Recently Posted over at ADV

[jasoomian]

I'd go into the long story here, but, just as easy to read the whole thing over at ADV.

I've had several good suggestions, but, always looking for more feedback, because, as of right now, I'm a stone's throw away from taking it somewhere to get it fixed. I'm just running out of things to check, that if they were the culprit, I'd be able to fix on my own.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722808

Troy, one more thing, I think you need to add some sort of 'Fix It' category to your forum - the Rider's Lounge seems made for more casual chat and not specifically, please help, my bike is screwed up kind of chat. Just a humble suggestion

Ride safe, all.

[troy]

Less is more until more is absolutely necessary.

[Stu]

There have been very few mechanical questions on the forum so Troy has a good point. You have a much larger audience to get information from on ADV Rider so that, or a Suzuki forum, would probably be better for getting detailed answers quickly.

If the engine speed increases and decreases but the noise level remains constant it is most likely not an engine related issue (such as a water pump bearing). If it is fairly constant then I would look at wheel bearings first. They may be dry and just need greasing. With the wheel on you should have no lateral play when you pull on the tire. When you turn the tire you should not hear any clicking sounds. If you do I would replace the wheel bearings. With the wheel out you can turn the bearings with your fingers. If there are tight or difficult-to-turn spots as you rotate the inner race then replace the bearings.

The speedo mount is, generically speaking, just a rotating adaptor that fits into a cut out on the wheel. Inside is a straight gear that changes the rotation from the wheel's direction to drive the cable (a 90 degree turn, if you like). There is sometimes a grease fitting on this. If it is dry just grease it. If the speedo cable (mechanical here, not carrying an electrical pulse) is dry it will rattle in its housing as well. You can lube it if it is the culprit.

Check this stuff out. It is all simple to examine. If the noise continues after checking this then let us know.

Stu

[jasoomian]

I wasn't trying to step on any toes, just trying to keep every thing nice and on-topic'y Everything must be clean. Clean.

Thanks for the input Stu, and as long as work can fade into the background for a few hours, I should get a chance over the weekend to do a thorough search into the front wheel.

I'll let you know what I find. Thanks, again.

[KC]

Just caught myself up on your problem...good to see you've put a few thousand miles on the 'ole WeeStrom!!

I agree with some of the other posts. Focus on either the front wheel bearing or the speedo. I would start with the speedo since it is the easiest thing to check, once you remove the fastener it should just pull out of the housing. Even if it is not the problem it would be good to clean it up and pack some grease in it. You may have to turn it one way or the other to align it...square peg, square hole.
If it turns out to be the front wheel bearing I would double check your front forks (in rememberance of your ordeal with raising them back up a while ago) to make sure they are exactly the same level, just a little bit off would cause excessive wear on the bearings.

Good luck, let us know what you find,
Kyle

[safiri]

Does the sound remain when you pull in the clutch and allow the engine speed to drop while the bike speed remains? You mentioned on/off throttle. If it does, then you have removed exhaust and engine. Still could be transmission, chain, remainder of bike.

If the speedo drive is mechanical, then a sticky cable will usually cause the needle to oscillate as the core is a tightly wound spring. Sticky cable drive won't cause the oscillation.

Your description reminds me of tracking down a problem on Troy's VS. On any bike the chain will oscillate up/down with contructive interference (harmonics) at certain speeds. Think of the chain as a guitar string with the two sprockets at the fixed points. Chain has to be loose to allow the suspension to flex. His chain was slapping / rubbing the center stand but only at certain speeds. To diagnose I had to be on the bike to compress the suspension, moving to get the chain oscillating, helmetless to locate the sound (should have thrown on my bicycle helmet at least), and leaning way out to look.

If you have recently raised the forks you have changed the geometry of the bike. (Side note: be careful as you have reduced the trail by lowering the front so the front end will be much more unstable. Look up bicycle geometry on Wikipedia for info.) This change might have caused enough of a change in the normal compression of the rear suspension to cause chain slap / oscillation.

