My 98 Evo starts producing a knocking sound once the engine is hot. It still runs just fine, but the noise is driving me crazy. I can hear it while at speed, bu really notice it when decelerating and when at idle in, or out of gear, clutch in, or out.
Lifter with a spring going bad? All help welcome.

 

Lifter with a spring going bad? [/quote]
I had the same noise, it was a lifter.

 

Thanks Mike T. I will break out the service manual to see what it takes to replace the lifters. Done it on plenty of V8s, but never on my bike.

 

If you can let it idle and maybe get a cardboard tube to your ear to try to find the location. If it is on the lifter side then it may in fact be the lifters. Also some cams can be noisy. I had a horrible ticking noise on mine when I bought it. However I assumed it would be the cam, lifters or pushrods. I did not replace the lifters because of my miles but the noise is long gone. I assumed mine was bent push rod or a pushrod cover hitting the push rod it self. I kinda rolled the dice on the lifters but since I have ez install push rods I can now easily replace them.

 

How many miles on your bike? Very good idea to replace lifters every 25k anyway. They don't have a great life span with a stock cam let alone a more agressive one and they make a mess of the rest of the engine when the rollers crap out(from experience). Do some research before buying cause most of the stuff out there is imported. Talked to S&S reps in Sturgis last year and they're beginning to make their own because of supply and reliability problems.

 

Bike has 35K miles. Noise started at about 25K. The engine is stock. Whats it take to replace the lifters on these Evos? I have replaced the rocker box gaskets so I know how to get the top end apart if needed.