Hi Hayashi...Now my P360 makes the normal whining noise from the EBC area when you turn on the ignition key for a couple of seconds just before the starter button is depressed. One thing I noted about this noise...it started immediately after I took out the battery to top up electrolyte and clean out a mouse nest ( which still had a live mouse in it!) in my battery bay. The noise became clear and obvious immediately afterward so much so that my 5 year old said " it sounds like it's breaking sticks inside of the motor" . My neighbour who I ride with occasionally can hear it while on his bike if he's close enough to me.
So to sum up...the bike never made the normal whining start up noise just prior to start up when in made this cracking sticks noise. This quirk lasted for more than two weeks and was tested and retested daily as I use it as a work bike on my property. The EBC always worked fine through the entire time with the standard mild engine backfire well fully worked. The noise dissappeared completely when clutch cover was removed. The clutch system looked clean and smoothly operated when viewed. The belt was in vg condition.The noise occured only when any amount of thottle was applied and not at idle. It always occured whether engaged in forward or in neutral but only when trottle was applied. This was an 'always' noise and nothing intermittent about it.
The on Tuesday when I went out to get the bike because I had a morning set aside to try to take out the EBC fork/spring assy I noted immediately before start up the bike started to make the whining noise (not the stick breaking noise) after ignition key was turned on but before the starter button was depressed. It had stopped doing this. The stick breaking noise which started immediately after pulling away only a few feet for the last two weeks was also now gone at the same time? and so far has stayed away....so yes I agree, if it ain't broke don't fix it but at the same time I take this bike deep into the northern woods after a 1 hour bardge ride down a fast flowing river and stay there for about 9 days at a stretch....so it make me think about reliability. Sure I can always get out with my buddies but no one likes a bike that ever does that to us....we all tow trailers in. Like I mentioned last year.....I brought this bike into a large certified Kawasaki dealer for the standard 100 hour check...nothing wrong with the bike at all, the largest Kawi dealer within 200 km and they reset the 100 hr belt check light and suddenly they had the bike in "limp mode" and couldn't get it out of limp mode for 3 days! Hayashi you kindly forwarded the infor for the unique P360 2007 reset procedure which I copied and brought to him but he already had the exact same procedure and was already repeatedly contacting Kawaski HQ and had them buffaloed as well. He had the exact same year P360 and same colour for that matter in at the same time as my bike and he had done the same procedure w/o a glitch. He was a very honest mechanic who took me to the back of their large shop and told me that I'd be welcome to try any reset procedure I wished. He had two other seasoned mechanics go through the procedure....no kids. Kawasaki HQ told him to just keep reattempting the same reset procedure. After his 10th or so attempt the bike came out of limp mode. He was doing the exact same thing every time! He said that Kawasaki had seen this a few times in the past but no explantion was given. So the question of flakey electronics which could leave me stranded has crept into my mind. I've owned 2 previous wheelers, one also being a Kawi and never had any ghost in the machine things occur. The bike performed flawlessly even with this clacking noise when rolling. BTW it didn't make this noise when I idled the engine and walked/ran beside it down a large grade at speeds up to 15 km per hour. No noise at all but then I get on the bike and drive 5 feet and the clutch cover would start it's clacking cracking noise. Long post I know but I need to write it out to sum it up for myself. Goofy!