[Dodger]

The gear noise on my 650 is driving me nuts (I think its gears?). When I first got the bike it did it from 1 to about 20mph then went quiet. Then it moved up to about 40mph. Now it whines all the time, worse when pulling or decellerating but it's there all the time. Anyone else notice this??

 

[magyver]

Gear Whine

Yes both of our 650 have a whine but not to bad. Have you had the rear gear lube changed if so to what? I changed our silver one to all synthetic oils engin,trans,& final and now is coming up on 5,000 miles. The blue one is only a little over a week old with 600 miles has had it's first service and at 1,000 miles will also be on full synthetic this does seem to make it run quieter and cooler

 

[pauljo]

Nope. Are you running 90 wt gear oil in the rear compartment? Are you sure there is any oil in there? I run a Silkolene synthetic 90 wt in mine.

Also, are you running a large windscreen? Large windscreens tend to amplify mechanical noises.

 

[Brian]

I've noticed that over time my brain is filtering out more of the wind noise and I'm becoming more attuned to the purr of the engine and the song of the gears.

See..."song" not "whine." Or, as I learned from a software designer friend, "It's a feature, not a bug." 8)

 

[ted clement]

Brian, I think the "song" I'm hearing on my 400 is for the same reason; becoming more attuned to the motor/gears. I have 3K on mine now and didn't notice the chattery clutch/variator/whatever it is, until fairly recently. If I recall, my reflex had a similar sound.

 

[Dodger]

Magyver - I've only got 300 on it so I havn't changed it yet but will probably go to synthetic at 1000.

Paulo - Yes, there is lub in there and I'm running the stock shield. It's loud enough that people on the sidewalk turn to see what's making the sound.

Brian - The "song". I like that. I'll try to remember to think song.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jim]

I noticed more engine noise when I installed a large Windshield

 

[pauljo]

Yes, there is lub in there and I'm running the stock shield. It's loud enough that people on the sidewalk turn to see what's making the sound.

Dodger,

If it is that noticeable, and if it is bothering you that much - take it to the dealer and have them listen to it. No sense losing sleep over it.

At the next service, mention it and be sure they document it on the work order - along with their diagnosis.

One gal recently had the clutch fail on her 650. She was just out of warranty. But because she could prove that she mentioned abnormal clutch behavior to her dealer while she was still under warranty, Suzuki covered the repair. It is very rare, but there has been this one clutch failure, and a couple of transmission problems reported. So I wouldn't take a chance - get the dealer to document your concern.

 

[Dodger]

Thanks Pauljo, I'll do that.

 

[Terry Kiernan]

engine noise

My 650 doesn't even have 600 miles yet but it purrs like a kitten and at higher speeds I can't hardly hear it. Sounds like a humming bird. I think it is quieter than my Gold Wiing was.
Terry in AZ.

 

[Monterey10]

Gear Noise, Tire noise

I'm pretty sure the "gear noise" is only the half of it. I'm 90%
certain half the noise is coming from the tires. I have a gold
wing that was quiet with dunlops and now "sings" with Avon
Venoms.

I qualify this by the fact that the noise doesn't change if you
roll off the throttle quickly at speed. The gears would have
unloaded and changed their tune. Not so in this case, the
noise was consistant.

The noise does change pitch as the speed slows. Again, making
me think "tires", not as much tranny.

 

[pauljo]

With my new windshield dialed in and providing a quieter ride, I can hear this "whine" at cruising speed. I couldn't hear it over the wind noise with the stock windshield. (I remember hearing it with the Clearview shield now too. I never paid much attention to it though because it sounds like a perfectly normal noise to me.) I'm not going to worry about it. All models of motorcycles (& scooters) each make their own individual mechanical noises. This is just part of the AN650's "song".

 

[Dodger]

I've found that if I ride with my full face helmet closed up and heavy duty earplugs, I can tolerate the whine. It goes in next week for service.