Honda TRX400 Engine Noises Q&A

What does it mean when you hear strange noises coming from your Honda ATV's engine? What could it be when you hear odd sounds such as ticking or popping from the motor?

Our resident ATV expert John Talley goes live on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern, and in this edition, John addresses ticking and popping noises coming from two of our viewers' Honda TRX400 engines. 

TRX400 Ticking

Do Honda TRX 400 EX models have loud top ends? I hear a slight ticking. What could that be?

John Talley: More than likely that’s just a valve out of adjustment. That ticking sound is usually the rocker arm with too much clearance on top of the valve itself, and it’s just letting it bounce too much, making a clicking sound. So adjust the valves. I’m pretty sure we did a video on how to do that for that particular make and model.

Watch the video above to see how to do a valve clearance adjustment on a Honda TRX400.

TRX400 Popping

I have a 400 EX and when I go to turn it over, it sits and pops over and over and sounds like it wants to start but it won’t turn over. Any thoughts?

John Talley: What have you been doing to it? Because that sounds like the timing is off for some reason. I need a little more information because it sounds like it’s actually trying to pop back through the exhaust or ignite back through the intake. And if you haven’t done anything and it’s still popping like that, chances are your intake valves may be a little too tight and it’s trying to ignite with the valve not shut all the way because they’re not adjusting correctly. If you haven’t done any modifications to it as an engine build, then check your valve clearance at top dead center.

Watch the playlist above to see how to do a top end rebuild on a Honda TRX400.

Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.