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hi, i have a kdx200 and it has an irritaing rattle like a marble in a bean can. its not bottom end as i have recently replaced the main bearings and the big end bearing checked out ok. i replaced the little end bearing and the piston was fairly new.could it be the kips rattling?

Could be the kips. Or a skid plate or other guard. When do you hear the noise?

Do you hear it mostly at idle? If so, it's the KIPS.

kdx's rattle

if it irritates you maybe you'd be better off on a loud obnoxious 4 stroke

While kdxs DO ratttle. Not EVERY rattle is supposed to be there. Just ignoring an engine noise and assuming its by design is, well, not smart...

You have been given excellent pointers so far:

Is it new? The rattle, not the bike
Is there any time (rpm wise) when it's most evident
Is your pipe secure?
Any aftermarket pieces (skidplate etc)? Are they loose?
Does it go away when you pull in the clutch?

I found the rattling on my bike when I first got it to be, disconcerting to say the least. But, they are noisy motors. Now I find the rattle reassuring. If that doesn't work I ride my xr400 with a big noisy obnoxious 4 stroke.....

Good luck

or you can wear ear plugs

I have had thoughts about how nice it would be at times to have a radio or even a ipod in the helmet.

thank you all for your replies. i am suspicious of the kips as it is mostly on idle, as the revs pick up it goes away. operating the clutch doesn't make a difference. so as long as its more than likely the kips and not causing damage then i'm happy.

A healthy KDX sounds like a diesel on crack.

Bruce wrote:thank you all for your replies. i am suspicious of the kips as it is mostly on idle, as the revs pick up it goes away. operating the clutch doesn't make a difference. so as long as its more than likely the kips and not causing damage then i'm happy.

You could start the bike up and push on different things to see if the noise changes. Like put your foot on the pipe, skid plate, ect....

Mr. Wibbens wrote:kdx's rattle

if it irritates you maybe you'd be better off on a loud obnoxious 4 stroke

Zing!

You can isolate noises with nothing but a length of 2x2. Put one end
directly against whatever, and the other directly against your ear.
Sound travels better through a solid,and touching directly helps isolate.
If this seems too weird, you can buy a mechanics stethescope at
Harbor Freight for about $7.

If it is the KIPS, I believe pulling the head for an inspection is in order.

KIPS valves just rattle at idle. Nothing to worry about. Seriously.

hmmm i shall try the stethascope idea, a long screwdriver does the trick.
however when i had the engine in bits i completly stripped the kips to clean off all the crap. and before anyone asks, yes i did install it correctly. and the noise was there

That's good. They definitely rattle more when clean than they do when dirty!

Consider this. At idle, the governer arm is not putting any pressure on the rods which actuate the valves, so the valves and rods are free to rattle around a bit. The noise goes away when the arm begins to move and puts pressure on everything.

At least, that's my explanation for the mysterious "kips rattle". lol

My experience is that the KIPS rattle always noticeably subsides when the clutch lever is pulled in...I wonder why yours doesn't?

I noticed mine got louder after I cleaned the kips.

kawagumby wrote:My experience is that the KIPS rattle always noticeably subsides when the clutch lever is pulled in...I wonder why yours doesn't?

Maybe it's not the kips YOU are hearing

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If I had a dollar for every pixel in that video, I'd have around $34.27...