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Grinding noise

37K views 41 replies 17 participants last post by  alexchi33 
#1 ·
So I have been hearing this grinding noise down below when I let off the gas to slow down. When I pull the clutch in the noise goes away. You can really here it when I am downshifting through the gears. Yesterday it was doing it a lot... Not a very pleasing sound. Thoughts on this anyone?
 
#2 · (Edited)
May be the front pulley nut has come loose. You can check by pulling off the cover over the front pulley. It has been a common problem. More info from another forum:

Serious warning for everybody - Check the PRIMARY DRIVE PULLEY NUT, it can come loose - as in finger tight.... It can be spun off with fingers, no wrench needed, this is NOT a good thing!

This is a nut that's supposed to be torqued to 100 ft lbs and staked in place. I hate to think what would happen if it got loose. It's under a cover that's easy to get open to check this, and there's no oil in it - I suggest everyone take a good look at this ASAP.

Its behind the round chrome cover on the left side of the motor just behind the floor board. It has slotted vents, its the front pulley on your drive belt. One note - if you have passenger floorboards, it may need to be removed (or at least one bolt removed to rotate them) to provide adequate space to get the cover off of the primary drive. There isn't much involved in checking it. Six bolts hold the cover on, 4 short and two long (on the bottom). Let the cover hinge down so the wires aren't damaged. The part that is behind the outer cover is the rectifier / voltage regulator (changes AC current to DC and regulates the voltage). According to the service manual the pulley nut is a one time use part as it has the word "new" next to it. I think Yamaha's intent is that if this nut is removed a new one is to be installed in it's place. It takes a 30 mm socket for the pulley nut. Some folks use blue Locktite, torque it to 100 ft lbs then stake the nut. The whole thing takes 15-20 minutes at the most. To "Stake" the nut - There is a groove in the shaft that the nut goes on. The nut itself has a sort of lip on the outer side. You can take a hammer and screw driver and make an indentation in the outer part of the nut to keep it from backing off after tightening it. That part of the nut seemed rather soft so it didn't take much of a tap on the screw driver with the hammer to "stake" it. It may call for a chisel to stake it. I am not sure. I had a screwdriver handy and it worked for the job with just a medium tap to bend the outer side of the nut into the groove of the pulley shaft.
 
#3 ·
You were right on the money, I have the cover off as we speak and the thing was threading out quite a bit. Man if that sucker came off going down the highway...Thanks a million for the heads up!
 
#6 ·
Had a major problem last evening. As I was heading to the gym I noticed the noise again, but a little different this time. Sounded like it was coming from the same place. Anyhow I barely made it as it clunked out on me. When I let the clutch out it sounds like boulders rolling around in a drum, of course there is no engagement whatsoever either. Called roadside assistance and they are picking it up and bringing it to the stealership today. Gee I am not excited to hear what the damage will be...to my wallet or the bike:( I took off the cover again cause I thought maybe the nut came off, but it was still on there nice and tight. Ideas anybody, transfer case, tranny?
 
#8 ·
Dropped it off today at the dealership, thank god I still had extended warranty left on it. Will be interesting what exactly it was. I will post as soon as I find out...
 
#9 ·
Looking forward to what they find. Dont forget to update us. Its allways nice to know what to look out for.

Also noticed in your sig you have the 210 rear. Is that the metzler. If so you should probably look into the avon cobras if you havnt allready. Longer lasting tire.
 
#10 ·
Dealership stated it was because the nut had come loose and damaged the splines on the shaft or something like that, parts have been ordered and should be here this week sometime. I will fill you in once it's done and I have more details. And yes it is a Metzler tire with a lot of tread left yet, but will definitely explore looking into the Avon if its a better tire.
 
#42 ·
Grinding noise problem found



This is a common problem on Yamaha. May be because of the staked nut was loosed. Causing the drive belt pulley and the axle splines grinding to each other. If you found the noise is from the drive axle and belt pulley. Please file a safety complain to NHTSA by calling 1-888-327-4236.
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#11 ·
I liked my metzler that I had. It gripped pretty darn good and looked good also. But it only lasted about 4500miles. My bridgestone lasted 8000miles but wasnt a steller performer and was pretty darn thin when I changed it. The avon so far has 4000miles and looks like it will make another 4000m if not a tad more. However it handles as good if not better then the metzler.

Now the metzler front is doing great, Ive got 8000miles on it so far and it looks to go another 4000m pretty easy.

Everyone in the other forums have had very good luck with the avons. It seems to be either them or car tires lol.
 
#12 ·
I had a similar noise as described way up top. Checked the nut and sure enough, it was very loose...free spinning on the shaft by finger. I also found under the cover a fine rust colored dust...almost like brake dust...coating the parts under the cover. Tightened the nut and reassembled. Now for the new, possibly related problem. After riding a couple miles, the bike developed a squeal when coasting to a stop with the clutch in. The best way I can describe it is when your car tires rub the painted lines in a parking lot...it sounds just like that. Any ideas? I'm going to back off the nut and retorque again in case I put too much on it. Any experience with the fine dust? Nothing I can see is worn or wearing but I'm thinking the dust might be coming from behind the pully. Unless I remove the belt and slide the pully off, I won't be able to tell.

