Whirring Clutch Noise - 07 R1200RT

drneo66 · Aug 5, 2020

My 2007 R1200RT has just over 112k miles on it now. After a ride this weekend I noticed that, especially in 1st and 2nd gears upon acceleration, that I am having a pronounced whirring sound as I ride.

The sound:
- is only evident with the clutch out (it goes away with the clutch held in)
- same sound with the bike in gear or in neutral, again depending on the clutch position
- is worse when the bike is cold
- seems to go away with engine braking but more pronounced with acceleration (that's the odd thing)
- not evident for the last 60k miles (or maybe my hearing changed? or I just noticed it now?)

I'm not experiencing any clutch slip, I don't have any oil spots under the bike, nor is there any leaking that I can see. The master clutch cylinder has the right amount of fluid.

To be sure: The sound is not evident with the bike engine off and rolling (the one time it pays to live on a steep hill). I drained the transmission oil and it came out clean without any metal flakes in the oil.

I can't seem to find any similar threads with this specific topic. A lot of people talk about the throw out bearing, but that would be the opposite - more noise with the clutch in??

Thanks for your insights!

pglaves · Aug 5, 2020

drneo66 said:
My 2007 R1200RT has just over 112k miles on it now. After a ride this weekend I noticed that, especially in 1st and 2nd gears upon acceleration, that I am having a pronounced whirring sound as I ride.

The sound:
- is only evident with the clutch out (it goes away with the clutch held in)
- same sound with the bike in gear or in neutral, again depending on the clutch position
- is worse when the bike is cold
- seems to go away with engine braking but more pronounced with acceleration (that's the odd thing)
- not evident for the last 60k miles (or maybe my hearing changed? or I just noticed it now?)

I'm not experiencing any clutch slip, I don't have any oil spots under the bike, nor is there any leaking that I can see. The master clutch cylinder has the right amount of fluid.

To be sure: The sound is not evident with the bike engine off and rolling (the one time it pays to live on a steep hill). I drained the transmission oil and it came out clean without any metal flakes in the oil.

I can't seem to find any similar threads with this specific topic. A lot of people talk about the throw out bearing, but that would be the opposite - more noise with the clutch in??

Thanks for your insights!

Every time I hear or read about a noise that is there when the clutch is not pulled which goes away when the clutch is pulled when in neutral I ask myself what does pulling the clutch change. And of course the answer is that it stops the transmission input shaft from turning. Then the next question is what about the turning shaft might make a noise. And I then suspect that a bearing might be going bad.

Then reading the OP I ask myself what about acceleration or engine braking might alter the noise and I answer myself that the gear mesh under acceleration exerts more side load on the bearing than mere steady-state cruising.

So my best guess is that one or the other of the bearings on the transmission input shaft are making noise as the first outward sign of failure. I would drain the gear oil and carefully examine the magnet and the oil for any sign of metal particles.

drneo66 · Aug 6, 2020

Thanks for the reply Paul. I did drain the transmission oil and ran a magnet through the oil pan, but I didn't discover anything...

So do I run the bike for another 1000 miles or so and then redrain and search?

Or do I bite the bullet and find a good used transmission for replacement (which, since I'm already that far into the engine, I may as well replace the clutch at the same time?)

pglaves · Aug 6, 2020

drneo66 said:
Thanks for the reply Paul. I did drain the transmission oil and ran a magnet through the oil pan, but I didn't discover anything...

So do I run the bike for another 1000 miles or so and then redrain and search?

Or do I bite the bullet and find a good used transmission for replacement (which, since I'm already that far into the engine, I may as well replace the clutch at the same time?)

It is hard to be sure what to advise. I wouldn't plan on any long trips until I got it sorted. The next step I would do would be to use a mechanics stethoscope (or substitute) to listen to the transmission. You can use a long screw driver as a substitute. Place the tip near the front of the transmission and press the end of the handle to your ear. Have a helper pull and release the clutch lever. See if you can isolate the noise location.

I guess you have the option of a repair or a replace. Maybe let Moon Motors listen and tell you what they think. Also, keep an eye out for a good used replacement. A specialist (Tom Cutter, Anton Largiader, Ted Porter, etc.) would want to go through the box and replace most/all bearings to a tune of probably $1,500 but then you would know for sure the transmission is in tip-top shape. A used transmission could be as cheap as $300 or as much as $1,000 depending on mileage and source.

Whirring Clutch Noise - 07 R1200RT

drneo66

Active member

pglaves

#13338

drneo66

Active member

pglaves

#13338

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