Engine whine

The noise that my XJ650 Seca was making when the cam chain tensioner was stuck seems to have been making another noise. Since I fixed the adjuster, I have been hearing a whine that sounds like it is coming from the valve/cam area. I have heard similar sounds when one of my PC fans went out so I am really nervous about this one. I am not sure where to start looking for the fix for this. My brother thinks it is an air leak, but it sounds more like something rubbing to me.

I checked the valve clearances when I had the valve cover off a few were close to the max but all were in spec. I also checked that oil was reaching the top of the engine. (Note: Cranking the engine with the valve cover removed gets messy) What else should I check?

 

Mine has a whine in it that I think is normal. Generally here it when just cruising along with little or slight load on the engine.

I think it's the normal whine of the chain and gears.

But a little more info would help, does it do it always, under load, etc?

 

yes as above , more info , loud whine? ect ect .

 

The whine gets louder when I am reving the engine. Seems to be tied to engine speed more than load. I can hear it up to around 5K rpm then the exhaust gets too loud.

I borrowed a mechanic stethascope and traced it to the vale/cam area so it may just be normal engine noise. I don't know anyone with an XJ close by to compare it with.

 

I'm not sure if the seca has an adjustable cam chain tensioner or not. Maybe someone else will chime in.
Good luck

 

I just checked the manual and it should have a manually adjusted tensioner.
So that may be something to look into.

 

Is it more of a whistle/howl? My seca does this about the same rpm I belive to the air intake. Quite a few bikes do the most on when riding

 

Having just replaced the cam chain and done a head redo.. I found that there is No whine with fresh bits... there is only a bit of 'whirring' ant that basically with a stethoscope a new chain is pretty darn quiet. What have you got?: a roller chain or the later flat link thing?
Possibly? your old tired chain is running on the guides , producing the noise you are hearing... lift the cam cover and check the chain for side to side slop.. there should be little to none. Pull the guides and look at their wear/condition.
G'luck.