Also, I informed my dad who has an 07 Roadliner and we pulled his cover off. His nut was not loose and I noticed it was crimped differently. I'm guessing Yamaha discovered they had a problem and changed how they crimped the nuts in order to hold them better.
 
#14 ·
Correct, it's not water tight. However, my dad's 07 didn't have a spec of dust in it and we have identical riding conditions. Everything in mine is coated, like a brake dusted coated wheel. Something is wearing. I had a better chance to inspect it today and suspect either the shaft, the pulley, or both are wearing. There's actually a small gap between the teeth of the shaft and the pulley when the belt is under tension and pulling back on the pulley. I'm guessing I'd find the pulley is loose on the shaft if I were to remove tension from the belt. Grrr...seems like Yamaha has/had a problem and I'll be stuck with the repair bill for a design defect on their behalf. Time to call the local dealer and see what they say.

EDIT: BTW, anyone know the correct size socket for that nut? My metric's go to 19mm and I have a 36mm for another purpose. 19mm is too small, 36mm is too large. I've been using a 1-1/4" but it's definitely not right. I'd like to pick up the correct size.
 
#17 ·
I too had the fine dust inside. When I first took the cover off to discover the loose nut I cleaned out the dust(shavings might be the more accurate word) and then after some more riding and I heard more noise I checked again and low and behold I had fresh shavings in there. I thought maybe it was from the washer in between the pulley and the nut that could have been part of it but I suppose it was on the other side of the pulley where you cannot see that in fact the pulley had separated from the shaft from having the nut come loose for who knows how many miles ago. The nut is supposed to be scored from the factory after being torqued on but mine was not. I scored it after I tightened it but the damage was already done unfortunetely. This is my hypothesis for now as I have not heard back from the dealership yet...Oh and 06liner that is what noise I heard just before it started getting really bad for me(grinding noise)
 
#18 ·
Wow kind of scary to think there are a bunch of Liners out there with this issue. Imagine the horror that could ensue if this nut came loose at 75 mph "rolling" down the highway? Just so happens I heard some strange "grinding" noises yesterday upon clutch cruising I best get this checked out before today's ride.
 
#19 ·
My 2006 Start has 25K on it. Recently started getting a knock that I only felt as I released the clutch while downshifting from 5th to 4th gear. Then, it moved and now it knocks when I downshift from 4th to 3rd; but, it is less intense. I feel nothing going upward through all 5 gears. The dealers service department (who I have a lot of faith in) have removed both LH and RH case covers, checked to make sure everything is torqued to spec and the drive belt has only minimal play. They have no idea what is causing this. They called Yamaha's pro shop and they could offer no advice either. The only thing they knew to try next would be to split the case (huge labor $) and see if anything is loose. I've decided to just keep riding it because I can't fork out a grand just to look when nobody has a reasonable guess as to the cause of this downshifting noise. Anybody have any ideas?
 
#20 ·
picked up the bike today, my hypothesis was correct the pulley did cause the
damage from having the loose nut. Another contributor was my belt was way too tight. It was all covered under my warranty thankfully. They also took care of the recall on my throttle cable guide bracket. All in all they replaced the middle driven shaft, pulley, nut, washer, seals and gasket. I also received fresh transfer case oil out of it.
 
#23 ·
Did you tighten your belt at any point? Mine seems really tight as well...as I discovered while investigating the other related problems. My dad's 07 Roadliner has a much looser belt. Same with the ones in the showroom. I think the new noise (rubber on metal kinda sound) is from the belt too tight. Need to loosen it but don't have the time right now to dive in. My exhaust and everything has to come off.
 
#24 ·
No it was like that when I bought it. It rides different now that the belt is set properly. The belt was so tight before there was not any deflection whatsoever. Gotta believe it put a lot of stress on the shaft and bearings.
 
#26 ·
I think the original owner lowered the bike himself and probably tightened the belt too much. I haven't touched it. Funny thing is as when I had the dealership change my oil and put on a new front tire last summer they mentioned in passing that the belt was tight. I was like ok...why did you not loosen it if you thought it was a big deal. I took it out again today and it seems faster than normal and it coasts better when letting off the gas. I suppose its all attributed to a looser belt...
 
#27 ·
they prolly thought the belt would get loose as it was driven.

and normally they would be right.

apparently, the kevlar reinforced belt did not stretch.
 
#28 ·
06 Stratoliner "S" - 3RD GEAR WHINE

Gents, I'm getting real sick of a VERY distinct WHINE in 3rd gear when driving at lower speeds. It literally sounds like the 3rd gear (and only the 3rd!) is running downright DRY! Whines like hell and if I rolled by you slowly (35 or less) you'd literally HEAR IT whining. WTF OVER?? I checked my pulley-nut and all's good! I use high-quality lubricants everywhere, and just had it changed.

Does anyone else have this issue? Transmission whining in 3rd gear? VERY LOUD?
 
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