So riding home today this noise did my head in so I put it in the garage and took the clutch cover off. Sadly the final drive nut was tight.
Looking through the crankcase at the big end bearing there is visible play when I rock it back and forth on the down stroke. Looks like I need a new crank pin and rod and a whole lot of time to sort it out
Has anyone else heard of big ends going at 32,000 ks? Googling only comes up with loose primary drive nuts.
Found this also... with the water pump removed you can get a good look at the drive nut and gear without having to take the whole clutch cover off. Also instead of jamming rags and bits of soft metal in the gears to tighten the nut which I have read about you can put a 1/2” rod through the hole in the crankcase which lines up perfectly on the crank web as it comes around to lock the crank. Seemed far safer than loading the gears to take the torque load.
Anyway I’m not sure if I should pull it down, fit a new crank and ride it forever or chuck it together and get better ear plugs....