letting air in.
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Old 20-03-2020, 02:05 PM   #4
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Irrespective of any possible loss of performance, I would be investigating the clapping sound as a matter of urgency.
Until that was diagnosed I would be reluctant to ride the bike at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveG View Post
..... cracked clamp on the front cylinder exhaust header was letting air in.
More likely letting exhaust gases out, I would have thought.
But still, that was one of the things I was going to suggest investigating as a possible cause for the clapping sound.
I might also check for leaks at the cylinder head joint. In that case I would be fretting that a cylinder stud had snapped .. apparently a fairly common thing if you have the shiny, silver studs instead of the stronger black ones. (edit .. as Darren suggested while I was typing).
Maybe even a loose spark plug ?
Also out of paranoia as much as anything, I would pop the belt covers off and check that a half-failed (or perhaps very loose) belt wasn't flapping against the belt covers.

Can't think of much else to suggest.
Its odd that this should suddenly happen after a period off the road.
Its tempting to think that it might be related to the work you have done on the bike during that time, but I can't really see how a new starter solenoid would be the cause of a clapping sound.
An issue with the starter sprag maybe ? .. I have no personal experience to offer there.
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Old 20-03-2020, 05:07 PM   #5
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I would agree with every thing that Utopia has said and you would do well to take his advice and check the belts asap.
Regarding an exhaust leak; while they do let exhaust out, any leaks near the manifold seem to let air in also and it's this that makes all the pops and crackles.

I think the noise could be consistent with a blowing head joint (no gasket afaik) and possible snapped stud!
Years ago the head gasket blew on one of my Ajays and I suppose you could describe the noise as a clapping sound. It was very loud and present at all revs, I guess the volume would depend on the size of the blow and the throttle setting.

I have also had spark plugs blow out following a weird "clapping" sort of sound (I assumed tampering in that case. It was a Yamaha YDS7)

A friend of mine once had a mysterious top end tapping sound on his Fire Blade, that many of us listened to and failed to diagnose.. He had it stripped at a shop and they discovered loose spark plugs (after the strip!).

Noughties triumph triples also suffer from a bizarre squeaking sound caused by slightly loose exhaust manifolds.. If you imagine the sound you make blowing through a blade of grass trapped between your thumbs, it's like that.

So in general I think that air or gas escaping through a thin gap under pressure could well be the culprit, but please do check those belts first..
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Old 20-03-2020, 01:56 PM   #6
Darren69
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Cylinder head studs; has one snapped?
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Old 20-03-2020, 06:29 PM   #7
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Surely a blown gasket/broken stud would make a noise whatever the revs, similarly a belt loose (personally I would check that anyway as others have recommended)?
If it is rev related then its either coil or carburetor with my money on the coil/ plug/plug leads. It is difficult to diagnose without hearing the sound
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Old 20-03-2020, 11:13 PM   #8
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I had a clapping noise on mine after it was layed up for a few months. I changed the chain and sprockets (unrelatd to the noise) and it's smooth as ever now. I suspect there were a few tight spots on the chain going into a flap at a certain revs of the wheel/ chain. Just a thought
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Old 22-03-2020, 06:01 PM   #9
CarloL
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Thanks ,

Bike has Termi's on there and K&N panel Filter(OE airbox) for a few years now, she had a rear puncture so the rear wheel was off but torqued back up to spec and axel markers have not moved

Spark plugs are March 2018 NGK DCR8EIX (3606) - Iridium IX Spark Plug

Checked
  • I Checked grounds, sanded , put some conductive paste on there ( nothing to cause concern)
  • Coils all look ok / spade connectors ( I will check the resistance tomorrow)
  • Spark Plugs are not loose, but overfueling (I suspect from the Termi's), I clean them but no difference

To Check
  • Cylinder Head studs
  • Belts (Renewed Feb 2019 Belts by Ducati)
  • Rule out the chain , I can rev at idle if no clapping sound , chain is suspect (DID chain/ sprockets has little mileage and is visibly in good order) but wheel was off
  • I will order new spark plugs

Questions
  1. Are NGK DCR8EIX (3606) - Iridium IX Spark Plug correct plug to use? What gap do you run?
  2. Cylinder Head studs , what am I looking for to indicate it is broke? As far as I remember the Ducati mechanic said my bike had the stronger stud
  3. Issue not having the earth covered?

Spark plugs : March 2018 NGK DCR8EIX (3606) - Iridium IX Spark Plug

Top Head







Lower Head (Near front wheel)






Earth

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Old 22-03-2020, 06:10 PM   #10
Darren69
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If you can move any of the cylinder head nuts by hand or they are loose then one is probably broken. Most likely to be the rear ones.
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Old 22-03-2020, 06:32 PM   #11
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The iridium plugs require a larger gap than on standard plugs. The thin centre electrode means that, if you use the standard gap (0.7mm?), you won't get a fat enough spark. Aim for about 1.0mm.

There's more information here (posts #4 & #12)
http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...hlight=iridium
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Old 22-03-2020, 06:42 PM   #12
CarloL
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Thanks for the spark plug info was looking for it

One head studs is broke , top stud behind the oil cooler
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Old 22-03-2020, 06:50 PM   #13
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PS are you sure your current plugs are actually iridium? The centre electrodes on those photos you posted look standard width to me. Iridium plugs have wire-like electrodes like this:



Sorry to hear about the stud but at least you've now tracked down the problem. (Good call by Darren.)
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Old 22-03-2020, 06:58 PM   #14
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Bad news about the head stud, if you are lucky it won't have sheared flush (I wasn't that lucky - if I fell in a barrel of tits I'd come out sucking my thumb) it's not that bad a job to replace the head studs, leave the pistons in the barrels when stripping down - it's much easier that way.
Good luck.
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Old 22-03-2020, 07:31 PM   #15
CarloL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark64 View Post
Bad news about the head stud, if you are lucky it won't have sheared flush (I wasn't that lucky - if I fell in a barrel of tits I'd come out sucking my thumb) it's not that bad a job to replace the head studs, leave the pistons in the barrels when stripping down - it's much easier that way.
Good luck.
I will leave it into the garage

Can we get uprated studs from Ducati? I presume should of been used from the outset
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