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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
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Message started by Junker on 04/01/19 at 11:18:23

Title: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Junker on 04/01/19 at 11:18:23

I have done a search around trying to find the cause of the whine which has started recently from my bike. It sounds like a set of clutch plates slipping with the sound consistanly appearing during decel or when I'm sitting in 5th gear (though the sound is quieter). It is also heard if I slowly let the clutch lever out during a gear change.

Have others experienced this? Anyone know the cause and have a solution?

I am planning on checking my cam adjuster this weekend so I will have the clutch cover off but I thought I might ask before digging into the clutch basket.

Machine: stock 2001 Ls650 - 19800 miles - current oil life est 800 miles.

Cheers guys!

BTW, thank you for the accept.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Tocsik on 04/01/19 at 15:06:57

One thought is maybe it's just belt whine. They can be tricky and intermittent.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by batman on 04/01/19 at 21:45:50

I 'd check the front pulley ,making sure it's tight (70-94 FTLBS) and yes you should check the cam chain adjuster before riding the bike any further.( your past the mileage to check it and if it comes apart your motor could be toast)

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/02/19 at 06:20:46

Easy way to know if it's JUST the belt
Rub canning wax on the teeth.
Racket changes, you found at least part of it.

If it goes away, you found it.
But Knowing that front pulley is torqued is a really good thing. If it's not right it eats the splines.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by ohiomoto on 04/02/19 at 07:34:10

My 96 whines a bit on deceleration. Sounds like bearing whine. I purchased it used with 3500 miles on it and it has been there as long as I've owned it. I believe Dave has noticed the same thing.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Dave on 04/02/19 at 09:12:21

Yep....mine whines a bit when decelerating in the lower gears - I don't notice it much in the higher gears. I suppose the wind and road noise masks the noise a bit - and the higher gearing results in a bit less torque on the gears under compression breaking.

12,000 miles and no change.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by DragBikeMike on 04/02/19 at 11:47:05

Makes the whine "when sitting in 5th gear".

Junker, can you elaborate on that? Do you mean when sitting at a standstill in 5th gear with the clutch lever pulled in, or do you mean when you are cruising in 5th gear at a steady state load?

Mine whines. It's intermittent, generally on deceleration, sometimes under a light load, never during acceleration. I think its the belt. It doesn't concern me. If its the belt, stabilizing the rear pulley with Dave's modification or something equivalent to that should fix it.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Junker on 04/02/19 at 22:31:40

"When sitting in 5th" means cruising in 5th gear at a steady pace. The noise is a lot quieter and has a lower pitch. I was wondering whether this was belt related. I plan to check the pulley and give the belt a wax within the next day or so.

What is Daves stabilization pulley mod?

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by batman on 04/02/19 at 22:37:43

Look in The Marketplace -under Dave's cool stuff.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Dave on 04/03/19 at 04:35:50

437C67626C7B090 wrote:

What is Daves stabilization pulley mod?

The rear pulley hub has a single ball bearing, and it wears and allows the rear pulley to go out of alignment.....which then pushes the belt to the outside of the front pulley and it can create noise.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1480506578

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1516625533

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Serowbot on 04/03/19 at 08:41:57

Mine whines in 4th and 5th at steady throttle... 5th is between 55 and 60mph.
Very unfortunate range. :-?

It's the belt.
It has become much more prominent since I added a windshield... if I block the air under the chin of my FF helmet, it goes away almost entirely.
So frustrating...

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Junker on 04/23/19 at 21:35:59

Update: After adjusting my clutch cable the whine has almost gone. I'm planning on doing an oil change with the a more heavy duty oil which might help a little as well.

I have checked the front pulley and everything was fine. The rear wheel pulley has a ever so slight wobble which has caused my belt to be a little unaligned and rub against the front pulley; however it's only just touching and what noise it does make almost unnoticeable. As for the low sound I'm hearing in 5th gear, the cause might be coming from air flow whistling past an accessory either on the bike or my helmet. I have done the 'try to block the flow with my hand' test, all to no avail. My next step is to take everything off and go from there.

Thanks all for the advice; it's really appreciated. :)

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by ohiomoto on 04/24/19 at 06:38:56

Adjusting your clutch cable?? :-? :-?

I hope you didn't take all the free play out of it. You'll have a whole new set of plates, err, issues in your near future if you did. ;)

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by batman on 04/24/19 at 06:58:40

Switching to a heavier oil may be a mistake, If a heavy oil was better we'd all be running 90wt. Oil in our bikes (air cooled) serves two purposes , to lube ,and to carry away heat. A heavier oil ,say 20w50 , will not do either as well as the required 10w40. A thicker oil will increase oil pressure ,due to increased wall friction in our small oil passages ,but will decrease flow , the decrease in flow provides a thinner protective layer of oil between parts , and less flow will carry away less heat , your motor will run hotter and may actually be less protected from wear.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by Junker on 04/28/19 at 21:33:02

I readjusted the clutch cable to fall within the specs of Suzuki's service manual. :)

As for the oil, when I said "a more heavy duty oil", I was referring to one of the recommended oil's listed by Oldfeller in this thread ..

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1344471565

The bike has been running with Valvoline 10w-40 4 stroke Motorcycle oil, which is what the previous owner used all it's life. Once I get the cam adjuster mod sorted, I'm switching to Shell's Rotella T Triple Protection 15W40 heavy duty diesel engine oil.

Batman: It's interesting that you mentioned 20w50 in your example; Mobil 1 V Twin 20w50 is mentioned on the list.

Title: Re: Decel and 5th gear clutch whine?
Post by DragBikeMike on 04/29/19 at 00:05:04

Junker, your owners manual allows 20W-50 for temps from 14F to +104F. The 20W-50 is just fine. That Mobil 1 V-Twin blend is excellent oil. It's rated API SG, has ample zinc, good for wet clutch, and formulated for an air-cooled engine. It's synthetic and can handle much higher temperatures than a straight petroleum oil. The SG rating also gives it the API seal of approval for primary drive gears and transmissions. What more could you ask for? It's a perfect oil for the Savage (unless you're into cruising when the ambient temp is below 14F. Brrrrrrrrr!).