| Author | Message | ||
     Tx05xb12s |
Call me stubborn for not taking in a bike that's still under warranty, but I want to fix it myself D****T! I've posted before about a rattling sound coming from somewhere in my drivetrain, and today I found it. I put the bike up on my Pitbull, put on my helmet just in case she decided to jump off the stand, and let her rip in the garage. I ran it through the gears and listened for the racket I've been hearing right around 70 MPH, and sure enough, it was there. Luckily, it does this occasionally when riding slow in 1st too, so I left it idling in 1st and got off the bike. Got a piece of vacuum cleaner tube and held it up to my ear to localize the sound I was searching for. I probed around the bike with the other end, and pinpointed the sound coming from the sprocket coming out of the tranny on the right side. I vaguely recall this noise problem starting right about the time I put a billet aluminum sprocket cover on. At first, I thought the sprocket was rubbing on the inside of the cover and experimented with various combinations of washers to space it out away from the sprocket. I'm sure it wasn't rubbing because there aren't any wear marks on the inside of the cover. I've even pondered whether maybe it has a resonant frequency coinciding with 70 MPH that is making the sound. Today I decided I'd rather have function than beauty, so I got the old plastic stocker out and bolted that one on. Same rattling sound. So, I figured it must be the pulley itself (or god forbid the tranny), so I took the cover off completely and put the bike in gear with no cover at all. NO NOISE! Hmmmm... So I put the plastic stocker back on and left the mount screws loose...NO NOISE! As I tightened the screws down, the noise returned. I got everything tight enough that I think it'll stay on there with locktite, but nowhere near as tight as I had it. You guys think I could be tweaking the tranny case enough to cause the shaft to rub by tightening the screws too much? I'm not putting THAT much force on them. Anyone have this happen? I'm thinking about putting the billet one back on and seeing if I can play with screw torque and get it to mount without making noise. If that's all it was, I'm glad I didn't take it to the stealership. They'd have charged me $150 to adjust my screw torques if they were able to find the problem at all. I don't think the warranty would have covered this one, and they're not big on goodwill mechanic work. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Anyone got any idea why bolt tension on the sprocket cover could be causing a noise? | ||
| Rsh |
I don't think it's the sprocket cover, I believe it's the sheet metal belt guide that the rear bolt of the sprocket goes through. If the sheet metal piece is not centered up correctly it rattles. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
You mean the rear bolt of the sprocket cover? The long one that goes through the swingarm pivot? And you're right. It's not the cover. It's the tightness of the bolts pulling something out of line. I can't figure out what it is though. | ||
| Bads1 |
Rsh, he has a 12 it doesn't have the that. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Y'know, I always wondered why in the manual it says to only use locktite on the one long screw & tighten all screws to 12-36 inch pounds. That's what, 1-3 foot pounds? It's not a whole lot. I think I now understand why. The plastic's pretty thin & flexable. Maybe over tightening warps it and it rubs as you say on the sprocket  | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
But I was having this problem with a big thick billet cover. And the sound is definitely metallic whether it's the plastic OEM or the aftermarket billet cover. Surely I'm not flexing the metal one into the pulley (no wear marks). Besides, I originally thought it was a clearance issue, so I had it mounted at one point with a whole stack of washers in addition to the spacers the cover came with. That wasn't it. Well at least we know the cover is not supposed to have a lot of torque on the mounting bolts. Thanks for looking the specs up. I guess if I were smart, I'd have taken a look at the book too. I have a bad tendency to jump on here and ask before I've exhausted my available resources. It won't happen again! Sorry!  No really, thanks! I feel much better about it. I'll try and get the pretty billet cover I spent way too much money for (to let it sit on a shelf) mounted without any racket. Sounds like the tranny's going to fly apart at any moment with those bolts torqued down too tight. I also owe Al an apology too. I called him up several months ago and whined that the $225 billet sprocket cover he sold me didn't work. I was convinced it was rubbing the pulley and was adamant the mounting hardware and spacers were the culprit. The man's a saint. He didn't even argue and after spending a bunch of his valuable time troubleshooting with me, offered me a full refund. I never sent it back to him though because I kept hoping I would get it to work. Plus, I felt bad for bitching about it and his reply was a cheerful offer of a refund. I'm not rich and could have used the cash somewhere else, but I do have moral standards you know. Anyway, thanks all. I'll revisit this one more time with the billet cover and hope it works. At least I know the plastic one works if all else fails. | ||
| Metalstorm |
I hope you get it sorted out. I'm sure this has been very nerve wracking for you. Keep us posted. | ||
| Houharleyguy |
Phillip.... If all else fails ya can drive into Houston with the part. We'll bolt it onto my XB12S and let you take it for a spin......just to see if the noise comes up with it on my scoot. If it doesn't then you can really go nucking futs trying to figure out whats rattling on yours. Good Luck, Kevin | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Yeah, at least we may just learn something to add to the knowledge vault. Well, maybe not the why, but the "don't do what I did" part anyway. I'll try to re-mount the billet cover in the morning. Let you know... I was starting to get scared my bike would wind up in the shop for weeks on end with tranny problems or something and I wouldn't get to go to MBIV. I'm REAL glad this is all it is. Guess that's what happens when an inexperienced mechanic like me can't leave good enough alone. That's how I learn though. What am I gonna do?  | ||
| Houharleyguy |
Come on down and we'll drink a beer and I'll tell you a funny story about a fat kid named....um....say....ah....Kevin. Who installed his own EZ pull clutch, and learned how to replace his inner primary gasket when he forgot to make sure the retaining clip that holds the clutch ramps together was on tight as he heard 3 little ball bearings fall into his primary. Then of course not wanting those lil ball bearings to be all alone in there he poked around with a magnet, and then lost said magnet stuck on the cam chain in there too! Some days your pretty...some days your smart....that day I was drop dead gorgeous! So bro...I feel you pain about self wrenching...but if we never try, then we never learn. Kevin | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Kevin - You got plans next Saturday? I'm really supposed to be finishing up a research paper for Managerial Accounting next weekend, but hey there's priorities in life. It can wait until Sunday. I'll just ditch church instead.  Hope it doesn't strike. Surely God will understand. | ||
| Houharleyguy |
Phillip, I teach this weekend, but I am off the March 3rd weekend. Kevin | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
We'll hook up then. I emailed you last night. Check my signature block. Phone number's there. Took a 50 mile ride with the stock sprocket cover this morning. There is improvement with the lower bolt torque, but the sound is still intermittently there when the engine is either lugging or revving. Nucking Futs you say!?  I'm about ready to join a blues band as the lead whiner. Unfortunately, I have to spend the rest of the day preparing for an exam in class tonight. Maybe I'll get time to play with it some more after class. Man if I ever get those bolts set just right so the noise stops, I'll never touch it again! What a pain. | ||
| Aeroe |
We have a saying here at my engineering college, "It's better to be lucky then right." There are so many different reason that could cause that noise it's not worth worrying about. I think you've got the right idea, just adjust the screws and roll with it. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Well, I've been so busy since my last post I haven't had a chance to ride it. As far as sitting on the Pitbull, there's no more noise with the stock cover. I will get a chance to take a long ride this weekend and see what it does out on the road. Hopefully problem solved. Wish me luck. Otherwise, off to the stealership I go I guess. |
