5th Gear Whine

[Simon]

I've recently fitted a taller screen and can now hear the motor much more clearly. There is a distinct whine when i'm on throttle in 5th gear that is not present in any other gear. It stops when i shut off the throttle. It is independant of engine speed. It's not (yet) too noisy, but i can definately hear it and it does not happen in any other gear.

Has anyone else noticed this at all on their S10 or is it time to visit my dealer?

Mileage is 2500 miles.

Simon

 

[Swagger]

I'm not getting any noise from mine. I'd drop into the dealer for peace of mind.

 

[HoebSTer]

I sure hope your dealers are sometimes better then here. It wouldn't surprise me if one here says I am just hearing things.

 

[RMac]

I always use earplugs so don't think too much about noises. One thing I do detect though is what sounds like increased air intake noise at certain rpm in particular gears, not all gears, a kind of "whrrrooo" noise if that makes sense. It isn't that sound that your hearing, right?

 

[Simon]

I always use earplugs so don't think too much about noises. One thing I do detect though is what sounds like increased air intake noise at certain rpm in particular gears, not all gears, a kind of "whrrrooo" noise if that makes sense. It isn't that sound that your hearing, right?

Thanks for this - i'm going away on the bike again this weekend so i'll listen carefully and consider the 'whrrrooo' noise theory.

 

[RMac]

High pitch whrrooo, most noticeable in 5th gear at around or just under 3k, disappears as soon as you release throttle, right? I think it is air intake, but not 100% on that...

 

[rocca]

Yes, I'd say there's some noticeable whine and I think the hypoid gear arrangement in the shaft is most likely responsible. I have seen mention of this elsewhere (can't recall where right now) and I don't think my bike is any different from the demo I tried in this respect.

 

[Simon]

High pitch whrrooo, most noticeable in 5th gear at around or just under 3k, disappears as soon as you release throttle, right? I think it is air intake, but not 100% on that...

That matches well with my observations, particularly the bit about stopping when i release the thottle, i'll study it more this weekend and let you know if i think it's different in any way. Thanks.

 

[RMac]

The good news is that your are not alone

 

[Simon]

An update for you all out there. I've been carefully monitoring my 5th gear whine, dealer originally suggested it might resolve itself with a few more miles on the clock, anyway, with 4500 miles on, it's doing it still, consistently and definately noticable. The noise is only present in 5th gear, it simply dissapears when you go into 6th - i can't see how this is an intake thing.

I went back to my dealer at the end of january, he rode the bike and agreed there was an abnormal noise when in 5th. He then rode two other bikes back to back (borrowing them from other dealers) - result was they don't make the noise.

Dealer and Yamaha UK have agreed to fix under warranty - dropped bike of today for them to remove gearbox components and work out what is wrong.

So to be clear, my bike is a 4500 mile, 1 year old XT1200A, UK spec bike. I'll update the thread when they tell me what they had to replace.

 

[RMac]

Exact same year model and age as my bike. Look forward to your report on the outcome.

 

[Bundu]

just saw this now - I've noticed my 5th gear whine since I fitted a higher screen at around 8 000km.

My bike has done 20 000km now and will be going out of warranty in July12, so I will be watching this thread, but it doesn't sound 'dangerous/expensive'

::017:: ::017::

 

[YamaPA]

Add me to the list of owners who have heard a gear whine. I havent done anything about it and doubt I will.

 

[Tremor38]

An update for you all out there. I've been carefully monitoring my 5th gear whine, dealer originally suggested it might resolve itself with a few more miles on the clock, anyway, with 4500 miles on, it's doing it still, consistently and definately noticable. The noise is only present in 5th gear, it simply dissapears when you go into 6th - i can't see how this is an intake thing.

I went back to my dealer at the end of january, he rode the bike and agreed there was an abnormal noise when in 5th. He then rode two other bikes back to back (borrowing them from other dealers) - result was they don't make the noise.

Dealer and Yamaha UK have agreed to fix under warranty - dropped bike of today for them to remove gearbox components and work out what is wrong.


So to be clear, my bike is a 4500 mile, 1 year old XT1200A, UK spec bike. I'll update the thread when they tell me what they had to replace.

Ahhh, the UK bike. Those get the Chinese made bearings with high aluminium content! Just kidding! I hope it works out for you, but I personally feel it's noting to worry about.

 

[EricV]

Is/Was the whine steady, or slightly fluctuating?

Not to alarm anyone, but the SO's F650GS2 had a fluctuating whine in 5th, and to a lesser degree 2nd. I noticed it when I rode her bike !120 miles to the dealer for service and pointed it out. After the service, they test rode the bike and discovered that I was right, abby normal noise in 5th and 2nd, (they thought I was hearing chain noise since I rode a S10 shaftie). Bottom line, 5th gear had galling and was replaced under warrantee. They, (the BMW service dude), claimed she rode the bike too much in top gear, (duh, that would be 6th). Like people here have mentioned, the noise went away when you shifted up or down from 5th. It was difficult to notice in 2nd, (that's the gear I use to get from 1st to 3rd, not one I stay in for any length of time). On the GS, those gears are on the same shaft in the trans.

However, she had 35k on the bike at her 1 year service interval.

I haven't noticed anything with my S10 at 12k, so far. Hopefully it's a minor thing, and regardless, they fix it under warrantee w/o hassle.

 

[Simon]

EricV - the whine is largely constant, more noticable once at operating temperature than when cold, but always there.

I'm on the same page as others that it's not necessarily expensive or dangerous - i just expect consistency from Japanese bike firms so the fact that my 5th gear is making a noise suggests there is some variability they did not expect. I did debate which was the lesser of two evil's, ie choose between keeping the noise or having the gearbox stripped by a dealer. To be fair, my dealer was very supportive of getting it fixed under warranty as they too felt it was not right.

More details next week when i know more!

 

[Tremor38]

EricV - the whine is largely constant, more noticable once at operating temperature than when cold, but always there.

I'm on the same page as others that it's not necessarily expensive or dangerous - i just expect consistency from Japanese bike firms so the fact that my 5th gear is making a noise suggests there is some variability they did not expect. I did debate which was the lesser of two evil's, ie choose between keeping the noise or having the gearbox stripped by a dealer. To be fair, my dealer was very supportive of getting it fixed under warranty as they too felt it was not right.

More details next week when i know more!

+1. Having a dealer that knows their stuff and is supportive to that point is priceless. I remember checking my bike for the whine last summer and it not being there. Will be sure to check again once spring gets here.

 

[Bundu]

I read about a guy on the German forum and another on the Dutch forum with the same issue - AFAIK the bikes were not stripped and they just continued riding - Will be good to hear from you Simon ::008::

 

[AlsoRan]

Ok now you have ruined it. I liked that gear whine in 5th, sounds like an engine lathe in high range or my old Chevy 1/2 ton with three on the tree - and they never broke either. Now I'm spooked a little but will wait and see what transpires. Not going to slow down for it though.

 

[Bundu]

Ok now you have ruined it. I liked that gear whine in 5th, sounds like an engine lathe in high range or my old Chevy 1/2 ton with three on the tree - and they never broke either. Now I'm spooked a little but will wait and see what transpires. Not going to slow down for it though.

I'm still not worried about mines 5th whine - will however point it out at the 20k km service - mine really doesn't 'sound' damaging....