RE Himalayan 411 weird noise

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Xavier041

Active Member
Hi,

My RE Himalayan 411cc makes a big weird noise.

I’ve already checked:
– the valves,
– the oil pump,
– the decompression spring,
– the clutch.
I also checked the piston compression, which seems to be good.

Is it a problem with the piston, the connecting rod, or the crankshaft?

Could you guys help me ? I m desperate.. only 12000km...
Did somebody have this trouble ?

Thank you very much.
 

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How did you set the tappets( valve clearance)?
Sounds to me like they are too loose
 
as long as the engine is open its hard to judge, the sound will be different from normal. also the clip needs to be longer, do a 10 sec run with closed engine. so far I have no idea what you are talking about.
@Dool: is the oil pump chain normally so loose?

This is a 2019 BS4 right?
 
Thank you very much for the reply,
– yes, it’s normal for the oil pump chain to be that loose. The noise is not coming from there.
– I will make another video with the engine closed, but the noise will still be there.

The motorcycle is a 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 411cc only has 12,000 km and has never had any accident… it’s really discouraging.
 
Dool said:
Comment avez-vous réglé le jeu aux soupapes (jeu de soupapes) ?
Il me semble qu'ils sont trop lâches.
Click to expand...
The valves have been checked; they are correctly adjusted. There is no issue on that side.
Today I’m going to check the injector, and if that’s not the problem, I’ll open the engine soon to see whether the piston has developed any scoring.
 
If you didnt skip on oil changes or ran with low oil there is little chance of the piston having a problem, I have seen fused and badly burnt pistons but they all had oil deficiency. You located the noise on the right side? or did you open both sides?
 
sam2019 said:
as long as the engine is open its hard to judge, the sound will be different from normal. also the clip needs to be longer, do a 10 sec run with closed engine. so far I have no idea what you are talking about.
@Dool: is the oil pump chain normally so loose?

This is a 2019 BS4 right?
Click to expand...
Recently I saw a pic where the owner made a rubbing block to reduce the chain slap, I wouldn't bother myself but it can be done
IMG_4333.jpg
 
sam2019 said:
If you didnt skip on oil changes or ran with low oil there is little chance of the piston having a problem, I have seen fused and badly burnt pistons but they all had oil deficiency. You located the noise on the right side? or did you open both sides?
Click to expand...

So far, I’ve only opened the left side (the distribution chain side).
There has never been an oil shortage—I maintain it properly.


The noise suddenly started when I was at a fairly high RPM climbing a very steep hill.
There was a clear loss of power, then a few seconds later the power came back, but with this terrible noise.

I still don't know exactly where the noise comes from.. even with a screwdriver next to my ear..
 
Dool said:
Recently I saw a pic where the owner made a rubbing block to reduce the chain slap, I wouldn't bother myself but it can be done
View attachment 2706
Click to expand...


I will not put that small “block” on the oil pump chain. The noise isn’t coming from there, even though in the video it might seem like it is.

Anyway, thanks to both of you for your help.
 
I can not hear any terrible noise in the short video you provided. also: I will never know what it sounded before, so you are only qualified to judge if there is a new noise, terrible or not.
if you feel confident to open then engine: you can re-use the head gasket although it may not seem like it, but we have done so many times. if you need a new foot gasket and your dealer has no stock somewhere here is a print file, corel and pdf, that you can use to make your own.

sam2019

Thread 'Sample pattern for cutting cylinder base gaskets'

This is for the LS410 engine (Himalayan/Scram)
Various formats: Corel Draw 2019, pdf, svg 1.1, DXF R14 all in one ZIP file
  • Like
 
Last edited:
sam2019 said:
I can not hear any terrible noise in the short video you provided. also: I will never know what it sounded before, so you are only qualified to judge if there is a new noise, terrible or not.
if you feel confident to open then engine: you can re-use the head gasket although it may not seem like it, but we have done so many times. if you need a new foot gasket and your dealer has no stock somewhere here is a print file, corel and pdf, that you can use to make your own.

sam2019

Thread 'Sample pattern for cutting cylinder base gaskets'

This is for the LS410 engine (Himalayan/Scram)
Various formats: Corel Draw 2019, pdf, svg 1.1, DXF R14 all in one ZIP file
  • Like
Click to expand...


Thank you for your help.I will reassemble everything and make a video once it’s all complete so you can hear the noise.


After that, I will open the engine to check for any marks, scratches, or anything unusual.
 
Hello everyone,
I found it.
It was the pinion rubbing against the cylinder...
We disassembled everything, replaced the piston, the cylinder, the rings, etc.
It takes a very long time, and it is very expensive.
Good luck to those who will have this problem.
 

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I think he mistyped - the only thing that can rub against the cylinder is the piston. however, what he really means is: seized
btw: here is would take 45 minutes and cost about 100 US$

A seized piston is almost always (and I am careful here) based on low oil. In rare cases it could be overheating but only when going very slow for extended time in high ambient temperature.
 
Piston pin? That can also rub against the cylinder.
 
Yes, i have only seen piston pins come out in Harleys due to excessive bigend wear.
Piston seizure is likely in this case, but would changing the parts solve the problem...
 
Hello everyone,
Indeed, I wrote my last post incorrectly.
What I meant to say was that the piston was rubbing against the cylinder.

Replacing the cylinder kit, the piston, the rings, etc...Very expensive and time-consuming!
Click to expand...

…After only 12,000 km! I always maintained the bike properly, particularly the oil, and I never rev'd it very high.
I have never seen that before.
I have to admit that the Royal Enfield Himalayan had been praised to me as a solid and simple bike; I am extremely disappointed.
I should have bought a Japanese brand…

Thank you again for your help
 
Xavier041 said:
I should have bought a Japanese brand…
Click to expand...
you should have asked us before giving the repair job to someone who fleeced you. On top you should have used the situation to upgrade to a 477 piston which is forged and will last longer than the rest of the bike.

That said, we have many bikes here from 2016 onward which have now over 100,000km done with the same engine/cylinders and many of them utterly misused by idiotic renters who rev them up when cold and generally do not know how to handle a bike.
This model has its shortcomings (hence the price) but a weak engine is not one of them.

Did you purchase the bike factory new or from someone used? In which case I am almost certain that guy ran it dry.
 
Thank you for your reply sam2019.

But the repair was indeed entrusted to a garage that knows Royal Enfield well. And the mechanic himself was surprised that this problem came from the piston.

For my part, and without wanting to repeat myself, I have always properly maintained my Himalayan. Furthermore, I have been riding without reckless excess for a good twenty years.

My experience is probably not representative, but it is mine. And again, this experience was costly and took a lot out of me.

If I am posting the results of my journey here, it is so that others may benefit from it.

Have a good day.
 
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