Hi everyone im a newby, ive just bought a nc29 that has been stood for 2 year, its running and needs a couple of jobs before MOT, fork oil seals, 2 tyres and theres a couple of lights out, but i also have a cammy tap from the top of the engine! could it be the cam or tappets? is it a common fault?
Im gonna flush the engine with an oil flush and replace oil and filter to see if that could help! i also have a faint smell of petrol so that needs looking into aswell but apart from that it seems a decent bike

Not a common fault at all but I reckon you should get the clearances sorted, as you dont know when or if they have ever been checked before, get a Haynes and read through it as the procedure must be done right. Hopefully this will sort it.

It seems that some Nc29s get this petrol smell ocasionally from posts in this forum, even my bike has suffered from it for a short while (loose tap, new gasket fitted), but I would check all fuel pipes, overflows and the fuel tap fittings for any small leaks, the smallest leak will be noticable when ever you get close to the bike, especially if its kept in a small space.

cokidoke wrote:i also have a faint smell of petrol so that needs looking into aswell but apart from that it seems a decent bike

Last time my bike smelt like that the sump turned out to be full of petrol from a faulty fuel tap!

Cammo wrote:Last time my bike smelt like that the sump turned out to be full of petrol from a faulty fuel tap!

lol, internal combustion... 1st gear and then boom!!

Often bikes have fuel i the oil after a period of sitting.

If you ran the bugger with all the old gack oil, its likely not to sound at its best, give it an oil change and see how it sounds.

Clearance check as a safety precaution if it continues? Also check out your exhaust headers, slight holes or gaps at the headers can often sound like a tap or rattle!

I wont ever forget leaving college all those years ago on my GSXR600 SRAD after someone had nicked a collar spring from the headers. I was convinced the big end had gone!!