Gear noise?

[rlyons]

I have searched the site to death about the whine these bikes have but need a little clairification on it. Is the whine everyone talks about the gear noise when accelerating up through the gears? I get a loud whine or growl I would call it when going up through the gears, it softens up when cruising and then at higher speeds I don't hear much at all. Just checking to see if the growl is what everyone is calling a whine? I know mines not worn with only having 6,000 miles on it but just want to be sure nothing is wrong before the long summer trips. This is the first Venture I've owned since many years ago. My other bike is a Harley Road King and it makes all kinds of strange noises but that is normal for them. I have changed all my fluids except for the antifreeze which I am going to do tomorrow(can't believe I have to pull the tank to do it), and I am waiting on new tires as these are the original 2000 tires on it now. i just want to be sure I have covered everything before hitting the road. I have split the fairing and braced the windshield and repaired the tabs on the windshield chrome thanks to the info here. I have certianly gotten my money's worth out of the site already so I was glad to donate my 12.00. thanks to all who have helped me so far and I look forward to meeting some of you out there on the road one day.

[rlyons]

No one??

[bigdog1971]

may not help you much but i had an 07 that had the whine/gear noise? and although i had bub pipes on it that were pretty loud you still hear the whine at all speeds and it was pretty annoying but the 02 midnight i just bought is pretty quiet and doesn't appear to be making the whine and it has the road king pipes which aren't as loud as the bubs, but the whine is a pretty common problem and a result of the straight cut gears these bikes come with from what i've learned on the various sites.

[rlyons]

Was the whine more like a growl? Mine sounds like a gear growl.

[RandyR]

The whine lot of people talk about is in the clutch basket. Apparently the design will have a 'noise' at some speed, and on both my RSTD and RSV it seems to happen at about 65 mph where I ride a lot. Changing the basket to an revision "I" basket may lower the noise and/or move it to another speed. It appears to be the tolerances of the parts in the clutch and basket.

 

Noise #2. straight cut gears. They're inherently noisy. The good news is, they appear to be strong enough to handle an 800lb motorcycle well.

 

Noise #3. chirping in the rear wheel. The pins into the rear wheel from the pumpkin (rear gear hub) get dry and make a chiping noise. Lube them when you put on a new rear tire.

 

Sounds bad? Go take another any-size motorcycle of any brand out for a demo ride. You'll find it has various noises too.

 

[FreezyRider]

I would highly suspect that the rear drive pins are dry if you are hearing a "growl". Many of these bikes are not properly assembled either at the factory or at the dealer. The drive pins need to be greased, preferably with Honda Moly 60 grease when the bike is assembled.

 

If you had a whine or a chirp, you'd know the difference. A growl is not like the whine.

 

These sure are noisy contraptions, aren't they?

[V7Goose]

Was the whine more like a growl? Mine sounds like a gear growl.

I do not know what your noise is, but I'd say it almost certainly is not the typical clutch basket whine. This whine is often called a chirp also, because there is sometimes a slight warble to it, similar to the sound of the Jetson's space car in the old cartoons. But I have never heard it characterized as a growl.

 

Your best bet to determine if the noise you hear is "normal" or not is to try to hook up with another Royal Star owner who says they have the whine and compare bikes.

Goose

[bigdog1971]

yea, mine in the 07 was what i call a whine, which i contributed to the straight cut gears and was pretty constant thru the gear range, wouldn't call it a growl:think: though, like they say on these sites, some do it and some don't, the 02 i have now doesn't have it, the whine for sure, might have a little of the chirp:scratchchin: from the clutch basket as some say but if it does it's not very noticeable on this bike.

[N3FOL]

I like that description of a 'Chirp'. It really helps give an early warning to birds out there. Everytime I approach a flock of birds on the ground, they start to fly away as I approach the vicinity. On a deer, I don't trust the 'chirp' to save my life.

Ride Safe.

[rlyons]

Just a little update. I tore the bike down today and greased the drive splines, pins, and driveshaft splines, made sure it was all aligned properly, checked for gap between the final drive and drive shaft tube, put it all back together and it still growls at me. Everything was good except for the pins and front of the driveshaft. The pins were dry and rusted, the front of the shaft was dirty rust looking crude. I listened with a stethescope at 60 mph on the jack and it is loudest I believe around the pinion bearing area. What I am thinking is that in all the years it has not been ridden enough and maybe the pinion bearing rusted and now is pitted making a growl. In 11 years it has only went 6,000 miles and only 300 in the last year and it was stored under a covwer on a carport in Central Mississippi so moisture was a problem. I see Pinwall has a final drive for $189.00 with 50,000 miles on it but they have a as is policy sio that makes me a little nervous. I may just tear into it and see what I can see before buying a used one. I just know the growl I am getting can't be normal, I do have the whine from the engine but that is ok. maybe I should go back to my Road King, at least all it's noises can be chucked up to ITS "S A HARLEY.

[bigdog1971]

yea and the biggest problem is having to avoid all the cats every time you drive thru the neighborhood

[bigdog1971]

as some of my harley riding friends say everytime i lose sight of them in my rear view mirrors, "but it's a harley":bowdown: good luck:bang head: and don't give up.

[rlyons]

Have decided to go with the V-Max gears from Sportmax. That should cure the growl and give me better performance. I like the fact that it will put 65 MPH right at the max torque range for the motor which in the diesel world always gives better fuel mileage as well as more power so it should apply here too. Wish me luck, I'm going to have it over-nighted so I can get it on Monday, prime riding season here right now and I am not going to let this keep me from riding. Selling the Road King so I have to get the bugs out of this one.

[N3FOL]

Wish you all the luck. Hope you can narrow down the source of the noise. Sounds like you have a plan in place and in the right direction.

[rlyons]

Got the V-Max gear from John today and insalled it. For sure more low end power and I can use 5th gear around town now. Not sure if I like the higher RPM at 65 MPH+ but I guess I will get used to it. I'll know soon what my fuel mileage is. Also installed a pair of Baron's Nasty Boys along with the gears. The jury is still out on them. I love the idle and low end sound but at 60 MPH+ they get real nasty, I wrapped the baffels but it only mellowed them a little. Oh well if not I still have a set of Harley Screamin Eagles in the garage off my old Road King. It'll be Ebay for the Baron's.

[bigdog1971]

don't know if this might be your problem as there are lots of complaints about our bikes and their whines and gear noise but i bought a new 07 vulcan 2000 classic lt a while back and it had a bad whine or similar noise going down the road and it was pretty annoying:sign your welcome:, after replacing the stock bridgestones with metzlers front and rear, noise was gone!, bike was much quieter, handled and seemed to ride better. a tire change might help you out?