CCT? Engine Problem? or, just normal??

[love my 03]

Okay, I'm freakin out! '03 Bird 4k miles. Road it on a couple of hot days. Temp got up to 235-245 stuck behind a logging truck in a canyon. Became hyper sensitive to the engine because I was worried about the high temp. So, here's the deal:

Cold start. Light knocking in the engine (like on a '66 Caddy with a sticky lifter). Stays with me when I ride off until the engine warms up. Can hear the knocking at idle (faint), then through the lower gears until the engine reaches temp. Once warm, purrs like normal. No idle problems or anything else.

I've read all the threads about CCT's and the clutch thing. My noise is not effected by the clutch at all.

Does this match the CCT issue, or, do I have a problem?? I'm just not sure from the threads.

[XXMAN]

If your bike sounds likes it has marbles in the engine on startup when it's cold then it warms up and go's away this is normal.

[TechnoGecko]

If you're refering to the 'light knocking noise' that you can hear if you listen closely that comes from what sounds like the bottom of the engine when it gets very hot, then yes my '98 does the same thing. As soon as I get the bike moving for more than 30 seconds at speed (50+mph) it goes away in seconds.

[love my 03]

No, it doesn't do it when its warm or hot. Only on a cold start. I think of the bag of marbles noise (that many others have talked about) as non-rythmic. This is a rythmic knocking, like the sticky lifter in a car noise.

[Northman]

This is a rythmic knocking, like the sticky lifter in a car noise.

May be an exhaust leak where the header meets the cylinder head. Try re-torquing the header bolts, or remove the header and apply some high temp RTV between the gaskets and the pipe.