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I just bought my xt250 as my first bike after getting my permit about a month ago. It's 2013. At 100 miles I dropped the oil and changed the filter. As a small woman I've also installed lower links to drop the height a bit and raised the front forks a bit. It now has about 224 miles and I've started noticing a clicking or ticking sound coming from just under the gas tank. I notice it mostly when at about 1/4 open throttle. It doesn't do it when I'm going at a steady speed at about 1/2 to 3/4 open throttle. I also notice it when going too slow wen at too high a gear and the bike vibrates like it wants to die. I can't do any one thing to reproduce the noise but it happens all the time at varying speeds.

Any ideas what this could be or what I should check? Also: when I hug the bike with my thighs I notice I can feel the difference in vibration when it makes the noise, so I know its more than just plastic.

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Have you popped off the gas tank? It sounds like it might be something loose that clicks when the engine resonates just right. How loud is the clicking and how regular is it's rhythm? –  Seminecis Sep 1 '13 at 5:13
I have not popped the tank off. As to how loud, loud enough to hear with full face helmet on going 60 mph if that means any thing. My husband can hear it behind me on his bike through his helmet and over his engine noise, so I guess pretty loud. I'm not sure what you mean by regular but the pitch and frequency do not change while this is happening. –  TWhite Sep 1 '13 at 16:05
By regular I mean, when the noise is occurring, is it a consistent pattern similar to a drum beat or is it an irregular click that is a hard pattern to predict? –  Seminecis Sep 1 '13 at 18:39
Yeah, it's regular. –  TWhite Sep 5 '13 at 21:47
does the clicking get faster or slower at different speeds or rpms? –  Seminecis Sep 5 '13 at 23:45

2 Answers 2

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Took it to a mechanic and he found the problem with a test ride. It is a side effect of the lowering links being installed too low. I am just too dang short for the bike. After I sit on the bike the chain hits the chain roller (which was torn all up) and at a certain vibration you hear it clinking away. I'm re-installing the factor links and hope I don't drop the bike. I've been riding it for a month now and feel a lot more comfortable with it. Tippy toes are what I have to live with.

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My bike may be substantially different from yours but, mine has a chain that transfers power from the engine to the transmission. It then has the more obvious chain that transfers power from the transmission to the rear wheel. I need to regularly spray both these chains with chain lube to keep them working.

When I bought the bike it had some links that were fused from neglect and it made a clicking sound. It clicked when rolling because it was the links on the chain to the rear wheel. I felt it through the whole bike. I could see where it was fused by running it on it's center stand and watching the chain. Whenever it went around the sprockets it would visibly jump a little. Replacing the chain fixed the issue.

Since your sound disappears with the clutch applied it could be an issue with the chain that transfers power from the engine to the transmission. Otherwise, it might be a problem in the transmission. Even if yours doesn't use a chain to drive the transmission, it could still be an issue with that mechanism.

If it is a problem with the chains then you can try lubing them to see if that helps before replacing them. Then make certain you lube the chains all the time, the more often the better, at least weekly.

My bike is a 1971 Honda CB750K1 so there will be many differences but, motorcycles are generally similar and basically unchanged throughout the decades.

(I don't know if this answers your question but, I couldn't fit this post in the comments)

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Thanks for the food for thought. I'll research the transmission type. I am probably going to hit up a mechanic this weekend. –  TWhite Sep 12 '13 at 19:55

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