Death rattle-cam chain tensioner? Help please!

[david vaughan-birch]

Hi all, I've got a '99 1150 GS on 150k, which over the last couple of weeks has started making a god-awful rattle/rumble on neutral throttle/over-run. I cant hear anything but i can feel it through the pegs, especially when changing down through the gears. It lasts a few seconds and isnt there at all in neutral or when the clutch is in, and as soon as the power's on it seems to go away again. Steve Scriminger rebuilt the gearbox and final drive about 6 months ago so I dont think its that-do you think it might be the camchain tensioner (still on the original) or something different/more serious? Glad to hear any thoughts your collective wisdom might have!

 

[Paul Young]

2 thoughts:
If it's not there at all, in neutral or when the clutch is pulled in, you can probably rule out the cam chain stuff, or anything else in the engine.
It almost certainly sounds like drivetrain so try rolling the rear wheel with the bike on the stand & see what it feels like in neutral. Then take the plugs out & try turning the rear wheel with the bike in gear. A gearbox bearing or rear wheel bearing sounds like a likely culprit.

 

[david vaughan-birch]

thanks for that Paul-I've done as you suggested and the rear wheel feels rough in neutral and theres a slight sideways wobble although theres no oil leak (yet). Thinking on it, it last had a rear wheel bearing about 100k miles back so its probably due another one. Off to Pidcocks I guess!