"Darlene" has started to groan when I first mount her

[bknsaddle]

Get you mind back on Bikes! Darlene is a stock 2006 RSTD with 20k miles......

 

When the she is cold, I hear a groan when I climb on....Be nice!

 

The groan seems to go away after I have ridden her a bit.... Oh, jeez!

 

The dealer says that the Yamaha rep. has told him to take out the rear shock and lubricate it and all moving parts....

 

So having read many posts on here about this shock, I don't recall any that discussed removing and lubrication. The shock is not leaking as far as I can tell, but....

 

Am I being slow-rolled by the dealer/rep?

 

The bike is still under warranty for another month.

 

Many thanks....Steve

 

****UPDATE**** ****UPDATE****

Well, after a slight delay due to weather and health, I brought Darlene to another dealer who lubed everything up and still heard the groan. They told me today that they have ordered a new shock under warranty.

 

This is a wonderful site and I am the grateful recipient of many tips from the others on here.

 

I trust now that Darlene's action beneath me will be as energetic as when she was younger, but I'll probably miss her groan...................

Edited April 8, 2011 by bknsaddle
UPDATE

[Yammer Dan]

I think this is 1st sign of them starting downhill. Hard to tell how long it will groan before it gives up. Might be able to talk them into replacing it. I mean the shock!! Now Darlene........

[Freebird]

I agree...from many reports here...the groan is the first symptom. If they refuse to replace it, I would at least get it in writing that it was reported while under warranty.

[Sylvester]

I don't agree with the diagnosis. My shock was groaning around 28,000 miles. I took it in for service and the mechanic said it was the dust shleld rubbing on the cylinder. That was 109,500 miles ago and I have never changed the monoshock.

 

[Mel]

I think I remember a posting about using a vaccination needle to inject , uhhh, power steering fluid or auto. trans. fluid (?) through the rear shock shrader valve. This was to lube the shaft or whatever inside the shock. I'm sure someone can do a better job than this to explain it. (GROAN)

[Dave77459]

How interesting! Roxie is also a 2006 RSTD with about a month left on the warranty. She started groaning on the first hop-on at about 20,000 miles. I haven't done anything, and she isn't leaking, and she is at about 56,000.

 

I'd be interested in the lubrication procedure. Sounds like a good maintenance day activity!

 

Dave

[gibvel]

fork oil and Tranny fluid is the stuff. I did mine with a double dose and it still groans when it's cold.

 

I agree with Slyvester, mines been groaning since I got the bike and mine hasn't leaked yet either.

[frogmaster]

I don't agree with the diagnosis. My shock was groaning around 28,000 miles. I took it in for service and the mechanic said it was the dust shleld rubbing on the cylinder. That was 109,500 miles ago and I have never changed the monoshock.

 

 

Impressive...

[DONATALIE]

In about 45,000 miles I went through two Yamaha shocks. Both started to groan first, and then within about 6-12 months, both started to leak. They can not be rebuilt, so they both had to be replaced. I finally bought a Works Performance shock ($$$). It has been on for about 7,500 miles and 6 months now, and so far, I am very happy with it...time will tell. At least it is rebuildable. To be fair to Yamaha, with my son and I, our gear in the bags, and his portable wheel chair mounted out back on a bike rack, we were well over the max weight limit listed in the owner's manual, which is only 420 lbs. I'm sure all that weight probably contributed to the shock failures. I have since bought an HD sidecar setup for riding with him. And I only ride the RSV solo (wife won't ride). Hope this helps, Don.

[Guest]

My rear shock on my 99 groaned from 2003 when I got her to the day it finally dumped its oil in 2009. Most likely it was groaning from day one. The replacement is also groaning. All moving parts are well lubed so its just a thing. But then, if I sat on you, you would most likely groan too.....

[V7Goose]

The experiences here are definitely a mixed bag - my original shock went out pretty quick (around 17,000 miles), and it was preceded by the groaning. The second shock started groaning a couple o year later and I thought it would fail soon - but it has been about four years and no failure yet. So it seems to be just a crap shoot.

Goose

[Art708]

Mine groans really loud. My service guy has ordered me a new shock under warranty.

[friesman]

Whew! I thought this was gonna be a thread about my ex...........:rotfl:

 

 

Brian

[Marcarl]

Are you sure it's the shock that is groaning? My wife blames it something else and then stands back for a minute or two,,,,, sometimes she can be right,,, like once, oh never mind, she might read this.

[Mike G in SC]

Same, 2006 RSTD (but more like @ 50k miles). Mine started groaning. After the dealer replaced the rear tire he said he saw a slight leak on the shock and had placed the order, warranty. I didn't have to ask him, he just took care of it.

