Honda clutch rattle

[M0WBY]

Hi

My CB650C had terrible clutch basket rattle at tickover especially when it is warm in this hot weather. I was told these models were prone to this. I was also told that balancing the carbs would sort this out but it seems not.

How do I go about fixing this?

Cheers

John

[SteveD CB500K0]

If you pull in the clutch lever at tickover, does the rattle reduce? (Sign of unbalanced carbs)


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[M0WBY]

Hi

Yes when I pull the clutch in or rev it up it goes. But I had the carbs balanced. Should I get them looked at again?

Cheers

John

[Bryanj]

Carb balance is the LAST thing to do on the service list, everything else must be done first

[M0WBY]

Hi

So what should I be looking at doing first to eliminate my clutch basket rattle as nobody will buy it as it is!

Maybe it is time to cut my losses and eBay it as is. Shame because I really like the bike and I have invested a lot of time and effort into it. There is no point having a really nice nice straight bike that is a dream to ride if it sounds like a pile of dog turd!

Cheers

John

[UK Pete]

John the truthfull answer is you will never eliminate the clutch rattle, you can reduce it by a complete engine tune with  a carb balance being the last thing , but it wont be totally gone
pete

[M0WBY]

Hi

At least I know. Thanks for being honest. At least I can make the choice of whether or not I can live with it. At least I know that it is normal and not something that is worthy of worrying about.

I remember years back my neighbour had a Talbot Alpine thing. It sounded like a bag of nails. You could hear the tappets from the next village. He was forever trying to get rid of the tappet noise until one mechanic go straight with him and said it was normal and nothing he did would get rid of it. He sold it soon after because he could not live with it.

Cheers

John

[mickwinf]

funny you should mention Talbot Alpines as they were very noisy and could always be bought cheaply, the only one I had that was quiet had done 130,000 miles and sounded and drove like a dream! Nobody wanted to buy it, sent it to auction and got about £100! My 500 also rattles at tickover, but careful setting up of ignition and carbs can make a big difference. regards Mick

[florence]

It is completely normal for them to sound lumpy and rattly.  One way to 'improve' this is to set the tickover speed up a little.

(I am sure some of the noise is due to the fact that there is no provision to adjust the primary chain)

[SteveD CB500K0]

Have you ever ridden a Ducati with an air-cooled clutch (my mate had an SP2) - there's an example of a modern bike that sounds like a bag of nails at tickover.

Clutch rattle is normal and anyone buying a bike like this should know that.

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Agree with all they did it from new albeit not as bad as a 30 year plus does.I remember a mod from Honda to try and cut this down fitted loads of them.Didn't make the slightest difference in my view.
Cheers
Bitsa