Metal in oil and mystery noises

SO its finally getting cold around here (40) so I decided to get ahead of the game and put in some lighter oil.
The bike has ~ 12500 miles and the filter was changed at 10,800 and the oil was changed once between then without a new filter. This time I noticed metal grains and small shavings inside the bowl that holds the filter. I don't know what is a "normal" amount and what should cause worry, (this is my first bike) . There wasn't much around the drain plug magnet and no large pieces. I cut the filter and found it generally sparkly with grit. It seems to be both aluminum and other metals when tested with a magnet.
I did the valve shims at 11,600 so maybe some of this is from then? I also just tried to adjust the timing chain but didn't hear any click to indicate too much slack.
This aside I had a noticeable whine or tea-kettle like humming. If I pulled in the clutch and rolled to a stop it would cut out suddenly between 1200-2000 rpm. I don't think its tach noise since I don't hear anything when I'm stopped and revving the bike. The only thing I can think of is oil pressure in fuel filter housing.
Any ideas? There might also be a slight metalic buzz or ringing around 2500rpm if that helps any.
Thanks!!

 

Did you take any photos of the shavings? The XJs have a normal cam whirring that some myself included think sounds nice. The tea-kettle whine that you mentioned may be just that. It is normal.

 

You sure it's not the speedometer? Cable? Drive gear?

The cam chain adjuster won't always make an audible sound; if you followed the correct procedure then it should be OK.

Keep in mind that the shaft-driven bikes have a different sound than the chain-driven 550/600 series due to the difference in primary drive. A 550 shouldn't be whining.

What oil are you running? You should be using 20W40 or 20W50 when it's warm out; and if you're regularly riding in temps below 40F you can switch to 10W30. Always motorcycle oil, of course.

There are a number of possibilities for a whining sound from a 550, give us a bit more to go on. It's NOT the "normal middle gear whine" that the shafties have, our bikes don't have a gear-driven primary. Your sound could be from a number of different sources like the cam chain guides, or even exhaust components "singing" or buzzing against surrounding parts.

The amount of metal you found isn't alarming but may be worthy of note. Normal shim wear won't give you shavings. I would definitely check things like the front cam chain guide and the center guide, etc. If it doesn't turn out to be one of the instruments. (Highly likely.) Have you had the clutch apart yet?

 

Thanks for the replies. The noises seem to have quieted down but I still think there is something going on. My feeling is the chain guide might be the problem. Is there a way to check these out? And I haven't had the clutch apart. I wouldn't mind getting into the bike I bit even if its just to know there's nothing wrong. I did have to loosen the exhaust since it's an aftermarket Kerker 4-1 so I'll make sure I re-torque all the bolts to spec.
I put in 10w-40 since thats all they had. Do you think the 10w-3o would be much of a difference?
Thanks again!
-rtanner. I didn't get a picture of the shavings, sorry, that would have been a good thing to remember

 

I drained the oil and filtered it today, and found hardly any grit so maybe its all good.
Does the 550 have a way to look for any floating pieces? I read some other threads that mentioned
the look through hole under the left shifter cover but I don't see anything like it on my 550
-mike

 

Let's clear a couple of things up:

The chain guide breaking up thing you read about is only on the shaft-driven bikes. Their "primary chain" really isn't (it only drives the jackshaft that has the alternator and starter on it) and it has a fixed plastic guide that disintegrates. Not so in the 550s (and 600s.) Our primary chain is a true primary chain, it's the primary drive from the crank to the trans. As such, it's tensioned by an hydraulically operated (oil pressure) tensioner that is NOT prone to breaking up.

Don't be worried about floating pieces.

The chain guides you need to look at are for the cam chain; there is one in the front, attached to the head and one in the rear which is attached to the upper crankcase and acted upon by the tensioner. There is also a small third one in the center between the cams. You can see the front and rear guides using a flashlight and an inspection mirror (or borrow a "compact" mirror from your significant other) with the valve cover off. You can look down the cam chain and see the guides and assess their condition. Do not under any circumstances monkey with the bolt holding the rear tensioner to the crankcase. What procedure did you use when adjusting the cam chain?

Also, if you've never had the clutch apart I'd strongly suggest you do so. http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/index...-101-part-1-the-400-550-600s-with-pics.29541/ Somebody else just had one go kablammo in his 550.

As for oil, if it's cold enough out, then 10W30 or 10W40 is fine as long as it's MOTORCYCLE oil. Personally I run 20W40 right up until I put the bike away. And I haven't yet.

 

Great, thanks for clearing that up. I'll be taking to cover off as soon as I get a chance. I'm liking getting to know this bike inside and out. I'll go ahead and
look at the clutch as well and do a little assessment. Maybe throw some new parts in there if it they're worn since I've got a little more money than usual. At under 13000 miles though i figure it shouldn't be to bad.

As for adjusting the cam chain, I put the engine at TDC and loosened the lock nut then backed out the screw. Then tightened botch back up to spec.


Thanks again!

 

Hi Everyone,

I'm a little curious about chain noise as well. On the highway, I generally ride with ear plugs in; you can hear higher frequencies that you wouldn't hear otherwise. While operating at higher speeds, I can hear what sounds like whining /metal wearing on metal of some kind - it's not very loud and can only be heard at higher speeds (better heard with ear plugs in). I've read about how these machines should have that classic "sewing machine" idle, and that the shaft drive models will sound different, but this sounds a little odd to me. I checked with a friend who is very mechanically experienced with motorcycles and his thought was that I could be hearing the transmission, as some wet clutch models can have an inherent whining noise.

I should also note that when I had the valve cover off to adjust the valves I noticed some chain wearing on the backside of the valve cover. At the time, I had thought that this might be due to the gasket compressing and wearing (I replaced the gasket with new pressure washers and still have some trace amounts of oil blowing by). I haven't noticed any metal shavings in the oil and the bike is relatively low in mileage (26000 Kilometers/ 15500 miles on the odometer).

Just want to put this out there to see if this is another "normal" with this machine or if I should be concerned at all.

 

Check your cam chain. Sounds like a problem with your tensioner.