Strat valve lifter noise

Hydraulic lifters like to collapse when pushed too hard, but with the rev limiters in place not likely that that has happened, and usually lifter will pump back up when at lower rpm and oil pressure is getting to them.

Since it is under warranty I would try and get them to fix it now like HTMNKYLVE posted, and maybe you need another dealer that knows what is wrong.. It seems odd that after warm up it goes away.. Has to be something..

1. maybe video it with sound, so the dealer can hear it.. No down time at there place, and evidence to give a lawyer...
2. Not sure about additives to oil but I would be waiting for an oil change before adding and see if something like lucas would make the noise go away and if it doesn't just change the oil to get rid of additive.

yuck noises that are odd and I am curious what they are..keep us posted when you find out.

I think I've gained some insight into my problem with valve lifter noise. Even though this "insight" may expose me as a boneheaded idiot, I feel obligated to share.

The prolonged (over 5 minute) valve lifter knocking when warming up did begin after the 600 mile tuneup, but it was also late fall and the outside temp was dropping. At the time I was running 20W50 oil. I contacted the dealer and he said I might need to run a lighter weight oil or synthetic during the colder winter months. This made perfect sense so I didn't ride the bike much in the winter and assumed my problem would be resolved at the 4,000 mile tuneup. When the bike still knocked with synthetic oil (15W50) on a 60 degree day I became worried. I contacted the dealer who didn't have an answer for me (still waiting to hear from him) so I decided to begin this thread in the hopes other Liner owners could shed some light on the subject.

The last few days the temp has been in the upper sixties or lower 70's and the bike started up with no excessive lifter noise. Today the temp dropped back to the mid fifties and again I have the clacking noise as the engine warms up. Obviously the problem is being created by having too heavy an oil which takes a long time to warm up and get to the valve lifters. This seems to occur if the outside temp is lower than the mid sixties. It's puzzling this happens with my bike and (as far as I know) other Liner owners are running the same type of oil with no problems. However, it does appear this may be the reason for my problems. I'm going to contact the dealer tomorrow to see if he recommends I run something like 10W40 instead of 15W50.

Thanks to all who tried to help, and my apologies if the solution is so obvious and so easily resolved.

It helps to know that most of you don't have this problem which reinforces my feeling there really is an issue that should be addressed.

I spoke to the service department today and they said they have to wait for a response from Yamaha before doing any work and that this could take as long as a month. How in the world Yamaha considers this appropriate customer service is beyond me. Although the dealer has a good reputation and I think the owner is a decent guy, I'm starting to come to the same conclusion that HTMNKYLVE has that dealers often don't give you decent service once you've purchased the bike. I mean...this is a new Strat (4,500 miles) under warranty and I have to wait as long as a month just to find out what the diagnosis is? Doesn't seem right to me. One of the reasons I purchased this bike (among others) was because of it's reputation for reliability, yet here I am worrying about this stuff and wondering if I'm going to be able to take the road trips I planned for the summer.

MP Liner please let me know what the diagnosis is for your bike since you seem to have a similar problem. Does anyone out there know how much damage would be done to valves, cams, or pushrods if you warm up the bike with bad lifters and no lube is getting to them for 5-7 minutes before you ride? Now I'm wondering if I should only ride the bike when it's over 65 degrees outside so no further damage is done to the engine. I love my Strat, but this stuff sucks.

Hey MPLiner,

Glad to hear your situation has improved and repairs are on the way...it certainly sounds like we have the same problem.

Unfortunately I'm not necessarily convinced this will be the end of it. On the Raider thread I posted about similar lifter problems they had with their 113ci engines, the question came up as to what damage might have been done to other parts of the engine. That clacking noise we heard is metal on metal which could undoubtedly damage or cause excessive wear to other parts. I'm no mechanic, but they were saying to be sure your service department checks the cams, rods, valves, or any other parts that might have been damaged or worn due to lack of lubrication caused by the lifter problem. Of course these are things that may not show up for several years when the bike is no longer under warranty!

Now that our problem has been clarified and help is on the way, the worry I had is gradually turning into more of a pissed off kind of thing. I mean...you buy a brand new expensive bike that is supposed to be "bullet proof" and can't even go 5,000 miles before some major problem comes up? I guess I can understand the newly developed 113ci engine in '06 might have some glitches at first, and since my bike is an '07 it could fall into this category. But your bike is an '09! Even though it seems most of the 113ci engines don't have this problem, you'd still think after 4 years of production Yamaha would have fixed this problem and service departments would be aware of the situation.

This has certainly shaken my confidence in Yamaha and their quality control. When I purchased the bike my dealer said I should get 200,000 miles before any major work would be necessary. While some of this was undoubtedly BS, the design and quality of the engine does lead one to believe it should be very reliable and last a long time. Let's hope this is the case, and that after our lifter problems are fixed we'll have many trouble free years flying like the wind.


To infinity and beyond!

big trouble in oil city

Stratonut said:

The prolonged (over 5 minute) valve lifter knocking when warming up did begin after the 600 mile tuneup, but it was also late fall and the outside temp was dropping. At the time I was running 20W50 oil. I contacted the dealer and he said I might need to run a lighter weight oil or synthetic during the colder winter months. When the bike still knocked with synthetic oil (15W50) on a 60 degree day I became worried. type of oil with no problems. However, it does appear this may be the reason for my problems.

Click to expand...

i am a motorhead. the sounds you hear are not typical. when you changed thwe oil at 600 did you get the right oil filter? the wrong oil filter could cause a no oil pressure situation and could premanantly damage the engine. i live in minnesota and have AMS oil 20-50 synth in and did not hear lifter noise when i started mine a few times this winter. in fact i have NEVER heard lifter noise from my bike. there are two reasons you would hear noise from hyd lifter.
1. they are out of adjustment (for multiple reasons).
2. there is no oil presure (for multiple reasons)
we will assume you do not have sticky lifters as it is a new bike and this is more typical of 100,000 mile gummed up worn out car motor. the noise may have nothing to do with the lifters "per se" but that they are showing you there is a problem in the oiling system. if this is the case i would be very worried about bearing damage to the rod and main bearings. you should not have driven the bike after the 600 mile change if it started directly after as this, as is not normal and you noticed the difference immediatly after the oil change. i would check out the oil filter a.s.a.p. as this is the only thing changed except the oil. i would use genuine yamaha oil filter. this way you know it is correct and not some cheapo unit that can fail. did the dealer do the oil change? if so and they installed the wrong filter they are liable. if you did it and installed the wrong filter you may have ruined you warranty due to this. check that filter asap. the yamaha filters are highest quality also. i hope you check this out before you take it to the dealer so if you did put the wrong filter on you can change it for the right one then take it in. if you do have the correct filter then there is something very wrong with your bike. i have only heard good things so far for the most part on this motor and i drive mine very hard and have not had even one little noise or glitch. let us know how this turns out.