Drive line problems

[Canadian Venture]

I put new tires on for summer and found that as soon as bike was not perfectly vertical that I got a drive line howl that would not go away until I straitened the bike up or ended up going straight after a corner. It didn't matter how mild the corner was the noise was there. I assumed the tires. Not! Brother had same brand on his 1200 BMR

 

Putting the bike on the center stand and starting it and putting it in gear, I found that there is considerable play in the u joint..Putting a long screwdriver in there and prying it I found the play.

 

Does the engine have to be removed to change that out? I see these offered on ebay but with gear that goes into the motor/transmission attached to the universal. What is easiest?

[dingy]

You can pull it with motor in frame.

 

Rear swing arm needs to come off to do it. There are 3 bolts holding housing in.

 

Wouldn't recomend cganging gear out as that will affect the shimming & backlash of gear. This gear & tranny bevel geared are shimmed between housing that you need to remove & block. There will probably be 1 to 3 shims in between housing & block. These are two piece shims of varying thickness to adjust backlash. If there is 2 or more, you need to make sure they are installed so right & left sides are same thickness, don't want 2 thick shims on one side & 2 thin ones on other side.

 

Couldn't find a good picture I took of that area. 1 picture shows block still split with mating gear.

 

Gary

Edited December 14, 2011 by dingy

[gunkylump]

Ah yes, Thessalon.....1700 people, 1699 of them friendly Used to spend a lot of time in that little town.....played baseball in a snowstorm the long weekend in May one year, bought my first Polaris snowmachine there....even married a girl from there....but that was long ago and a lot of water has passed under the highway 17 bridge since then.

 

You're in a great spot for riding, some truly scenic roads.

 

Wish I could add more to what Dingy told you, but he has it pretty much covered.

 

gunk:shock3:

[Pegasus1300]

I find it interesting that the howl did not appear until you changed tires and it goes away when you are verticle.Even tho your Brother has the same tires on his bike it is a different bike and Ventures are known to have tire howl. I have had 4 1st gens and 2 2nd gens and they all had a good deal of play in the driveline but only the 2nd gens howled.Some tires howled when fresh some as they wore but sooner or later they all howled on the 2nd gens.

[skydoc_17]

Hey Ivan,

At well over 1000 lbs. with just a single rider, (I don't know what the Bimmer weighs) your VR puts a fair amount of downward pressure on those tires. You didn't mention the type of tire, and you didn't mention the mileage on your bike, (If the mileage is at 25K, I'd be looking at the tires a bit closer) and most importantly, you didn't mention how much air you are running in the tires! If you are running less than 40 PSI in that rear tire, (I run 42 in my EIII Dunlop) then try airing it up a bit BEFORE you take the entire rear end of your bike off! If you decide to replace that U joint, don't bother buying a used unit, you could just transfer someone else's problem onto your bike. Lastly, don't "cheap out" and buy the automotive U joint, it won't hold up to the amount of power the V4 engine has. Get the Yamaha U joint. I hope you find out that it is your tire honestly, that U joint replacement is not a "fun job".

Earl

[Kregerdoodle]

when you replaced the rear tire did you make sure that the rearend was square or alligned properly?? if this is not it could be your problem.

[Marcarl]

I would remove the rear tire first to check the final drive splines attached to the wheel. They need to be greased properly and not be too worn. I've wore out 2 sets on mine due to improper grease, and when that happens, she starts to growl\howl at me.