[biggtimber]

So at about 41 Mph there is a noticeable whine\howl that seems to be coming from the trans. It wasn't there when I bought the bike last year, until I tighted the drive belt. It was way to loose. I didn't have the tool to perform this tightening, but figured I was about right. Then for about 40 miles after that it whined quite loud. I ended up loosening it back to where it was before, but the whine stayed, just not as loud. I brought it to the dealer saying it started to whine. They looked at it and said the belt was too loose and that the whining was normal. I checked the tension after that myself and it seemed actually tighter then when I had tightened it myself.

The whine\howl is still there at about 40 and 15 mph. I'm thinking output shaft bearing, but am not sure.

Any ideas?

 

[ROADKILL]

Simple way to check if it's the belt pull in the clutch and it quits it's the belt....the tension may be right but the alignment may be off...check to see if the belt is in the center of the pulley.

 

[wayne]

Simple way to check if it's the belt pull in the clutch and it quits it's the belt....the tension may be right but the alignment may be off...check to see if the belt is in the center of the pulley.

Hmmm, not so sure on that one. If your going 40 mph down the road and pull in the clutch the belt is still turning. Still I don't think unless the bike has an extraordinary amount of miles, was seriously abused or was run very low on oil that the output shaft bearing would have gone bad. These things tend to be pretty over-engineered in the drive train department. I suppose it's possible that it could have been a defective bearing but I think I'd look elsewhere before making any conclusions. I second checking the belt alignment, and look for unusual wear on the sides or face of the belt. Also, when was your last oil change. The oil in motorcycles does dual duty serving both the engine and tranny and takes a lot of abuse. If in doubt, change it out.
41 mph is pretty specific. Does it do it in only one gear, or at a specific rpm, with the bike revved up sitting still? Possibly an exhaust or vacuum leak. Lots of things to look at.

 

[spiznizel]

Simple way to check if it's the belt pull in the clutch and it quits it's the belt....the tension may be right but the alignment may be off...check to see if the belt is in the center of the pulley.

when u pull the clutch in the belt is still turning but it would take the torque off of it and most likely not make the noise?

 

[11Stryker]

Don't adjust belt as tight as says in manual. A little looser than spec seems to work well. Biggest concern is Belt alignment as Roadkill and others have stated.

 

[wayne]

when u pull the clutch in the belt is still turning but it would take the torque off of it and most likely not make the noise?

Well...maybe. If it was a belt or chain primary then yes because there are a lot of side forces involved. Since it's a geared primary then it's a maybe, the forces are more radial with less tendency to put sideways force on the bearing. While it's not impossible that it is the bearing, Yamaha tends to be pretty good at overbuilding the drive systems in their bikes and while they may seem a bit clunky sometimes they have a reputation for being reliable. As I said if it has really high mileage, been run low on oil etc., then I would be looking in that direction but otherwise I think I'd look a little closer before tearing into the thing. First thing I'd do would be to check the belt alignment and change the oil and filter and see what happens. If the whine is really obvious (as it sounds from your description) I'd have the dealer look at it again or find another dealer with a reputation for good service techs. Hard to diagnose anything without actually hearing it but also hard to believe a 40 mile ride even with the belt overtightened would lead to bearing failure.

 

[Strykeback]

Maybe look for a shop with a treadmill or what ever they call it. Like those used when they dyno a bike.

 

[mikey76]

How loud is the whining? Mine has a small whine at a certain speed, after lots of searching and checking it seems to be a whining related to internal gearing. Which i have been told is normal with this transmission.if it is louder now than before you adjusted the belt, you may have the previously mentioned alignment problem, or you may have damaged something. I have seen output shaft bearing go from the drive being too tight, but those have been on chain drive setups.

 

[biggtimber]

when u pull the clutch in the belt is still turning but it would take the torque off of it and most likely not make the noise?

I actually notice the noise more when off power and clutch in, but that may be because the exhaust noise isn't there anymore. It may be the same volume in both situations, but I can't tell with the exhaust.

I will check the alignment. The dealer did say the the tire was crooked, which they fixed, but didn't say about the front pulley.

