Frightening sound

[hank43]

At the beginning of a recent trip with our local chapter, I noticed a loud knocking sound, very much like a connecting rod bearing. I was really scared that this was a major thing, and started wondering how I was going to get the trike, my wife, and myself back home, some 550 miles away. I envisioned taking a plane home, loading up my truck and custom built trike trailer, and then driving the 550 miles back to retrieve the trike. I asked our ride leader Don to take a listen, to see if he could determine the cause, and whether or not the beast was safe to ride. Although it did sound like something in the engine, He determined that it was probably NOT a bearing, but something else. I didn't think so, but on we rode, both of us thinking of what it could be. A gas stop later proved Don was correct, I discovered a missing screw on the air cover, top right side. This beast has the lungs of a Titon, and when she breathes, she gulps many cubic feet of air, and that weird air cleaner arrangement on the 1700's offers just enough restriction, that the beast was sucking air from around the edges of the air cover (right side, directly in front of the Venturi) That caused the air cover to bang up against the cylinder, creating the bad rod bearing sound. As it happens, our motel for the night was directly across the street from the local Kawasaki dealer, so the next morning, I was the first customer in line at the parts counter. This shop did not have this missing screw, but the parts guy did print out a sheet giving the metric size of the missing screw, which ACE hardware DID have,so I got 2, plus lock washers (which Kaw did NOT have installed on any of the aircovers, either side) just in case. Screwing this in, and tightening up the other 3 loose screws fixed all my noise problems. Helps to have a mechanic along that knows his stuff!

hank

[grumpin]

Awesome! Glad that worked out well!

[Lucasind]

....Glad it turned out well ! Being far away from home and having unknown issues like that ,can sure throw a wrench into the workings of a fun ride.
I guess "alls well that ends well" applies here.

[hank43]

....Glad it turned out well ! Being far away from home and having unknown issues like that ,can sure throw a wrench into the workings of a fun ride.
I guess "alls well that ends well" applies here.

You are absolutely correct, things like this can destroy a really cool trip.
So, What did I learn from all of this?

1. Things ain't always what they seem
2. The 1700 is built to be smooth and strong, but sometimes it's weaknesses can be revealed by something as simple as a missing screw -

Moral:
Many years ago, I owned British bikes, and was constantly plagued with screws falling out due to vibration, One tends to get sloppy and careless when your new machine is so smooth, and apparently trouble free -
Go over your bike at least once every few months and tighten down EVERYTHING -

hank