(PS: that good dealer is Extreme Sports Yamaha in Sumter, SC)

 

If it is the shock,,, YOU WANT TO REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY$$$$$

 

Mike G in SC

[petekadish]

This winter, and for the second year in a row on my Venture with 47,000 miles on it, I again began to hear the "groan" as the cold weather set-in (and no, it wasn't my bones - but they kinda groan as well).

 

So, I began carefully researching everyone's comments regarding this issue here on this site. I then printed them out and presented my findings to my dealer. I explained that while the groaning was not necessarily a "shock-failure", it appeared to be a strong indicator of a potential or pending shock-failure. I also pointed out to my dealer that there were in fact a number of individuals who had their shocks replaced under warranty, and that I would also like mine replaced rather than just trying to make the groan go away with lubrication.

 

Well ..., I'm a happy camper now. Escape Motorsports in Provo, Utah took care of me and replaced my groaning rear shock - all under warranty. Without the supporting information from the VentureRiders on this site, I'm sure that I would not have such a strong case in requesting this service. Thanks to Escape, and to all of you for your great contributions!

 

Be Safe!

Pete.

[Dave77459]

Without the supporting information from the VentureRiders on this site, I'm sure that I would not have such a strong case in requesting this service. Thanks to Escape, and to all of you for your great contributions!

 

Be Safe!

Pete.

Sounds like another where $12 annual membership was worthwhile.

 

Dave

[Art708]

Same, 2006 RSTD (but more like @ 50k miles). Mine started groaning. After the dealer replaced the rear tire he said he saw a slight leak on the shock and had placed the order, warranty. I didn't have to ask him, he just took care of it.

(PS: that good dealer is Extreme Sports Yamaha in Sumter, SC)

 

If it is the shock,,, YOU WANT TO REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY$$$$$

 

Mike G in SC

 

Another good plug for the Sumter guys. I ride all the way to Sumter from Charleston just to have Al and Matt work on my bike. They are great guys and always do right by me. Kudos to Extreme Sports!

[bknsaddle]

My thanks for all the replies.

I operate under the philosophy that if something designed to be silent starts making a noise, there is something wrong. The tangential discussion regarding spousal acoustic interference is for another thread.

 

Late yesterday I called a "Star Specialist" at Yamaha and asked to speak with a Tech rep to discuss the issue. I just wanted to hear what they had to say. Little did I know that Yamaha doesn't allow we mere customers to speak with technician other than at the dealer. The phone conversation got interesting, however, when I asked to speak to a supervisor and the young lady said "I'm not going to connect you to a supervisor", and started to ramble on in a fashion that would not let me get a word in edgewise.

 

This sort of thing grinds my gears, so I called another number and got a very nice lady to whom I expressed my dissatisfaction with the way I was spoken to. She ended up connecting back to the "Star Specialist" who asked what I wanted to have done. I told her that if a shock on my car starts to make noise, I replace it, and that seemed to me the to be the logical action for a shock on an RSTD. She said she would call the dealer.

 

I called the dealer and gave them a heads-up, so we'll see what happens and I will advise.

 

Thank you all for your input. This site is invaluable!

 

Steve

[Guest tx2sturgis]

You definitely want to have a written, signed, dated, work order showing that you took it in for warranty on the shock while it is still IN warranty. Make sure the work order says something like "rear shock making noise when cold", not just "inspect suspension".

 

I can almost guarantee that the dealer is trying to let the warranty expire before the shock goes out completely...

 

 

 

[A4Forever]

"frame moans are not factory designed"

A friend's - friend's Honda(model?) moaned up to the mile the rear shock eyelet snapped, substituting moans for clunks and a lowered suspension.

As the assembly remained buried in the frame, invested 3 hours pounding out the FROZEN shock relay bolt.

As I see no grease nipples on our '06RSV shock relay (carrying 2/3's(?) 900+ pounds), am planning a tear down to (1) grease and (2) investigate setting nipples into the receivers of the 4 respective bolts. Have plans for other moans.

May the bugs of sundown lie heavily on your windscreen.

[SilvrT]

Whew! I thought this was gonna be a thread about my ex...........:rotfl:

 

 

Brian

 

I heard she doesn't groan anymore since she became your ex .....

[bill4you502]

Bought my '06 RSV with 18,000 on it. It moaned then and moans today at 40.000 miles. Only noticeable when you mount the bike before starting. The shock works great and I keep 20 PSI in it, I ride solo and weight 190+!

[A4Forever]

Never heard - don't want to hear a bike moan. The '90 Volvo's dry rubber sway bushings moan when entering, but ensure ball suspension are greased.

Other than the eyelet separating from the Honda's rear shock, the shock still retained compression (??psi), just not attached to the swing arm. If the relay is dry, riding may (temporarily) stop any moaning by grinding rust crystals (that grew while idle) into powder. Replacing the FeO2 with 2 cents worth of molybdoenum disulfide may save a lot of moaning over a trailer rescue / repair estimate.