Oh dear!

Sounds to me it's either flat battery or a faulty starter relay!

first thing to do would be to drain oil on normal oil plug.if no metal particles seen take off other bolt on bottom of motor(8mm allen).look for metal there.if no metal take left engine cover off and check cam chain,starter gear/starter.
next would be valve train.

[yorkie_chris]

Since it was the tapping first I'd suspect valve related trouble.

Since it fired up, then stopped, I doubt it'll be the starter, the clank from the front seems to support valve trouble too.

If valves have hit pistons then there could be damage.

First thing to do is get the timing cap off and rotate the engine with a socket, see what happens.

sound travels weird ways in motors.
I would say rod bearing,reason to drain oil.

Can't speculate really, you need to start looking for the problem.

On left hand engine casing remove the large blanking plug using an allen key. Use a 17mm socket, extension bar and ratchet to turn the engine over by hand. It should turn and you should feel the compression build up resistance against you. You should not hear any clunking noises or feel any harsh through the ratchet. Turn it round at least 2 revolutions if you can.

If you feel or hear anything harsh or it locks solid then something is broken.

Drop the radiator out of the way, you will need to remove the wiring to the rad and possibly the horn. Then use an allen key to remove the 3 bolts holding down the front engine cam cover. Once removed look at the chain to see if it is OK. You can remove the rear cam cover as well but you have to raise the tank. Try turning the engine with the ratchet again and watch the top of the chain and look for any damage.

If all appears OK you may need the engine out to strip it as it could be something internal. Might be cheaper to get an engine off ebay of for sale items on this site.

Tim

[northwind]

Yeah, see, I'd say do the cam covers and rotate the crank because I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to turn out to be something simple And that's free and non-invasive.

When did you buy the bike as i seem to remember you only got it recently?

Maybe the seller pulled a fast one.

Originally Posted by northwind

Yeah, see, I'd say do the cam covers and rotate the crank because I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to turn out to be something simple And that's free and non-invasive.

Hopefully, what i'm gonig to do is get my mate down to have a look then tell him to follow what you've all said on here lol cheers. btw do you think leaving it will do any damage?

[yorkie_chris]

Well if its not running at all its not going to do much!

If I thought (but was not sure) that the engine had seized somehow, I think I'd take the spark plugs out, put the bike in gear and either try to wheel it, or push the wheel round whilst on a paddock stand. It should turn over relatively easily with the plugs out. If not, then I'd look further.