High pitched whine...

[Jabarker]

I've been trying to figure this out. I hear a high pitched whine at approximately 40 mph. It gets higher the faster I go, but doesn't seem to be affected by which gear I'm in. I've checked the chain tension, tire pressure, and rear wheel alignment. Today I noticed that after a 5 ish mile ride home from my moms house my front brakes were barely warm, but my rear brake was HOT!

Is it possible that my rear brake is rubbing and causing the whine? What is the best way to test and fix? I'm going to try and record the sound when I find my video camera.

Thanks

 

[Motogiro]

Has the rear been off recently? New tires? Remember if you are using the rear brake, it's duty cycle is a lot higher that the front because the front uses two calipers. Once the bike is warm put it up on the center stand and see how freely the rear wheel moves. On a good strong spin you should get almost two revolutions of the wheel.

 

[Jabarker]

Yes. I put on new tires recently. I will try what you suggested to check the brakes. If it is the problem, what would cause it?

 

[Motogiro]

If it is the brake it could be a stuck piston or possibly the caliper is not free floating. Inspect carefully.
Sometimes I hear people talk about getting new tires and that particular tread will make a new noise... Did you change the type tire you were using?

 

[slymjym350]

Chain too tight?

 

[Jabarker]

I went from stock tires to PR2s, but from what I've heard others have not noticed any strange tire noise. Tomorrow is my day off. I'm sure my wife will be happy to see me work on my bike some more. :spank:

I'll take the rear off again and inspect. And I'll check the chain again...... Updates to follow. Thanks guys

 

[FinalImpact]

Mines a whinnnnnnner and its Not the brakes. . .

It's more like a drive gear whine present under load in all gears and gets louder as torque applied increases. Can't bench test it as I have no way to do that.

Like yours, it matter not what gear it is in and the engine RPM doesn't necessarily dictate the whine. So it seems to come from the trans as best I can tell. But I could be wrong. Could be engine - :don'tknow:

All I can see is keep an ear on it and listen for change. If it gets worse etc. . . You might cut open the next couple of oil filters and inspect between the pleats and see if anything shows up. Use a magnet to find ferris material. Post back what you find.

 

[FalloutMan]

How loud is the whine? Have you switched oils? My 990 Adventure has a transmission noise that I dont notice til getting towards highway speeds that only changes with speed. Its gotta just be the trans final drive gear. I know that some race cars with high performance transmissions have an audible whine the faster you go. If your chain isn't too tight, I'd chalk it up to normal engine noise.

 

[rbesr]

Guys, the short and sweet answer is this. Yamaha uses square-cut gears. They whine. The noise is coming from a combination of the gears and your clutch basket. The Venture is famous for the Yamaha whine as well as the VMax. You can maybe get MamaYama to put in a different clutch basket if there are more than one available. This won't do away with the whine but it may move it to a different rpm range to where you don't notice it as much.

My Venture has no whine but the FZ does. The VMax I used to have sounded like a Banshee going down the road at certain rpm's. Mechanically, the whine doesn't affect the performance of the bike and it doesn't do any harm. It can be annoying, though.

 

[FinalImpact]

Guys, the short and sweet answer is this. Yamaha uses square-cut gears. They whine. The noise is coming from a combination of the gears and your clutch basket.

You see them? Any pictures? It makes sense!
Thanks!

 

[foxbass]

When you re-check, make sure the chain is not even very slightly too tight. The final drive bearing seems very sensitive to load. When I put on a new chain recently I adjusted it to lowest tolerance in the manual and it whined quite loudly. Slackened it off to normal and whine greatly lessened. It won't go away completely due to the gearbox design as mentioned above.
Another point worth making is the inaccuracy of the markings in the swing arm for chain adjustment. If the back wheel is off track the disc will drag and heat up. There are numerous posts here that explain rear wheel alignment by various methods.

 

[Jabarker]

So here's the update... Re checked the chain tension and it was a bit tight. I guess I was paranoid about the chain jumping off the sprocket. After riding around for a bit the sound is gone.

Verdict... Tight chain.

The end :Flash:

 

[FalloutMan]

As I always tell the pilots at work, there are limits for a reason. If there is a a value range try to shoot for the middle of the range.

 

[slymjym350]

Yessss! +1 for me!

 

[Circle]

Tomorrow is my day off. I'm sure my wife will be happy to see me work on my bike some more. :spank:

I hear ya Jabarker, I hear ya!
My 'high pitched whine' (sometimes 'wine') usually occurs post ride. Normally as I reenter the house...
Perhaps the chain I used was not tight enough... *Cringe!*
:ban:

 

[Jabarker]

I hear ya Jabarker, I hear ya!
My 'high pitched whine' (sometimes 'wine') usually occurs post ride. Normally as I reenter the house...
Perhaps the chain I used was not tight enough... *Cringe!*
:ban:

Ahhhhh.... I really did laugh out load on this one. People think I'm crazy now... Thanks.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FinalImpact]

At least he has a need for two chains. . . haha OK - back to our program here!

This weekend I did some maintenance on the bike. One of those items was to clean and lube the chain! To my surprise this drastically reduced the whine! I never would have guess that but it made a difference nearly cutting the whine in half. Had I not not looking for the noise, I never would have even noticed it in the first place. :thumbup:

Mind you I didn't change the tension or move anything. The previous owner didn't do much maintenance wise so I'm getting er all ship shape! So this and the proper tension may be the ticket!

 

[FinalImpact]

Guys, the short and sweet answer is this. Yamaha uses square-cut gears. They whine. The noise is coming from a combination of the gears and your clutch basket.

You see them? Any pictures? It makes sense!
Thanks!

OK - I haven't found any real pictures but the service manual clearly show every gear in the trans is straight cut! So like he said, they will make noise.

From: 2007-Service-LIT-11616-20-60.pdf
Around pg 263 it shows them. Note: although bevel cut gears are quiet, they cost more to make and depending upon the design may not be as strong. Example, when meeting the small space requirements needed here.

But it seems chain tension and a properly maintained chain can reduce the final drive noise!

Thanks!

 

[Ken's MKV]

Hey all,

So I have been experiencing whine on my 2006 as well. I bought it used at 16k miles. So far I noticed that the whine is speed dependent and happens with the clutch engaged or disengaged. It also happens on accel or decel. It will dominate any other sounds and seems to stem from the front sprocket area. (not saying its the sprocket). It does not seem to come from the rear brake area.
Recently I had it in a Yamaha certified shop for some new tires. (dunlop Q2's ) When I had it there I asked them about the whine. They said the chain looked okay and tension was good. They also were not sure what is was without tearing it apart. The wine was still the same after the new tire went on. I think its in need of a new sprocket? I am new to bikes so just not sure. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Ken

 

[PrayForBlueSkies]

Maybe there's somebody on a 125cc following you all day...?