What is "piston slap", and what can silence it?
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 880
Likes: 81
From: California
What is "piston slap", and what can silence it?
I have what I think is piston slap, according to the symptoms that I've read online... Basically, only when the motor is cold, I get a clanking sound coming from the engine, will usually happen at low/mid RPM when under light load. After riding for about 5 minutes, the noise completely goes away.
So my question is, what exactly is piston slap, and can anything simple be done to hide the noise (besides pipes, earplugs, etc)?
From what I've read, it's not really harmful, but more of an annoyance.
So my question is, what exactly is piston slap, and can anything simple be done to hide the noise (besides pipes, earplugs, etc)?
From what I've read, it's not really harmful, but more of an annoyance.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 342
Likes: 1
From: Inwood....Northwest Iowa
Piston slap is too much clearance between the piston and cylinder wall. The reason its worse when cold is because the piston expands as it warms up. The only fix is bore the cylinders and replace the pistons to get the correct clearance.
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: On a hill among the hills, PA
If this is your 2009 I would certainly take it in... could be something with the fuel injection, timing, ecm... anything can happen but might not be piston slap.
Last edited by krwould; Oct 13, 2009 at 11:08 PM.
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 880
Likes: 81
From: California
Done that, and they confirmed it's piston slap, and is not warrantable, as it does not cause damage... Just seeing if there's anyway to quite it down a little. It only lasts for 5 minutes in the morning, but still...
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: On a hill among the hills, PA
No way I know other than a boring out and oversized pistons. I think that was mentioned before.
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2008
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From: California
Ok, thanks... I was just thinking that maybe some oil is better at masking sounds, or something along those lines....
I suppose I could always use a mini-torch through the spark plug holes to heat up the pistons every morning. LoL
I suppose I could always use a mini-torch through the spark plug holes to heat up the pistons every morning. LoL
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Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: On a hill among the hills, PA
No... no flames around the fuel pleeeease!!!
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 112,202
Likes: 1,316
From: On a hill among the hills, PA
Really don't even think about an open flame in a cylinder, if an intake valve is open you may be in serious trouble if you know what I mean... so I hope you were joking!?