whining sound from clutch area...

[GraGra]

hoping someone can help. You know that sound you sometimes hear from a car , like when it's stopped at lights, and the air con or something comes on and you hear that squealing sound, like the belts need lube or something? Well my bikes making that noise now quite frequently from the clutch assembly area. It does it when hot only. When i rev bike, it changes pitch, then settles in again. It rover like belt squeal, but i really can't pinpoint and sounds like clutch related. I run open cover, and had belts replace recently. I pulled plates apart, cleaned, replace bearing, noise is still there when bike is hot. It sounds like there's some sort of friction going on inside there somewhere. It's like a squeaking, squealing sound. Kinda rubbery sounding. My clutch fluid in reservoir gets dirty quick after a couple thousand k's. I'm using MPL slave. Clutch feels ok. No noticeable slipping. Plates are quite worn. I don't think that's the problem. Any help appreciated. Bike is 2006 s2r1k. Thanks a lot.

[DucHead]

Since the belts were replaced recently, I'd be worried the whine was from them being too tight.  Who did the work?

You could check belt tension yourself just to be safe.

I've heard my dry clutch make lots of noises, and finally give it up, but I've never hear a "whine."

Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

[GraGra]

Since the belts were replaced recently, I'd be worried the whine was from them being too tight.  Who did the work?

You could check belt tension yourself just to be safe.

I've heard my dry clutch make lots of noises, and finally give it up, but I've never hear a "whine."

Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

belts were done at local Duc Dealer, but might be worth a check. The sound is like when the fan belt or something on a car starts that squealing sound. When this has happened to my car, i spray some silicon lube on it and it stops. Just not sure if i wanna spray anything on the belts. Could it damage them or make them slip?

[DucHead]

  belts were done at local Duc Dealer, but might be worth a check. The sound is like when the fan belt or something on a car starts that squealing sound. When this has happened to my car, i spray some silicon lube on it and it stops. Just not sure if i wanna spray anything on the belts. Could it damage them or make them slip?

Don't spray anything on the belts.  Have the shop who did the work (re)check the tension.

[ducpainter]

Dry clutches will groan when slipped, but I've never heard one whine either.

I have heard of a lot of belt tensioner failures on the 1K motors particularly if the dealer is using the original spec for tension.

[Howie]

Call the dealer.  If the noise is from a tensioner you can have a catastrophic failure.  Never spray any lube or dressing on any belt except the one that holds your pants up.

[GraGra]

what happens w a tensioner failure and what sort of consequences are we talking about here? I'm currently touring and about 1000k's fr the nearest and only dealer in thailand.  I think the tensioner may be the culprit as it sits very close to where the clutch basket is and i can hear the squeal speed up and slow down in correlation to engine revs. But it will also change pitch upon actuation of clutch. Is there anything i can do myself while on the road to check the tensioner? If i release the tension and spin it by hand, maybe i can feel play or roughness in it?

[Howie]

If the belt breaks anything from a bent valve or two to catastrophic engine damage.

[mitt]

Belts are something you can check on the road with minimal tools.  All you need is an allen wrench to take off the belt covers and a stick to prop the tank open.

First, look for any strange wear on the belts, especially the outside surface that runs on the idler and tensioner. Feeling the tension on the belts is not as easy to describe.  They should be against the idler and tensioner, but if you push moderately on the belt, you should be able to open a small gap (maybe 2 to 3mm) between the belt and the wheels.  Make sure all the wheels turn by hand smoothly and relatively easy.

Good luck.  Another 1000ds owner hear who has never heard a whine.

mitt

[erkishhorde]

I get a funny noise when my clutch pack is about done. I've actually got it right now. When I take off hard the plates will slip a bit and make a high pitched sound almost like a band saw cutting wood. I don't feel much slip but I know it is. You said your plates are pretty worn, are they glazed too?

[Ivan]

If the sound changes when you actuate the clutch, that indicates that the problem is probably clutch related, and not the cam belts.  Since someone else installed your belts, it would still be a good idea (and easy enough to do) to pull the belt covers and make sure everything is alright.

[GraGra]

I get a funny noise when my clutch pack is about done. I've actually got it right now. When I take off hard the plates will slip a bit and make a high pitched sound almost like a band saw cutting wood. I don't feel much slip but I know it is. You said your plates are pretty worn, are they glazed too?

yes, plates were a bit glazed when i unpacked to check before starting trip. Strangely enough today, after about 250 k's of twisty stuff, not any whine all day. It's been a bit cooler though... Belt tension seems ok. Hopefully she'll get me back to town and i'll have her fully checked out. Thanks for all the responses... 

[minnesotamonster]

yes, plates were a bit glazed when i unpacked to check before starting trip. Strangely enough today, after about 250 k's of twisty stuff, not any whine all day. It's been a bit cooler though... Belt tension seems ok. Hopefully she'll get me back to town and i'll have her fully checked out. Thanks for all the responses... 

  People warn that you could have catastrophic engine failure and you go put on 250 km lol. No fear.  You're a braver man than I.

[GraGra]

now, about 5mins after my last post, she starts to whine. Anyway, you need 2 understand where i am. I'm now 800k's from bangkok and a stone's throw from the burmese border. Short of packing up the bike on the back of a truck and going home, i'm riding this one out. After reading these responses and checking things again on the bike, here's what i've found. Clutch actuation has a negligible effect on sound. My mistake identifying before. This lead me to believe it was a tensioner problem. As it only happens when bike is hot, a friend mentioned the metals could expand, creating the squealing sound. I pulled the cover again today, and tested tension with allen key sliding ; the ca cycleworks way. There's no way i can get even a 4mm key past the tensioner roller. So it seems belts are way too tight and i cannot even see that the adjusters have even been moved at all from stock. Is it possible to replace belts without moving these? I will try to adjust them tmrw myself, but i need a strong tool to get in there and break the hex bolts free! I'm starting to feel dark on the dealer. Ps. My headlight has stopped working. It's not the bulb, there's no wiring problems, no fuses blown, someone said that the 'relay' mechanism for these bikes is inside the insurment housing and i need the dealer to look at that! True?   

[Speeddog]

Check to make sure that all of the rollers (both the movable and fixed) rotate freely.
It's possible that one of them is starting to go bad.

The cylinders expand as they get hot, so then the belts are tighter.

You cannot remove belts without loosening the movable roller.
The bolts are usually quite tight.

Is one or both of your belts getting shiny on the outside?
Are any rollers getting blue?

When it's squealing, look at the rollers and see if one of 'em isn't turning, or is turning slowly.