2014 Thunderbird Commander

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I just purchased a 2014 Thunderbird Commander and when under power the engine has alot of noise. But when slowing down the noise isn't too bad. Is that normal for these engines to be on the noisy side. The bike has under 13000 miles. The dealership that I purchased the bike from did an oil change to it before purchase. What grade of oil do you normally run on these bikes. Thanks to all that reply
 
Welcome to TT from Eastern Canada.
What kind of noises are you referring to?
The '14+ T'bird LTs and Commanders had the 1700cc engines that were known to be noisy. A clatter or knock some would call. My '14 T'bird LT did not suffer from this and loved the way the big beast handled.
I ran 10W40 full synthetic with good results.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Yeah I would describe it as clatter noise I guess. I have owned 2 Triumph Rockets in the past and their engines were pretty quite as far as a noisy engine. The reason I questioned the oil was because of the noise. I thought maybe they dumped some cheap stuff in there when they did the oil change. I just wonder if going to more heavier weight oil it would help some of the clatter. I wouldn't think it would need anything done to the engine with only 13000 miles on it.
 
The usual oil for most Triumph engines is full synthetic 4T 10W40 or 10W50. The 'clatter' you are hearing is likely valve train noise. If the valving is shim and bucket as most are the noise will calm down over time as the valves wear and the gap to shim closes. On the old 2300 Rockets you could hear the valve train 'crickets" if you changed to pod filters and removed the snorkel to air box. It's normal.
 
atomsplitter Yeah I had an 2006 and 2008 Rocket and on the 2008 I did have the K&N air pods and could hear the crickets. I just seemed to me to be extra load noise on my 2014 Thunderbird when the engine was under power. Not so much noise when slowing down. I was just concerned. You wouldn't think with only 13000 miles that any shimming needs to be done? I do hope the clatter noise does decrease some.
 
They attributed the noise to piston slap due to the short piston skirts in these engines. You would have to google this and see if you can find a sound/video clip to determine if it's the same noise as yours.
Changing to a better oil may help, 'cause most shops just use whatever is in the big bulk oil barrel. May be good stuff.....maybe not.
Do you have any history, especially maintenance history on your bike?
 
Was the bike originally sold there, do you know? If so, they may provide records without any identifiable info about the previous owner, of course. Did you drive up and trailer it back or they ship it to you?
 
They shipped the bike to me. I don't know if the bike was serviced there or not. That I will ask about when I call them tomorrow. I know the name of pervious owner cause I had to sign the back of title plus other paper work. I made copies of all that I signed.
 
I recently bought a 2011 Storm with 14K miles and then first thing I did was check the valve clearances, and need to replace 5 shims. I did this not because of the noisy valve train, but due to not knowing if the valves had ever been checked/adjusted. I kind of like the noise the motor makes under load, and it doesn’t sound like a ‘bad’ noise to my untrained ear. I’ve owned an ‘09 Bonneville since new and thought something was wrong the first time I took off my helmet with it running while at a gas station. Likely nothing wrong; that’s just how they are.
 
I recently bought a 2011 Storm with 14K miles and then first thing I did was check the valve clearances, and need to replace 5 shims. I did this not because of the noisy valve train, but due to not knowing if the valves had ever been checked/adjusted. I kind of like the noise the motor makes under load, and it doesn’t sound like a ‘bad’ noise to my untrained ear. I’ve owned an ‘09 Bonneville since new and thought something was wrong the first time I took off my helmet with it running while at a gas station. Likely nothing wrong; that’s just how they are.
They make more noise's than a old steam train on worn out tracks , after about 30 miles you just forget about them until the next time you go out on the bike . Re shimming it needs checking every now and then because they don't often have excessive clearance but have none and damage the head .
 
I have about 5,000 miles on my 2014 Tbird commander and it's pretty noisy. With a full face helmet, it mostly goes away. I bought it new and it's been there since new. I have been able to ride for more than a couple miles for the last couple years due to shoulder injuries, so it has kept the mileage down. Hoping to spend some more time this year, but will see. Either way, the clatter is pretty normal. 1 thing I have heard that may be worth looking into is the compression release on the cams. I have heard of those breaking and causing noise.
 
I have heard of those breaking and causing noise
I’ve seen a couple photos taken after one of these exhaust decompressors goes kablooey; lots of bits, but they don’t seem to go very far, nor cause much damage.

Also, if you check/adjust valve clearances yourself, note that the decompressor needs to have its flyweights expanded, as if the engine is running, prior to positioning the cam lobes on valves one and four -the outermost exhaust valves. If this isn’t done the clearances for those two valves will appear to be wildly out of spec in the loose direction. This is not documented in the Triumph Service Manual. Don’t be like me and spend days in the garage beating your head against the wall!
 
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