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Usually forums just end up with the apparently conflicting approaches of thrash it from new, it only needs 5mins break-in, or it'll glaze the bores if you baby it. There's a difference between what an engine will tolerate and what will result in the optimum condition long term. Most manufacturers have a worst case test where you build a new engine at minimum piston/bore clearance and immediately run it at max power from start up, the idea being it must not seize (at one manufacturer this was known as the "Butch" test). You do that after all other development work is completed. The

That is a very reasonable approach for a competition engine when, as you say, you don't have the luxury of facilities. Providing you can get through the phase of taking the highest asperities off and achieving a decent BAR without scuffing anything it'll be fine. Absolute cleanliness of the bore surface to remove any grit from the honing is crucial, avoiding any "wiping" type action which can push loose grit particles into the grooves is advisable. Washing/flushing with suitable coolant/solvent is preferable. I'd always recommend doing DIY type workshop honing using a suitable cutting fluid, n

Dead interesting account. Thanks, embee.

A trusted bike mechanic (not necessarily a main dealer either) or a fellow NC owner might need just thirty seconds to dispel your fears, especially if you're obsessing with this noise - which it's quite easy to do Steve. In all honesty though, the car-derived NC engine has probably been built well enough that anything major would produce obvious issues - bear in mind that the four cylinder version in the Jazz is cosseted with a miriad of anti-vibration mounts and more or less given a tog 20 quilt to keep the noise down in it's particular application.

I think the important thing to understand about OBD2 is that it only concerns itself with a specific subset of potential fault codes, and they are all to do with stuff that can affect the emissions performance of the vehicle (which, to be fair, means pretty well everything to do with the engine). But most manufacturers implement a large array of additional codes, related to the suspension, transmission, "infotainment" systems, and all the cabin electronics (memory seats, etc). These are almost invariably proprietary and not covered by the OBDII specification. These proprietary pr

Maybe I'm not a petrol head, because I wanna hear all about it! Just FWIW, my Powertrain lecturer said this: the only thing that needs running in on any modern engine is the rings. And you run those in by several full throttle bursts of acceleration over a 5 - 10 mile run. That's it, apart from an early oil change to clear out the swarf and stuff. I'm keen to learn more about this (I regard embee as our wise guru who lives in a cave up the hill, and we bring him offerings of food in return for words of wisdom.)

We make Birds Whisk & Serve in ours. Then it gets pride of place on the dining room table at pudding time. Our guests love the minimalist approach

Sometimes butterflies inside the throttle bodies can get a bit noisey on some engines, I've heard of this on BMWs but not on Hondas.

Exactly. Regardless of the level, if the oil has just been changed it should look clear and bright, either golden yellow or red depending on what they use, but definitely not shi**y brown/black crud like that. Looks like someone has simply added a load of new oil without draining the old out.

I suppose that's why there's jazz, opera, rock and blues as well. Each to their own. (I agree - not a fan of the dry clutch rattle but by god it's a beautiful piece of kit to look at)

I was relieved to have searched and found this thread this morning. I rode in to work today and by the time i'd got here, i'd practically convinced myself that my timing chain was hanging out! So I'm somewhat pleased to find, "They all sound like that Sir"!

If I could have a £1 coin for every flat battery I went to (that owners weren't expecting!) during my AA career I would take Mrs Tex on a luxury world cruise! Or, send her to New York shopping while I rode somewhere exciting!

And keep your fingers well away from the chain whilst it's doing this. One of our members didn't and paid a heavy price. I'd search to find out who the original posters was, but I don't want to see the photos again. Whoever it was, can you please let us know how your fingers are these days? Back to normal I hope.

Yes, it's normal. There is always some slight viscous drag in the gearbox. In fact, I recall reading somewhere that Honda have engineered it in - one of their research papers makes a passing reference, I think.

For exactly the same reason I don't carry one in my car (I always buy automatics): because the last time I needed emergency help with a knackered battery was in 1987 (I remember it well). There's no way I'm going to carry a box around with me to handle those once-in-thirty-years events. Especially as the box itself will require more attention to keep it charged and ready to go than the vehicle it's supposed to be supporting. Do you carry one in your car? I bet you don't. So why carry one for your bike?