Have someone ride next to you and observe / listen.

My bet is chain, BTW.

[KC]

Safiri said:

If you have recently raised the forks you have changed the geometry of the bike. (Side note: be careful as you have reduced the trail by lowering the front so the front end will be much more unstable.

Ok, yes, I'll have to correct myself here...technically he Lowered the forks recently. When he bought the bike from me I installed lowering links for him and Raised the forks to level out the bike. He later decided he didn't want/need the lowering links anymore.

[jasoomian]

Just caught myself up on your problem...good to see you've put a few thousand miles on the 'ole WeeStrom!!

I agree with some of the other posts. Focus on either the front wheel bearing or the speedo. I would start with the speedo since it is the easiest thing to check, once you remove the fastener it should just pull out of the housing. Even if it is not the problem it would be good to clean it up and pack some grease in it. You may have to turn it one way or the other to align it...square peg, square hole.
If it turns out to be the front wheel bearing I would double check your front forks (in rememberance of your ordeal with raising them back up a while ago) to make sure they are exactly the same level, just a little bit off would cause excessive wear on the bearings.

Good luck, let us know what you find,
Kyle

I'll re-check the forks, but, pretty sure they are dead even. Been working too much lately and haven't had the time to check the cable - I'll get to that next and let you know.

Thanks for your input.

[jasoomian]

Does the sound remain when you pull in the clutch and allow the engine speed to drop while the bike speed remains? You mentioned on/off throttle. If it does, then you have removed exhaust and engine. Still could be transmission, chain, remainder of bike.

If the speedo drive is mechanical, then a sticky cable will usually cause the needle to oscillate as the core is a tightly wound spring. Sticky cable drive won't cause the oscillation.

Your description reminds me of tracking down a problem on Troy's VS. On any bike the chain will oscillate up/down with contructive interference (harmonics) at certain speeds. Think of the chain as a guitar string with the two sprockets at the fixed points. Chain has to be loose to allow the suspension to flex. His chain was slapping / rubbing the center stand but only at certain speeds. To diagnose I had to be on the bike to compress the suspension, moving to get the chain oscillating, helmetless to locate the sound (should have thrown on my bicycle helmet at least), and leaning way out to look.

If you have recently raised the forks you have changed the geometry of the bike. (Side note: be careful as you have reduced the trail by lowering the front so the front end will be much more unstable. Look up bicycle geometry on Wikipedia for info.) This change might have caused enough of a change in the normal compression of the rear suspension to cause chain slap / oscillation.

Have someone ride next to you and observe / listen.

My bet is chain, BTW.

Yes, with clutch in, engine speed at idling, the sound remains as long as the bike is over a certain speed. Once I get some free time, I'll recheck the forks (as KC mentioned as well) and the rear suspension and chain.

While it could be the geometry or the chain, it's odd to me that it started now, and, not two months ago when I removed the lowering links and put the forks back to where they were when they left the factory. I would think that if I had set something up incorrectly, that I would have noticed it then, not after another 1500 miles.

Not being able to ride the Strom these last couple of weeks, especially since the weather has been awesome, is kind of a drag (although it's allowed to me time to ride my other bike which, unfortunately, oft sits a bit neglected.)

Thanks for your help!

[jasoomian]

So, after finally finding the mythical 12mm hex socket at a run down tool wholesaler in Tulsa, I had a chance to take off the front wheel and check everything out.

After taking off the front wheel, I checked all the bearings, they seemed fine, I then checked the speedometer housing/busing and found it quite lax in the grease department. I packed it full of grease, re-assembled the front and took it for a drive, and -- cue dramatic music -- quiet as a mouse. After a quick 10 minute drive, I took it back home, checked all the bolts and what not to make sure everything was still nice and tight. I then took the bike for a longer ride and still all was good.

Thanks to all who chimed in for some help.