very loud whining sound from my midnight tour delux

[JohnT]

Let me be the first to suggest,,,,

Trade it for a 1st Gen.

The only serious whining you hear will come from behind you. A rider on a 2nd Gen. I'm told this whining is easily outdistanced.

Since I bought my VR (1st Gen) last year it has had 3 oil changes. Ist was dealer with Yamalube dino. The second was with Rotella full synthetic and the last was with Lucas full synthetic motorcycle oil. I notice a difference with all 3, mostly clutch feel and finding neutral.

[dacheedah]

International is coming up in Galena Il , Vogel is down nearer you, check the calendar and don't b shy

[bongobobny]

Actually the group was well behaved this time! I would have expected around the third or fourth response someone say "Leave her home next time!" Seriously, yes clutch basket whine is a common problem with these bikes. We usually just accept the George Jetson sound as normal. Mine makes a chirping sound to tell me it's happy! It does not affect the performance of the bike at all but it can be annoying for sure! As mentioned see if you can convince your dealer to replace your basket.

 

Welcome aboard!

[JerryT]

Welcome to the zoo. If the noise stopped when you pull the clutch in at 70, I'ld start with the clutch basket. Someone asked, is the bike still under waranty? 5 years transferable to new owner from original sell date. Any dealer can run vin and tell you and Yamaha will pay for new basket if its under waranty. Most will suggest changing to the 'I basket'. If you search this site on this topic, you'll find enough threads to read all night. You are not alone as many have had this issue. These are great bikes, extremely reliable and the best bike for the money I know of.

[dacheedah]

only real disadvantage is the whine, the plus is you won't be stuck on the side of the road with a broken belt and a $1000.00 bill every time that happends. The shafts are fairly reliable with gear oil changes and basic maintenance.

[Yammer Dan]

Only 40 lb in the rear is a little low isn't it guys?? On my 1st Gen I run 42 to 44.

The easiest way to solve this entire problem?? Do as I did. About the time I started riding Ventures my hearing started to go. Back seat drivers?? Tire noise? Clutch noise?? Don't bother me a bit... Tell em Larry:whistling:

[JerryK]

How about another thought on this? I had a 2000 with 86,000 that was hit and totaled and never had a noise ever. I now have a 2003 Midnight with 111,000 on it and about to visit my buddy Gary at Dan's Cycle Yamaha in Seymour In.

When I purchased this bike in March 2006 with 7250 it had the whine and I knew I didn't have it on the other bike. Yamaha agreed to change the clutch basket but told me it would probably move the speed that the noise was at but maybe not eliminate it! Not liking that answer I got snooping around and after much listening to my bike I was thinking rear end not clutch. The dealer here in my area said yes Yamaha has some rear end problems sometimes but will tell you they don't.....But if I get with Dan's Yamaha in Seymour 3 hours away he could probably fix it under warranty??? Fix a problem they say you don't have and under warranty. I went there and met Dan's son Gary [a Magical Yamaha wrench] and he losens up the four bolts of the drive shaft and hits it with a mallet and it jumps back a few thousands of an inch. He said that's not enough he said but let me fix it and you enjoy lunch and I'll have it ready. I come back and Gary's on the phone and tells me to take it a ride and see what I think. During the ride It is gone at 75 mph where it was but is at 55-60 still. I hate to tell this guy this and as I pull back in he was getting off the phone. I told him my bad news and he said yes you are right and it needs a rear end and he was talking to Yamaha and they were shipping it. He put that in the next week as I returned for the great 3 hour beautiful ride and the noise was gone. He discovered this problem and told Yamaha that on some of the heavy whinning "Clutch Basket Ventures" that when he converted to trikes the noise was gone! That's how and why Yamaha believed and supported his decision on this NONE problem!

[Cougar]

FYI--- Mine never went away when I triked.

At lest my Reverse is louder now

[IH Truck Guy]

Only 40 lb in the rear is a little low isn't it guys?? On my 1st Gen I run 42 to 44.

The easiest way to solve this entire problem?? Do as I did. About the time I started riding Ventures my hearing started to go. Back seat drivers?? Tire noise? Clutch noise?? Don't bother me a bit... Tell em Larry:whistling:

 

I run 46 psi for 2-up and bump it to 50 psi when dragging the trailer.

[steamer]

Same here with the trike. My clutch whines something terrible around 45 to 55 mpg. Its the clutch. one thing I do know is that it is louder with the Bagger Shield windshield in the full up position. I believe the stock windshield magnifies the sound, or redirects it back to the rider. Shorter windshield equals more wind noise, so you don't hear as much engine noise. I'm not saying there isn't a few noisy rear ends out there, but most of the whine does come from the clutch basket. those of us with trikes have proven this. Also those who have changed there clutch basket and eliminated the whine have also proven this. But for some reason the Yamaha tech's seem to want to blame it on the rear end.

[RSTDdog]

Only 40 lb in the rear is a little low isn't it guys?? On my 1st Gen I run 42 to 44.

The easiest way to solve this entire problem?? Do as I did. About the time I started riding Ventures my hearing started to go. Back seat drivers?? Tire noise? Clutch noise?? Don't bother me a bit... Tell em Larry:whistling:

 

I run 46 psi for 2-up and bump it to 50 psi when dragging the trailer.

 

You should not exceed the maximum inflation pressure listed on the tire sidewall. For people running the stock rear tire size and tire with stock 74H load index rating the max rating on the tire is 41psi. The Avon Venom has a higher load index rating than stock and a Max inflation pressure of 50psi. Adding PSI above the maximum rating for the tire does not increase the load capacity of the tire.