Hello guys, i own a superduke 2006 with around 7k miles on it. serviced over and over as expected but one bug bear i have not been able to solve is its rattelling/knocking.

It gets progressively worst as the engine warms up, i checked the oil pressure valve and spring was within range and the piston itself only had a couple of shinny stripes (no grooves, checked with nail and pointy tool). i have also changed the hydrolic tenssioners for both pistons with brand new once but nothing has fixed it. This rattelling/chain slapping only happens up to 2500-3000 rpm on every gear than beyond that no noise as such at all. It makes ridding through traffic hell and embarasing so have to be on high revs most of the times. also on first gear there is a big play between the wheel and gearbox (as if my chain was very loose)

im now running our of options that im thinking the chains may have been streched somehow beyond tenssioner limits. the previous owner has done a couple of track days and dropped it once or twice (scaff marks).
has anyone come across this issue and a possible solution or am i looking completely at the wrong place.
nick

Cam chain tensioner? or is this what you have already checked?

Are you sure its not an ex race bike

yes it has been take for track days as the previous owner had invested on after market footrests and after market break lines also stated so by himself. also after the first service i noticed the oil filter slightly screwed (as if it was blocked and pressured applied distorted it) and unfortunately some small shavings.

Ok so this is something I need to look up with very few tools I have in my shed.
Some questions arise, is this a DIY mechanic job? what special tools will it require? any picks, part number direction at what I'm looking at? and if I'm helpless where can I take it near Berkshire other than a $tea£er for a repair rebuild?
Nick

Small amount of metal on the magnets is a very normal KTM thing. I would of course be concerned by any rattling from my engine as you rightly are though.

You could try locating it with the old screw driver to the ear while touching different parts of the engine. Just a thought.

So under load in all gears with a delayed response getting power to the rear wheel? Could something be going wonky in the trans? Final drive perhaps? I would bet that is where you are having issues, bad bearing or what not. if you had a bad rod bearing the noise would be present through out the RPM range.

Mine is always noisey under 3k rpm, knocking and such, It seems normal as my other v-twin suzuki makes similar noise at lower rpm. I know I can hear my chain slapping the swingarm while riding at lower rpm... Just a thought.
Personally I think you are hearing normal sounds that happen when riding a v-twin at low rpm under load and have a loose chain. It seems you have answered your own question in a few of your posts.
Have you ridden any other SDs to see if they are the same? Ive ridden 3 and they all sound like that at low rpm...
Dont try to fix something that isnt broken, tighten your chain and make sure rear wheel is straight and give it more rpm when riding. I cruise around 4.5-5k rpm, seems to be the smooth spot it likes.

Don't want to be the messenger of bad news... but...
It it gets worse when warm and cam chains have been checked it could be bad. Things to check:
Pistons loose in bore and rattle, due to giving it heaps with cold engine (before 4 bars temp). The SD has forged pistons and over square bore stroke. On a cold engine it is easy to rattle the piston in the bore hence the warm up procedure of no throttle till 4 bars. This problem destroys both bore and pistons.
As suggested above it can also be conrod bearings.
Another one is rattle in the clutch basket, easiest of the lot to check. Tilt the bike over and undo the cover, no or hardly any oil leaks out.
On the other side check the play of the front chain sprocket on the gearbox output shaft, this can rattle also.

Most of these issues are due to abuse, I hope I'm wrong in my diagnose as it is possible you got a bike that has been badly trashed.
The SD loves a bit of trashing, to get to this point it has to be bad.

When a rod bearing is just starting to go you only really her the knock under load at low/medium revs

ok i think i better get a Credit Card and bite the bullet, ether a stealer or if anyone can suggest a garage in Berkshire with good reputation as cramp conditions in my shed are against me for engine removal.
i used to ride another vtwin and when they are very loose they tend to knock all the time and worst when they get hot. i think the chain is a plausible suggestion and i do her it slap at low speed, i can tighten it and i have had it tight before but still get knocking, clutch basket has had brand new niddle bearings to no avail, front sprocket not loose.
Now this may be a common symptom for a ktm with a bit of abuse (i haven't tried another one to compare against) but i have been under bonnets and around combustion engines long enough to know when something is uncomfortably wrong and it feels wrong enough to have stopped me ridding the bike from causing further damage, and i fully accept that vtwins are very harsh to the internal mechanics (but boy i tell you shit loads of fun), so maybe my OCD is taking over and i need to sort it.
no disrespect to other post regarding bike feeling normal but ill either need to have it sorted or get rid of the bike (not ready to spoil my biking fun yet) but since im not bored of the bike I'm gone go ahead and try to have it sorted.

My question is where can i take it? any one experienced a really good garage with knowledge on LC8 in UK?

I would check the clutch pack, in particular the clutch pack height& spring height and also the clutch booster.
As excess wear in any of this will give a lot of free play between wheel and engine - plus its easy to check before going to a dealer.
However, if the clutch was worn you would probably notice clutch slip as well.

Also, what oil are you using (make and weight) and has it been changed recently ?

But if its when the clutch is engaged/disengaged how can that be con rods?

Surely would have blown up by now if it was that?

stealer oil and mine the same problem, it sounds worst at summer time. i have checked and clutch basket springs. if it was the clutch springs i would have had clutch slipping. if it wasn't oil pressure which i have checked bypass valve but than again it sounds louder than chain slap and cam chain the only tension is applied to returning chain (ie the one without tension) i would hear this in neutral on low revs but i don't. i have also checked bypass pressure valve and all good, spring and valve.i have already done the clutch booster to no good results. it almost feels like whatever is slapping it only does it a low revs. dealing with this problem for the past 2 yeas i can only say its either clutch or gearbox problem. if it was int he clutch are than i would point to clutch basket springs that they dont perform well to take the impulses from engine, but visually it looks good. i wonder if ther is a way of testing these springs, but than again this is not something you can take appart. if ti is int he gearbox than it must be a bearign that is only slightly looses but than again i should feel this when i open up on higher revs. mainly i hear the noises form the rear cyllinder tot he right thats what drey me to clutch gearbox area. so im really stuck, with where do i poor money to. if i have tried to solve this problem for a long time how will the dealer (fitter) find out without swapping shit loads of parts.
the bike is out of action at the moment, if another rider says that they have the same rattleing problem than perhaps they can upload a video file so i can compare.

Thats the torque limiter your on about, its the noise you get when you start the bike. I dont think its used when bike running.