Rear Shock Making Noise

[benneyb]

I came back from a short 35 mile ride around the neighborhood this afternoon, when I noticed the rear end making a squeaking sound, along with a bit of binding with the up and down movement. Traced the noise to the rear shock, not the swingarm. Weird thing is, this only happens with the shock set to the Soft setting, and goes away when set to Hard.

My '05, recently picked up, only has 2900 miles on it - can't be the shock going bad, can it? Anyone else experience this?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Toecutter]

My '05, recently picked up, only has 2900 miles on it - can't be the shock going bad, can it? Anyone else experience this?

It could be, but that's why a warranty is a good thing. I haven't had any problems with my own shock, but have heard of others going bad prematurely.

 

[tiiikeri]

Hello! I had the same "problem", yamaha service investigated it and put some grease to connecting points. I havent´had that problem after that. So I think your shock is dry like mine was....

 

[petey]

I came back from a short 35 mile ride around the neighborhood this afternoon, when I noticed the rear end making a squeaking sound, along with a bit of binding with the up and down movement.  Traced the noise to the rear shock, not the swingarm.  Weird thing is, this only happens with the shock set to the Soft setting, and goes away when set to Hard.
My '05, recently picked up, only has 2900 miles on it - can't be the shock going bad, can it?  Anyone else experience this?

Thanks in advance for any info.

I had the same thing happen to me with about 10,000m on the clock. Mine made more of a scraping noise. My dealer replaced it under warranty.

 

[donaldb]

benneyb, mine just started doing the same thing! funny how this problem is rearing it's head this time of year. I was wondering if maybe our FJR's may be experiencing allergies? :lol: Will monitor this thread as I am interested in how yours is resolved and what others w/similar experiences did to correct.

 

[jwit6]

My 04 did the same thing starting at about 10k.

 

[benneyb]

Wow! Didn't expect this much company!

I did get the YES warranty with this bike, so I think I'll be paying a visit to the local dealer for a look see. I'll update you guys with any info.

 

[C&C]

I had the same condition, and as yours, only on the soft position. It lasted for a couple thousand miles and then went away. Something must have gone through a wear-in process and all is well now. I never lost any functionality with the condition and only noticed it when wheeling the bike out of the garage.

 

[madmike2]

It is "possible" that the spring is rubbing on the rubber boot. Still, squeeky noises from the rear shock need investigation. Really un-good things could be happening, including dry bushings.

Please let us know when you find the problem as it could be something for all owners to watch for (I greased by bushings when I changed to the Wilbers per Warchild's FJR tech article).

 

[benneyb]

Update -

Well, as quickly as it came, it also went. After another 30 odd mile ride today (all I had time for after daughter's 2 softball games, dammit!) the noise is gone. Back to the way it was, smooth and silent.

I'll be keeping an eye on this - an more noise and a Service Trip will be on the agenda.

 

[benneyb]

Update -
Well, as quickly as it came, it also went. After another 30 odd mile ride today (all I had time for after daughter's 2 softball games, dammit!) the noise is gone. Back to the way it was, smooth and silent.

I'll be keeping an eye on this - an more noise and a Service Trip will be on the agenda.

Update 2 - The noise did return, again only on the SOFT shock setting. After some procrastination, I finally took it in to one of my local dealers. Having the comfort of the YES warranty, I wasn't too concerned.

I dropped the bike off with a salesman late-ish one evening before closing, with written instructions and description of the problem. 2 days later, one of the service guys called me saying, "I had 2 guys ride it and neither of them could hear or feel the noise." I told him riding it was unnecessary - all he had to do was push down on the seat to move the suspension. Sure enough, following these instructions they heard the noise. Yamaha gave them the ok to disassemble the shock; when they did, they found the "slider", which I guess was the shaft, bone dry. The lubed it with some lithium grease and told me its cured.

I'll find out Tuesday night when I pick it up.

Love the security of that YES warranty! :thumbsup:

 

[Afast03nNJ]

I'm having the same problem on my 03. Definately in the shock, so I guess the rear suspension is coming apart soon for a grease check.