I have a weird engine noise, need help!!!

I have an engine noise that is kind of weird, I took the side covers off and the clutch basket to see if anything is loose but it seams to be all good,,, below is a link to a vide of the engine noise. Plese let me know any suggestions on what I should check into on this motor,,,

Starter stuck engaged possibly.

You could try using the Kick Start instead. If there is still the noise, use a stethoscope or a piece of hose up to your ear. Pin down which side if you can. Could be Rotor Magnets have come loose.

Sounds like your carbs are out of synch.

The noise seams to be coming from the clutch basket side, but its kind of hard to tell, I took the basket apart but not sure what to look for, it all looks to be good... How can know if the starter stays ingaged is there a way of telling, I took the rotor and the clutch basket off to inspect it, how can I check magnets?

Just checked everything and I can't find where the noise is coming from, pulled the clutch and the stator and rotor, everything checks out good,,, My last hope is the starter, but I'm not sure how the starter could be making that noise, does the starter always sping with the engine or it shoud disingae correct??

Its weird im having the same problem and just posted today about it on my 650, People are saying its the sound of a bad bearing, I too am hoping its something with the stater only. I will let you know if I find anything out.

The starter does not spin with the engine when the engine is running. There is a clutch mechanism that engages the starter when it is spinning faster than the crankshaft but disengages it when the crankshaft is spinning faster than the starter. It's basically a big spring and a gear on a worm gear. Could be that the spring has given up the ghost and now the starter gear can travel down the worm gear allowing it to smack against the crankshaft gear and making that oh so unpleasant noise.

Locate your starter solenoid, it will be under the left side-cover. You will see two smaller wires connected to it, one black one and one black and yellow one. Disconnect either or both of them (there should be connectors nearby it).
Start the bike with the kick starter. If the noise went away, it's probably your solenoid being engaged all the time which would indicate a shorted starter switch or a short to the hot somewhere in the starter button circuit.
If it doesn't go away,
Disconnect the red cable connected to the starter solenoid that comes from the battery and start the bike with the kick starter. Make double dang sure that the loose end on the red cable isn't touching any metal!
If the sound went away it means your starter solenoid (or relay, that's what Kawasaki calls it) is mechanically stuck in the engaged position which means it's gotta be replaced.
If it didn't go away,
Pull the starter motor out of its housing, start the bike with the kick starter and see if the noise is gone. It's not hard to do.
If it went away, then your starter clutch (in the car world it's called a Bendix) has failed and you need another starter.

These tests will eliminate the starter as the cause of this noise. If none of these tests resolve the issue then you may have a dynamo rotor coming apart and making contact with the stator.
This is a definite possibility but since you can't pinpoint the noise, you are going to have to be methodical and eliminate one thing at a time. If you suspect it's the rotor, you will have to pull the left side engine cover off and inspect the rotor and the stator to see if they are indeed making contact. Put the bike on the center stand and put something under it to catch the oil that will come out of that cover. It won't be a lot but enough to make a big mess. If the bike is left on the side stand, it will be a BIG mess. Make sure you put another gasket on the cover when you put it back together or you will have an irritating oil leak.
These engines have roller crank bearings so they won't make the same noise if they are damaged as a plain bearing will. It's more rare that they get destroyed, especially on a non-abused, stock engine.
On the back of the cylinders is your valve chain tensioner. When the engine is running and making that noise, grab that tensioner real tight and see if it is popping or knocking to determine if your valve chain is slapping around. Of course, do this before the engine gets into the NASA-hot range!

BTW, that is a beautiful bike.

I watched your video several times. Toward the end of it when the camera passes the oil level window I do not see any oil in there or circulating through the way it normally would. Do you have oil in the crankcase and is it circulating when the engine is running? If not you may be frying the engine. Here's a blurry pic of what I see:

Reply to DiamondSkyBlue1000

Thanks for all the info on this, I will try to eliminate the noise by pulling the starter, I think that will be the best start to see if the starter is making the noise, than i will check and see... I'm fairly sure the noise is not a crankbearing, I don't think they sound like that, I would think it would be more of a grinding noise.... I will also check the tensioner, I did not check that yet because it does not sound like a chain slop I had that on other bikes and this sounds different but I will still check it, it might be in there.

Reply to 650ed

I have oil in the bike, but it is so clear that you can't see it, compleatly restored this bike so the oil window is perfectly clear and the oil is clear so you can't see it. But please let me know if you find out about your noise too....

00. wrote: Reply to DiamondSkyBlue1000

Thanks for all the info on this, I will try to eliminate the noise by pulling the starter, I think that will be the best start to see if the starter is making the noise, than i will check and see... I'm fairly sure the noise is not a crankbearing, I don't think they sound like that, I would think it would be more of a grinding noise.... I will also check the tensioner, I did not check that yet because it does not sound like a chain slop I had that on other bikes and this sounds different but I will still check it, it might be in there.

Reply to 650ed

I have oil in the bike, but it is so clear that you can't see it, compleatly restored this bike so the oil window is perfectly clear and the oil is clear so you can't see it. But please let me know if you find out about your noise too....

That raises another question. I have never seen clear motor oil; what oil are you using? Ed

the motor is a fresh rebuild so there was not a speck of dirty oil in the engine case, I droped the oil pan, and rebuilt the top end,,,, when I ran the motory it only had about 3 minutes on the motor, so its just super clean, regular castrol oil its a bit yellowish thats all... Oh and the cover and sigth glass is new too so its hard to see the oil in there but its there....