Does all 1st gen bikes have a whine?

[coltrain]

I've never ridden anybody else's 1st gen.. and I'm kinda new to the XVZ1200 Venture Royale's. I picked up this brown 85 April of this year and I have put about 4k miles on it.. I have done a ton of maintenance on it already, and changed all the fluids, cleaned carbs and synced etc etc. I have shrugged off the whine as just the nature of the bike but I am curious if I might possibly have a bearing going bad somewhere? Does yours have a whine?

[Yammer Dan]

I've never ridden anybody else's 1st gen.. and I'm kinda new to the XVZ1200 Venture Royale's. I picked up this brown 85 April of this year and I have put about 4k miles on it.. I have done a ton of maintenance on it already, and changed all the fluids, cleaned carbs and synced etc etc. I have shrugged off the whine as just the nature of the bike but I am curious if I might possibly have a bearing going bad somewhere? Does yours have a whine?

 

 

Not my 85. Exhaust is so noisy I couldn't hear it if it did whine plus my hearing is about gone and she don't ride!!

[mkrieg]

My 87 doesnt have a whine that I can tell.

[coltrain]

Thanks for input.. I reckon I need to look into what is making the whine noise. I have a feeling it is in the final drive or a bearing in the clutch. I will do some tests later with the clutch engaged and raise the rpms.

[KarlS]

My 83 whines but the bike is new to me also so I don't know if half the sounds I hear are normal or not. Did all the maintenance and updates and repairs I could find, so I guess mine is just a whiner.

[MiCarl]

There has been all this talk of whines, chirps etc.

 

The primary drive gear on a 1st gen is also noisy. I would not categorize it as a whine, more of a whistle - sounds a bit like a vacuum leak.

 

The whistle is engine speed dependent (mine is most pronounced at about 3Krpm), individual bikes may vary somewhat. This is entirely normal and I can generally hear it in most models of Yamaha street bikes a block away.

 

If you have a sound that changes from accel to decel, or is road speed dependent rather than engine RPM dependent then you should think about bearings and gears.

[SilvrT]

My 85 would whine when rpm's were around 3000 +/- ... I hated it ... I had that scoot for 6 years ... loved the bike but hated the whine. Only thing i could do was try and stay away from that rpm.

 

Now I got an '06 ... guess what? ... same thing! Taking it in for the clutch basket change tomorrow so we'll see if that helps any.

 

Also had an '87 ... no whine at all ... wished my '06 was as quiet of an engine as that '87.

[coltrain]

There has been all this talk of whines, chirps etc.

 

The primary drive gear on a 1st gen is also noisy. I would not categorize it as a whine, more of a whistle - sounds a bit like a vacuum leak.

 

The whistle is engine speed dependent (mine is most pronounced at about 3Krpm), individual bikes may vary somewhat. This is entirely normal and I can generally hear it in most models of Yamaha street bikes a block away.

 

If you have a sound that changes from accel to decel, or is road speed dependent rather than engine RPM dependent then you should think about bearings and gears.

 

 

Yes! On my 85 the whine is most audible at 3k RPM. It doesn't matter whether the clutch is engaged or not. Thats for the info!

[Marcarl]

Yep it's common, especially around 28 to 32,000 rpm. Varies in different bikes, either go slower or faster, depends on the road and the passenger. I changed my clutch basket to one from another scoot and nothing changed. Also, if you wear a headset the mic can pick up the noise and make it seem quite unreasonable, so then point the mic up a little.

[IH Truck Guy]

Mine also whines at 3,000 rpm's...

It's done this since I got it...

I get a little rear end whine when I get off the gas..Normal stuff....

[ScottXD45]

My '83 whines for sure.

[friesman]

My Brown 85 whines loudly from 2800 to about 3200 rpm and seems to be normal for these bikes. My engine and trans was out of the bike over the winter and had a complete looking over and check. It has the same whine now that it had last summer so I dont think I would worry about yours. I put about 4500 kms on mine last week through mountains, flatlands, cool temp and hot temps and it whined all the way, but I love that bike!

 

Brian

[6m459]

My blue '84 has a sound that might be described as a whine. Seems common to the Yamaha shafties. Some one over on the XJ site described it as sounding line the noise from the Jetson's cartoon space cars.

 

Brian H.

[tdoyle9760]

I have 2 1986s and a 1987. One of the 86s has a pretty good whine. Only has 14,000 miles. Sounds to me like it was never broken in. The loudest sound on the other two bikes (one with 60,000+ miles) is the tires on the road. No noises at all. Hope this helps.

 

Tim:fiddle:

[mbrood]

Mine often produces whining and various other noises but does it in various gears and various speeds when I ride double... but I think I've narrowed it down to the intercom. Don't know about the rest of you...

 

Alone, my 86 doesn't exhibit anything "odd" in the 3k range... except a real desire to see 4k...

[skydoc_17]

When the whinning starts on my 87'VR............

I make Jean get off and walk!!!

 

But Really,

my 87'VR whines, and when I changed the rear diff. to the FJR1300, it whines at a different speed but same RPM, 2600 to 3000 RPMS.

Earl

[GeorgeS]

Around town, 25 to 45 mph, decelerating, the tranmission on my 89 whines.

However, at highway speed, don't notice anything. Its been like that since new, no worse, no better. I figure its the transmission gears.

Just the nature of the beast.

[jasonm.]

The "whine" on mine I believe is actually a harmonic of the valve train. Because it seems to be no matter what gear I choose it's @2800-3200 . I have had it for 20 years like this. WHen I decellerate a different whine comes from the rear end...loading the opposite sides of the ring/pinion gears.

[04Midnight]

I would not categorize it as a whine, more of a whistle - sounds a bit like a vacuum leak.

 

My '81 Vision had that sound. My '82 Seca 650 had that sound. So did my '82 Seca Turbo. I always thought it was the YICS or something.

[Condor]

My '83 whines at around 3000rpm. I think it's kinda cool. Sounds like a turbo winding up. But my 91 doesn't. Gear cut?? Who know's?? Beside I don't even notice it after riding a while. Then again I don't hear my obnoxious Grandfather Clock chime any longer either... It's a left brain thing.....

[TexasFlyer]

Oh yes, my '83 whines real good. I been all over it, my maintenance manuals, and the internet, and have come to the personal conclusion that the bike likes it that way!

[saddlebum]

Around town, 25 to 45 mph, decelerating, the tranmission on my 89 whines.

However, at highway speed, don't notice anything. Its been like that since new, no worse, no better. I figure its the transmission gears.

Just the nature of the beast.

My 89 is pretty much the same and I even replaced all my bearings in the wheels and diff. Not for that reason I just did it because the bike was all apaart at the time and it just seemed like a good idea at the time.

[CrazyHorse]

Thanks for input.. I reckon I need to look into what is making the whine noise. I have a feeling it is in the final drive or a bearing in the clutch. I will do some tests later with the clutch engaged and raise the rpms.

 

 

Mine whines like crazy when I pull the clutch in it goes away. I'm have acquired the clutch pressure plate bearing. Gonna see if that helps.

[GaryZ]

The "whine" on mine I believe is actually a harmonic of the valve train. Because it seems to be no matter what gear I choose it's @2800-3200 . I have had it for 20 years like this. WHen I decellerate a different whine comes from the rear end...loading the opposite sides of the ring/pinion gears.

 

My '85 has the same whine. It is only noticed when riding without a helmet . . .

[Pappa Bear]

My 89 whines also, pull in the clutch while rolling down the road and it stops. I believe it is the cut of the gears in the trans.