Tranny whine?

[venture101]

I just put 800 miles on my 07 RSV last weekend and noticed a bad whine. Seems to be in the tranny. Same in all gears, whines when steady speed and when accellerating, goes completely away when de-accellerating. I'm going to change oil anyway to see if that helps but doesn't sound good. I have 3200 miles on the bike and love it. I have already had to have the rear drive splines re-lubed, no problem since. Any suggestions or ideas?

[Marcarl]

You're probably hearing what is called the Chirp or whine and it comes from the clutch basket. Changing out the clutch basket often helps or eliminates it but not always. It is a warrenty issue so take it to the dealer. It will not get better any other way.

Best of luck, let us know how it turns out.

Do a search on 'clutch basket' and you'll come up with a good nights reading.

Carl

[gibvel]

Agree with Marcarl. You MAY be hearing the "chirp" (sounds like a cricket on steroids). On my 99 it occurs, at it's loudest, at 35 in second, 45 in 3rd, 55 in 4th and about 70 to 75 in 5th. If I hold a constant speed it is there. If I let off slightly and decelerate it will go away.

 

That being said, the "I" clutch basket may make a difference. Most have found, however, that the sound is only moved around in the RPM range and, if the sound goes away, that it is not completely gone, just better.

 

If it is this most places will replace the clutch basket with the "I" basket under warranty once, so it's, kind of a crap shoot as to whether it will actually fix the problem.

[venture101]

Thanks for the replies. I have read most of the posts on clutch basket whine but not shure this is the same thing. It is not speed specific and is more of a constant gear whine rather than a chirping. I have contacted two dealers in the area and neither seemed to know what I was talking about. I am still going to change my oil (Yamalube) and see what difference there is, if any. I will keep checking back for more replies and let you know if I find out anything.

[gibvel]

May want to try synthetic oil. Some have reported that quiets the whine and chirp some.

[fulkster]

"The chirp"... does anyone know of any problems caused from this? I do use synthetic oil and it hasn't helped. The noise in mine goes away at about 73mph. Just got back from Minnesota with it, 1152 miles over four days time. The bike ran great, we were loaded pretty heavy with "stuff" and 2 up the whole way and still got about 40 mpg. Is it always so darn windy in Minnesota?

[VentureProf]

Because of the straight-cut gears there's always that slight whine - and then there's the separate chirp. It gives us a tendency to pass off noise complaints of other RSV riders, but there's always the possibility of a bearing or bushing or shaft actually going bad throwing off gear alignment, or misalignment problems in the drive shaft and especially rear end (that have been noted for the RSV). A good mechanic should be able to identify normal Yamaha noises from a tranny or rear end fault, but there are lot's of threads on these forums about bad noises getting misdiagnosed repeatedly by dealership mechanics. If you are around a long-time RSV rider, they might be able to identify a bad noise easier than the mechanic who only occassionally sees an RSV. Of course, if the sound rapidly worsens then you know you have a problem.

 

Kelly

[georgew48]

Having an RTSD that had the chirp real bad and now dosen't chirp with the new "I" basket, I can tell you there is a real difference between normal engine/gear noise and the dreaded chirp. Mine was so bad that I had made up my mind that if the "I" basket didn't fix it then the bike was gone. I now enjoy the bike like it should be enjoyed. Yamaha should be ashamed of putting out a bike that is otherwise excellent with this know problem. It makes it hard to rib a Harley owner when your bike can be hear chirpping a mile away.

[venture101]

I talked with my third Yamaha dealer today and actually got someone who knew exactly what I was talking about. He has replaced the clutch basket drive gear on two other RSV's and one changed the rpm's that the whine peaked, the other got worse. His comment was that Yamaha will replace the gear once under warranty no matter what the outcome, you just roll the dice. The manufacturer's tollerance on these straight cut gears is such that you may or may not get the whine and to what extent. The gears are manufactuered as a matched set with a letter stamp (G, H, and now I) hence the term "I basket". This guy has been in the business for over thirty years and really was a knowledgeable serviceman. He pulled out the bulletin from Yamaha and read the whole thing to me over the phone. I am still going to change oil before I have any parts changed to see what, if any, difference it makes. I will keep you informed of the outcome. Thanks again for all your replies.

[gibvel]

I talked with my third Yamaha dealer today and actually got someone who knew exactly what I was talking about. He has replaced the clutch basket drive gear on two other RSV's and one changed the rpm's that the whine peaked, the other got worse. His comment was that Yamaha will replace the gear once under warranty no matter what the outcome, you just roll the dice. The manufacturer's tollerance on these straight cut gears is such that you may or may not get the whine and to what extent. The gears are manufactuered as a matched set with a letter stamp (G, H, and now I) hence the term "I basket". This guy has been in the business for over thirty years and really was a knowledgeable serviceman. He pulled out the bulletin from Yamaha and read the whole thing to me over the phone. I am still going to change oil before I have any parts changed to see what, if any, difference it makes. I will keep you informed of the outcome. Thanks again for all your replies.

 

Hmmm, sounds familiar!

[FuzzyRSTD]

May want to try synthetic oil. Some have reported that quiets the whine and chirp some.

 

Didn't help the wine in mine. Going to take to dealer next week for basket change.

James

P.S Don, please do let us know of the outcome. Thanks.. Oh ya, the mechanic here told me that he had done a few and fixed them all.

Edited July 12, 2008 by FuzzyRSTD
informed