New noise from RH Head area - high mileage 1150 ADV...

Steptoe, sir. I am sure that you know that countless 1150 owners are now removing their valve covers in dreaded anticipation. Well done. Thank you.
I just ran out now to have a look at mine. Have you any thoughts as to what may have caused this damage? It looks to me as though that head was over heated a bit.
Great pictures.

Two suspected causes of cam follower damage are valve lash too tight and lubrication failure. By the looks of those heavy varnish deposits there was overheating and/or extended oil change interval. The engine calls for API SF/SG. Newer automotive oils are SL/SM with low levels of ZDP.

Ok, i'll be the bunny, wtf is "zdp" / and is it a good thing or a bad thing?:eek1

It's known as zddp here -Zinc Dialkyl Dithio Phosphate. A motor oil additive.
It helps to reduce metal-on-metal wear...
This resolution thread may not be an issue for Mike anymore....
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=838185&page=4

Well the good news is, I don't have to worry about the noise from the right hand valve gear...



Mike

Holy shit, what happened? Are you okay?

So was the ticking a bomb then?

I was really looking forward to learning from this one. Here comes a new thread.

UNREAL!!! :eek1 :eek1 :eek1

?

yikes. yeah, must have been.

-k

That's the righthand side of the engine in the pictures - The left hand side was in perfect condition

Well, yes, I am one of those "countless 1150 owners".
I had a bad sound developing on the right side of the engine. Removed cam and - here you go, the same picture with the exception that only half of cam and one follower is broken - the exhaust side.
For the intake part all seems well. Maybe that's why the sound is not that loud compared to videos in this thread.
I wonder if it would be possible to fix the cam somehow (welding/grinding/hardening)?

Also would be interesting to find out the cause of this problem. I would rule out the wrong oil, lack of oil and prolonged change intervals. Normally I keep valve lash on "tappy-happy" side...

:eek1 :eek1 :eek1

That's not nice. I hope it is insured. Any idea what caused the fire?

That's the sound of a worn TB shaft bushing. Been there had that. Put a finger against the the TB cam, pulley thingy and you'll be able to verify straightaway. Glad the problem was solved [sic] but hope you didn't get injured in the process.

You might want to read the ENTIRE thread.

I had. Other than the bike having been destroyed (in effect "solving the problem") what else did I miss

That is wasn't the throttle body causing the noise

My point exactly.