what is this: tranny or rear drive whine?

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Too much whining on a much discussed topic as far as I'm concerned.

I say it's all because the Fish Piss Yamaha used for a cutting oil when manufacturing the gears in these shit barges...........

 
I could love my '08 FJR if not for the drive shaft noise. For that reason alone I would never buy a FJR again. What's with Yamaha? Everyone else can make silent drive shafts and Yamaha has been making this model for a long time -- certainly long enough to figure out the problem.
I think that is the first time in 7+ years that I've been a member of this forum that I've seen someone seriously post something like that. To each his own I guess.

GP
Well, 9 posts in 4 years?.. He's undoubtedly well informed.

 
I don't believe I've ever heard a tranny whine before.

But then again, I'm hetro.

 
Yeah, there is no shaft noise, unless you've let the gear oil drain out.

There's valve noise, balancer noise, transmission gear noise, exhaust noise, wind noise. If you hear the drive above all that, then something's seriously wrong with your bike.

All five speeds in the gearbox mesh with straight-cut gears. The primary drive (crank to tranny input) is straight-cut. The two balancer shafts are straight-cut. Those are where the noise comes from.
Well Crap! All this time I thought it was the turbine spooling up.

 
If the whine is too loud (and it is not a mechanical issue) you need to try a different helmet or earplugs, I have one helmet it gives me a headache after a while I can hear it so well, so I don't wear that one and it's all good :)

 
It's the oem mufflers that are causing the whine. Seriously, I installed a pair of 2Bros CF slip ons and the whine disappeared. ;)

 
In the comments about "no whine" perhaps "typically" should be understood. A good PERSONAL look at the rear pumpkin isn't unreasonable. More than one mechanic has been known to drain a fluid, get distracted by other shop activity, and forget to refill it before moving to the next task. Doing your own basics is one way to know it's been done right. Checking others' work is another.

 
When I had my 600 mile service the dealer put the regular Yamalub Shaft Drive Gear Oil in the final drive. He was not aware that it is specifically NOT for FJR and V-Max. The proper oil for those bikes is Yamalube Shaft Drive Gear Oil Exclusive. I did not notice a different sound from my FJR. I just discovered it by accident and when I brought it to his attention he ordered the correct oil and installed it.

Yamaha has been known to ship bikes without enough proper lube on the forward end splines of the drive shaft. On the Venture which has what appears to be the same drive, you have to pull the rear wheel and drive punkin in order to pull the drive shaft but that could be where your noise is.

I belong to 3 Venture forums and drive whine and clutch chirp are 2 problems that affect lots of Ventures. They are still great bikes. I have the whine but not the chirp. The FJR is more fune to ride IMHO.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck with the noise.

 
Well, I did check the oil in the final drive and it's to spec. I've put the bike to bed for the winter and will fuss with it some more in Spring when the roads stop being icy around here (Boston). Thanks for all the entertaining comments!
rolleyes.gif


Granger

 
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