 

[biggtimber]

How loud is the whining? Mine has a small whine at a certain speed, after lots of searching and checking it seems to be a whining related to internal gearing. Which i have been told is normal with this transmission.if it is louder now than before you adjusted the belt, you may have the previously mentioned alignment problem, or you may have damaged something. I have seen output shaft bearing go from the drive being too tight, but those have been on chain drive setups.

The noise is not super loud, but enough to annoy me when cruising through at town.

 

[biggtimber]

Don't adjust belt as tight as says in manual. A little looser than spec seems to work well. Biggest concern is Belt alignment as Roadkill and others have stated.

I did try loosening it back when the noise first started, but that didn't help much. I will check the belt alignment.

 

[mikey76]

The noise is not super loud, but enough to annoy me when cruising through at town.

Is it specifically a whine, or is there a growl to it as well? I know thats hard to explain what i mean so i apologize. Mine is specifically a whining or like a whistle noise. I have drove 1300 vstars with the same noise in the trans. After all the vstar is the same.

 

[biggtimber]

Is it specifically a whine, or is there a growl to it as well? I know thats hard to explain what i mean so i apologize. Mine is specifically a whining or like a whistle noise. I have drove 1300 vstars with the same noise in the trans. After all the vstar is the same.

Not a higher pitched whine more of a lower, hollow sounding whine.

 

[rider]

Sorry about bumping an old thread but was this ever resolved? My bike makes the exact same noise at the same speeds.

 

[snowman68]

Loud pipes the whine will dissappear.... I noticed a whine after couple thousand miles, it pretty much was the belt being spec "tight" I loosened just a hair and made sure the belt wasn't rubbing along the sides.

 

[ROADKILL]

Sorry about bumping an old thread but was this ever resolved? My bike makes the exact same noise at the same speeds.

If you pull the clutch in and the noise goes away it's the belt - if the noise doesn't go away check your headlight - if the headlight is out this will cause the stator to whine because of drop in load.

 

[rider]

For me it's just like OP described. Getting whining noise with or without clutch around the same speeds - 20 and 40 mph, in N or in any gear. I noticed it after the tightening the belt to spec. Then I loosened it and the noise went away. I just brought it to the dealer for service and they tightened it again and I got the same noise back.
So I'm now slowly loosening it little by little trying to get it to quiet down but it's weird. I don't want to get it too loose but it looks like the specs in the manual are not correct. Or may be it's a different problem although it's very hard to believe. And it is definitely related to the tension of the belt.
It is not a squealing type of noise when something is rubbing. It it a nice low whine/howl.

 

[toby]

Depending on which direction the wheel is out of alignment determines when you hear the noise. On throttle or off throttle and in some cases you will still hear it with the clutch in.

Pull the upper belt guard off so you can see the belt, don't rely on the markers by the axle, jack the bike up so you can spin the wheel. look down the belt from the back of the rear pulley , you can see the slightest misalignment. If it's out you will see a bend in it. once you get it straight it will track right in the center while the bike is off the ground and you sin the wheel forward.
It's not necessary to torque your axle every time you make an adjustment, just cinch it a bit. Once you see the alignment is perfect and the tension is right torque your axle, replace the belt guard and let it down and don't be concerned if it tracks a bit to the left.:wink:

 

[11Stryker]

For me it's just like OP described. Getting whining noise with or without clutch around the same speeds - 20 and 40 mph, in N or in any gear. I noticed it after the tightening the belt to spec. Then I loosened it and the noise went away. I just brought it to the dealer for service and they tightened it again and I got the same noise back.
So I'm now slowly loosening it little by little trying to get it to quiet down but it's weird. I don't want to get it too loose but it looks like the specs in the manual are not correct. Or may be it's a different problem although it's very hard to believe. And it is definitely related to the tension of the belt.
It is not a squealing type of noise when something is rubbing. It it a nice low whine/howl.

Hey Rider. While you certainly don't want to ride with a loose belt. I also found that the specs in manual are a tad too tight and I had the same whine after dealer tightened mine to specs. Just back er off a little. I just use my index finger to check belt tension. should be able to move belt easily 1/2" in the mille between pulleys.

 

[TonyB]

What gear are you in at 20 & 40 mph when you hear the whining?