I love these. Any sort of fault or failure to get enough load on and they blow ECU's like faulty Christmas tree lights. Viva la sales bonus. Andy

Is that like " 'avin' a giraffe"?

All I need now is to find out where the battery is. 😜

Easier to buy a new battery, your going to need one anyway

They were the cats from the place I was staying. However if I mistimed it I would get held up going out in the morning or returning in the afternoon by a herd of cows being brought in for milking. I would stop well clear of them but one cow always seemed to wander over to investigate until brought back in line by the dog

Looks like someone has been practicing herding cats.

Now that's properly rural, looks like a grand place to stay.

But you should see the yard the cottage was in and the state of the lane used to access it

If you were in the cottage the bike wasn't moving. Is there a prize for solving that conundrum......😜

I may just have been lucky but never got anything in it even when staying in a farm cottage in the Lake District

Me neither, I took off the open cover fitted by the original owner and put the original closed cover back on. It still rattled like a cement mixer part full of half bricks, but cut the volume significantly. It also stopped stones, rain, small children and animals getting jammed in it. 🤐😁

Yoir last scentence sums it up. I find Scat music an offensive noise but others love it For me the dry clutch was part of the Ducati experiance.

I've never understood the delight some folk have in hearing an open dry Ducati clutch. I was on hols once with a chap on a Duke so equipped and it was truly awful. Some noises are nice, others are offensive. Each to their own I suppose.

Those of us who have the (very great) pleasure of riding a 90's Triumph triple or four will know what gargling with a pint of 1/2 inch bolts sounds like at tickover. And like Rocker I've owned a Ducati with an open dry clutch, every other bike is a whisperer by comparison, even when their bottom ends are dropping out. Brian

If you think they were rattly you should have heard my Ducati Multistrada with its dry clutch fitted with a carbon ventilated cover. On one occasion I pulled up behind a young lad driving a real old banger of a car. He heard my clutch as waslooking around his car as if to stay now whats gone wrong with it

Those of us who've had the dubious pleasure of owning British bikes from the 60s and 70s will, of course, know what real engine clatter sounds like. I remember riding things that sounded like they had a bolt inside the cylinder, hammering between piston and cylinder head. Others had valve gear that was so loud you could hear it before the exhaust note when your mate was driving up to your house. Compared with those the NC is almost silent, I guess. But they are a bit noisy for a Honda.

This is precisely the noise. Well described!

What did you say...can't hear you, say again? What...just a minute I'll switch the engine off....ah right, can hear you now. Rattly? No, it's perfectly OK, always been like that.

****uncharacteristic for Honda**** I have to agree with you, i too on the 3 NC's i have had up to now think they are indeed Rattly/clattery lumps of metal. Not at all like a Honda engine, ANY Honda engine i can think of. Lyn.

Excellent discussion - thanks for all the thoughts, insights, suggestions, etc. I agree that the obvious thing is to find another NC and compare the two side by side. I don't know anyone who owns one, but if I'm at the dealer's they might let me listen to one - their demonstrator, perhaps. However, I was very interested to read that several of us consider the engine to be noisy. Fred likens his to a coffee grinder; Andrew can hear a noise and assumes it's valve gear; embee describes them as "quite rattly/clattery"; and Tex's Integra sounded like two skeletons shagging

My Integra sounded like two skeletons shagging in a metal box. But it flew! So I never worried about it..

Steve, it may have been something I have written about injectors you're remembering? They most certainly can 'clack' quite badly and, interestingly, can vary between engines.

When it breaks it is too late. Better to get it checked if your not sure. At least it gives you peace of mind. I didn't say you had to get it checked at a garage anyway getting another NC owner to listen and see if it sounds the same as his/hers should be fine. If it doesn't then get a professional to check it. Prevention is better that cure and usually cheaper

But sticking your elbow in somebody else's ear is an automatic red card😀😀

What a good idea ignore a noise and wait until it turns into something serious which is always a possibility although obviously not always. Always better to get a strange noise checked out and find it is nothing than to ignore it and it goes on to be something serious.