BlackheathMatt

That's my current thinking too. I'll wait to see and ride the NT1100 (and the about to be launched Triumph Tiger Sport 660 too) before pulling the trigger.

Update to an old thread (and apologies to Grum for not replying to his PM on the subject). Disconnecting the PAIR valve electrical connector definitely made the chirping noise go away. I reconnected the connector I couple of weeks ago out of interest and the noise returned. Bike is also noticeably nicer to ride with it disconnected - less low RPM/light throttle snatchiness. Have disconnected it again and will leave it disconnected. Thanks all.

Not intentionally - but my bike has only done a couple of hundred miles in the last year due to Lockdown (like many of ours' I imagine). Changed oil and filter last week at the 1 year point as usual anyway - oil came out surprisingly dirty, so perhaps a flush with cheap oil every few oil changes is worthwhile.

Interesting read - thanks. Even though I've done countless oil changes in cars and bikes - I always hate watching the oil light stay on for those few seconds that always seems like an age whilst the engine circulates oil and fills the filter - worrying how much wear is occurring. Those few millimetres that you don't get out on a warm/hot oil change aren't in the sump because they're still coating the bearings and moving surfaces for those few seconds of the post oil change startup - that's a good thing surely ? I'll be sticking with warm oil changes.

Thanks both. Didn't occur to me to put a magnet on the outside of the oil filter but that's a really good idea - will do that too. Will put one on the filter on my car too. What glue do you use to attach to filter ? I've got some Gorilla Glue that seems to stick anything to anything and stay stuck when it gets wet - will use that unless you suggest anything better.

Going to change the oil and filter on my bike this weekend. Thinking I might fit a magnetic drain plug when I do it - on the basis that I can't imagine it will do any harm and might do some good. Anyone used one ? Do they catch any debris that the filter wouldn't otherwise trap ?

Do you get a different ECU map with the Akropovik OEM exhaust ? Aware that Triumph does this with their Arrow OEM exhaust option.

Lovely - and you're just down the road from me - will keep a look out for you. Enjoying my 6th Gen enormously - but at some point soonish I'll change it for a clean low mileage 8th Gen and keep it until we're all forced to ride electric bikes. Seems the perfect motorcycle for my wants and needs. What difference does the Akrapovic exhaust make apart from looking good ? Would it upset my neighbours ?

Nice one, thanks. Enjoying a New Year's Eve glass of Malbec right now but will check it out tomorrow. I'm enjoying learning about my bike with all of your help as much as I'm enjoying riding it. Happy New Year !

Thanks once again. At the risk of sounding like a total newb - where is the flapper valve solenoid and the connector I need to pull to disable it ?

Here is the connector I disconnected in the first picture, which leads to the solenoid just behind the airbox (with my finger on it in the second picture). I assumed this is the PAIR valve and its solenoid - but perhaps I misunderstood and this is actually the flapper valve mechanism.

Apologies for delayed update - life has been a bit crazy recently and I only just got some bike time this week. Unplugged the power to the pair valve solenoid and went for a longish ride - didn't hear the noise under the circumstances when I normally would - so pretty sure that was it. I think the bike feels smoother and less snatchy on and off the throttle at low rpm - but could be a placebo effect ! Thanks for the help.

Not really - but thanks for asking. Weather has been terrible in the UK for last couple of weeks - and we're still under lockdown for the next 10 days - so haven't ridden much. Irritatingly the last time I did ride the bike I didn't hear the noise. Have however familiarised myself with unplugging and reconnecting the solenoid - so next time it happens I can quickly disconnect it know if this is the issue.

Thanks once again. Apologies for potentially dumb question - I'm aware that many choose to disable the flapper valve by blanking off the sensor tube. If I disable it by disconnecting the solenoid - will the flapper valve default to the open position ?

Thanks. Have ridden the bike a few times since and the circumstances under which I hear this noise are now consistent and predictable. It happens when moving the throttle from closed to very slightly open either at idle or at very low revs either when stationary or trundling along in traffic. It doesn't happen when the bike is cold - only when it's warmed up sufficiently for the revs to drop to normal "warmed up" idle speed. I don't hear the noise when on the open road using more revs and bigger throttle openings and open road performance seems normal. I'm still undecided if the bike is more sluggish than usual when trundling along in heavy traffic. It's an almost electronic sounding chirp, not a clatter or rattle - so don't think it's a cam tensioner. Also does not correlate with using the clutch - only with throttle movements. Noise is definitely from the tank area - so increasingly suspect the variable intake solenoid. Will have some time this weekend to play with the bike, so will disconnect and report back. Thanks again.

Took my bike out for a quick ride to the shops last night (we're under another COVID lockdown in England, so took the opportunity to combine a quick ride with a trip to the supermarket for essentials). Bike ran fine on the 10 minute ride the the supermarket. Started the bike to ride back home and let it idle whilst putting my helmet and gloves on (I'd only been there 10 mins so bike still warm) - thought it was idling a bit slow and sounded a bit uneven, but it responded normally to a quick blip of the throttle so I thought nothing of it. Got on the bike and edged out of my parking space - as soon as I opened the throttle and moved forward I heard a chirping noise somewhere around the clocks/tank area - similar to the noise a 1990s car alarm makes when arming/disarming. I stopped and moved off again and the same thing happened. I rode home gently and every time I opened the throttle even just slightly I heard the same noise. I thought the bike felt sluggish and unresponsive, almost as if it was being starved of air or fuel - but I was riding very gently with low revs and small throttle openings on account of the greasy roads and the bike is always a bit sluggish when ridden like this - and I was anxious because of this strange noise and just wanted to get the bike home - so it's possible I imagined the sluggishness. I got home without incident - left the bike running in neural and worked the throttle a few times - heard same noise every time I opened the throttle even slightly, so probably not a clutch or drive train issue. Thought it might be a throttle cable or linkage issue so shut down and worked the throttle a few times, no noise - so probably not that. I let the bike stand for a few minutes - started up again and rode carefully round the block, the noise had gone and the bike felt fine. Decided to risk a quick 5 mile ride along the bit of urban dual carriageway that runs through town riding at constant 40 to 50 few minutes and accelerated hard a few times - bike felt normal and didn't hear the noise again. Rode the bike arounf the block from cold for a couple of minutes this morning and didn't hear the noise and it feels fine. Had a look at old threads on here and elsewhere last night. Found a thread with a similar issue and the solenoid to either the Flapper or PAIR valve seemed to be the likely issue (thread linked below). Also found a number of references on both car and bike forums suggesting that throttle bodies can make these sort of noises when the butterfly valves don't close fully. The obvious next step is to disconnect the Flapper and PAIR solenoids one at a time if the issue does recur - but I'd be grateful for any thoughts/advice.