abnormal chirping sound

[sargergp]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the RSV world. I just bought my '05 midnight special two weeks ago(traded in an '03 Valkyrie for it) and love it. I've already put 800 miles on it. I've noticed this chirping sound in it and have read some of the threads on here about it. It is pretty annoying. What is it? On my bike it starts at about 50 and gets louder all the way through any reasonable cruising speeds up to 75(I haven't tried cruising above that and don't intend to).

The salesman I bought it from rides an '01 and he said his does it too, that it was normal. Is that true or is there something that I need to have done to it?

[bobbyduck]

Hi,

 

Mine was like you describe, very pronounced sound at about the same speeds. Yamaha did everything they could to convince myself and many others on this site that the design of the straight cut gear teeth on the clutch basket and it's mating transmission gear cause this as a "normal" condition.

 

My dealer and I fought with the factory rep for 6 months and I also began to take steps to get the province of Alberta to step in... and finally the Yamaha Canada factory folks provided an "I" coded clutch basket under warranty. It diminished the sound by quite a bit, enough that it is no longer a major issue. I still hear it as a background sound but can't hear it at all at highway speeds.

 

I suggest you read a lot of the threads on this site about this issue, take some choice postings if your dealer is reluctant to address it, and try to get Yamaha to rectify it by installing a better-fitted clutch basket. Your 2005 should still be under the 5-year unlimited mileage factory warranty. My understanding is that the "I"-coded baskets are polished about 1 micron furthetr so they may lessen an excessively tight fit.

 

First they usually try to convince you it isn't a problem. In my case, it totally ruined the riding experience. It was so loud that at 70 mph, with the windshield removed and BUB slipons installed, I could hear only the chirp instead of the pipes and wind. People would come up to me in a parking lot to tell me something was wrong with my bike...

 

Some XVZ V4s do it and some don't. I personally think that Yamaha has quit caring how carefully they fit the components and that their business strategy is to see if they can make you go away, rather than address their own internal quality issues.

 

I could never get any explanation as to why the early Ventures / VMaxs in the mid-80s didn't seem to have this issue and now a noticeable percentage of the 2nd Gens do. In fact, the only attitude that the factory folks took with me was that I was a whiner that wanted them to fix a perfectly good machine.....and that chirp and all, there was no problem except me!

 

Good luck!

[SaltyDawg]

It's from straight cut gears. Some are louder than others. I just turn the radio up.

I have had two RSV's and never really noticed it but then again I worked around Jets for 8 years and may have burned that freq out.

[sargergp]

It's from straight cut gears. Some are louder than others. I just turn the radio up.

I have had two RSV's and never really noticed it but then again I worked around Jets for 8 years and may have burned that freq out.

 

 

 

I feel your pain Saltydawg, I did 30 for Uncle Sam, first fighter mechanic then tanks and artillery, but even riding without my hearing aids this chirp is loud enough to bother me. It doesn't sound like a gear whine to me though it sounds more like an air burst/whistle similar to a turbo charger whistle from the old duece and a half trucks we had in the military.

[bobbyduck]

It doesn't sound like a gear whine to me though it sounds more like an air burst/whistle similar to a turbo charger whistle from the old duece and a half trucks we had in the military.

 

Yup that's the sound my clutch basket made.

 

One test is, does it stay in synch with Engine RPMs or road speed? If it is relative to engine RPMs in more than one gear, it is most likely the clutch basket. If road speed, it's most likely drive-shaft.....

 

Mine would mostly cease when I pulled the clutch in and let it coast, or when decelerating.....

 

Oh and I also worked around Navy jets for 9 years...small world!

[sargergp]

Well, you hit the nail on the head. It is in sync with the rpm of the engine and most noticeable in 4th and 5th gear.

 

Yup that's the sound my clutch basket made.

 

One test is, does it stay in synch with Engine RPMs or road speed? If it is relative to engine RPMs in more than one gear, it is most likely the clutch basket. If road speed, it's most likely drive-shaft.....

 

Mine would mostly cease when I pulled the clutch in and let it coast, or when decelerating.....

 

Oh and I also worked around Navy jets for 9 years...small world!

[Sideoftheroad]

If I understood him correctly the advise given to me by another member of this board is to up your rpm's. In other words if you are going say 70 mph, stay in 4th gear. Tried it recently and the chirping sound completely went away.

 

It is a trade off. No chirping sound and lower gas mileage or chirping sound and high gas mileage.