Piston slap

[hsankey]

Got a knock on right side guessing it is piston slap, how hard would a cylinder/piston swap be on the bike without engine removal? Only 60,000 miles bought it used, probably good for another 60 but ebay parts seem reasonable.

[timl]

According to my Haynes manual the level of difficulty is 3 wrenches, out of a possible 5. No need to remove the engine.

Let us know what you find. I've got something similar with my Rockster at 65k miles.

[hsankey]

I'm going to keep checking things trying to make sure what the problem is before jumping in to major work, compression, boroscope and get professional advice. Need to double check cam shaft end play. I do think the job looks doable.

[kirby]

Don't jump to conclusions. If you have a noise that you are diagnosing as piston slap it may have come from your preconceived notions and the noise maybe something totally unrelated to pistons.
oilhead beemers are not known for piston problems.
Does the noise happen when cold, as in just after start, or only when hot? If it is all conditions I would look to something else before concluding a piston problem especially if it is on only one side.
Get the oil analyzed. If there was ever an oil starvation it very possibly show up there. (Blackstone Labs goggle that))
Do a compression check.
Use a good stethoscope and try to locate the area of the noise. A boroscope is an excellent idea if you know an aircraft mechanic , most have the capability at a local airport.
BTW doing a cylinder change is very doable without pulling the engine, in fact it is easier because the machine on the center stand is a perfect engine stand.
I can think of an other thing that will make a strange sound.
Rocker float would be one and that is easy to check.