1980GS850L whining noise in 3rd, less whine in 4th, even less in 5th - advice ?

[Guest]

Hi folks,

I just had a chance to drive my newly acquired GS out on the open road for the first time today.

You can check on my previous progress if you want by reading posts here :

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?225303-Just-bought-non-running-GS850

How much gear noise should I be hearing normally ? Are any of the gears usually louder than the others ?

I do not hear ANY whine in 1st or 2nd gear. Mind you I have not taking the engine up very high on the tach so road speed was low in 1st/2nd. Even so, when I engage 3rd gear, there is suddenly a very audible whining noise. It's there but maybe not as loud in 4th and 5th. Maybe wind noise drowns out some of the whining at higher speeds. At 65 MPH in 5th, I could still detect it.

I searched the GS resources Forum for "whining" and found a lot of threads regarding the final drive/bevel gears and camchain tensioner. I don't think either of those areas are what I'm hearing because it does not seem to get louder or quieter during accelerating, deceleration or while maintaining a steady speed on a flat road. It does change pitch but sitting here I just had a "duh" moment and did not try to verify if it stayed in tune with engine RPM or instead with road speed. I THINK it was engine RPM related and not road speed related. At least to the best of my belief right now. More testing will be forthcoming if needed.

Are 1st and 2nd gears usually extremely quiet on these bikes ? I'll be draining the oil to have a look-see and will report my findings in the next day or two. Has anyone experienced a whining noise in only the top 3 gears ?

[tom203]

"..... I THINK it was engine RPM related and not road speed related. At least to the best of my belief right now. "

Will it make this noise in neutral as you rev it? If no, then it must be related to output drive, either in trans or in secondary drive. Is oil good in secondary drive ? Need 80/90 weight not motor oil.

[eil]

I hear a noticeable amount of drive shaft whine in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd when I accelerate. It's not loud, just there. By 4th or 5th, there's too much wind noise to hear it. (I wear ear plugs.) The chain noise on my 750 is louder, though, for what that's worth.

Could be your third gear is slightly boogered. If whine is the only symptom, I would just chalk it up to one of the charms of that particular bike and keep riding. And keep an eye out for metal bits or flakes in the oil, of course.

[tirebiter]

Neglectful as always, I have not yet drained the engine oil to look at it. I did however determine absloutely that the whine is engine RPM related and about the same in every gear. Sorry to be so misleading at the outset. After 100 miles (and a dragging clutch) I am still getting used to riding this machine.

Tom203, I will check the neutral status of the whine, first thing tomorrow. Offhand I'm thinking it is not there in neutral or if I pull in the clutch lever. It does seem somehow relegated to only when I am in gear and the engine is connected to the rear wheel.

As the engine builds RPM, the "pitch" of the whining noise goes to a higher and higher pitch but stays more or less, at the same volume.

The whine is loudest under mild to moderate acceleration. No more than barely opening the throttles. Almost disappears entirely if I feather the throttle (in gear) just right. About the same, maybe slightly less when decelerating. Hardly hear it at all if I open the throttle enough to make loud exhaust snarls.

It's definitely there in every gear. Contrary to what I thought I heard, my first day out. Regardless if I'm going 25 or up to 75 MPH.

Not sure but it seems to be coming from exactly where the left end of the starter motor is. I'm beginning to think I should re-read all the threads regarding starter clutch problems. Does not seem any worse after 2 (one hour) jaunts, yesterday.

[tirebiter]

Just about to go out and try eil's suggestions to see if the whine happens in neutral or with the clutch disengaged. Soon as I finish my morning coffee that is. Meanwhile this post has a video of the EXACT same whine :

81 GS650L engine "whine" how much normal??

[tirebiter]

The whine all but disappears in Neutral and when the clutch lever is pulled in. It's stil lthere but not quite the same sound. Apparently the whine is only noticeable really, whenever the drivetrain is loading the crankshaft ... at least a little.

[eil]

I watched (well, listened) to barnbiketom's video and mine makes more or less the same noises going down the road. Mine is maybe a bit less "chirpy", though. Seeing the carbs in the video makes me half-wonder if they don't do a bit of whistling on the intake stroke.