Engine Whine

[Tom(North Alabama)]

Anybody experienced an engine whine only between 60 and 70 miles an hour? This is the 3rd VII I have owned and the only one that whines. It is something in the engine, because if I let it roll with the clutch in it goes away. I have put over 5k miles on the '02 bike since I got it, doesn't seem to be getting worse.

[flip18436572]

Are you sure it isn't a clutch problem? Seriously, I don't have the problem, and I would have to default to the VII owners that have more knowledge.

[Chris near Kansas City]

While rolling along at the speed you indicated, what happens if you roll on and off the throttle? Does the sound/pitch change? Reason why I'm asking, is I'm thinking final drive unit, not engine.

[Tom(North Alabama)]

As long as the clutch is engaged, I don't hear the whine. It sounds like it is from the engine.

[kgbear]

Tom, I have an 03 and it whines, I also have a 76 KZ900 that does it. I was told a long time ago that it is normal for some and doesn't hurt a thing as long as it don't change. I have even had people tell me that the ones that whine seem to run better than the ones that don't. ( heard this from several motorcycle cops that ride 1000's ) Don't know how true this is but sounds good.

[Chris near Kansas City]

As long as the clutch is engaged, I don't hear the whine. It sounds like it is from the engine.

If you pull the clutch lever in, which disengages the transmission from the engine and the noise goes away, then your problem, as far as I know, has to be somewhere else other than the engine. Either transmission, or rear end would be my bet. Still probably nothing to worry about unless it becomes overly annoying.

[Charlie from Illinois]

The final drive on my bike was pretty loud (for me) and I put some Amsoil gear oil in it and it quieted down a whole lot. The final drive seems to run cooler also.

[Mike W]

Mine has a bad whine from about 57 - 77 (if I were to go faster than that to get rid of the whine, I would probably get a louder one from the back seat).

Most of my riding in on the Interstate at about 77. If I shift down to 4th, the whine goes away. If I slow down in 4th about 15 mph, the whine comes back. The whine goes away if I pull in the clutch, even if I keep the RPM's up. The noise seems to be a combination of engine/transmission speed and being under load.

I'm sure this doesn't hurt anything, but it sure is annoying. For any rides longer than about 5 hours, my ears ring for several hours after I get home.

[jonnyd]

ya mine does it to but it does seem to get a little better as I spend more time at speed. It is in the engine because when I pull in the clutch it goes away.I tried adjusting the counter balancer but it did not help

[JOHNNYNITRO]

my 97 does the same thing, at 45 to 60 very loud whine. changed the rear and clutch fluids and oil, no change in noise. what could it be?

[Mike In Ny]

The whine is probably from the rear end.
Thats the way it was in my 01'.
Amsoil 75w Gear Oil solved that problem.

[radrog]

I was wondering if anyone confirmed what the whine is for sure?? I have this whine in my 99' as well. It happens around 70mph or so. I kind of thought it might be the timing chain/tensioner. However the differential would make more sense.

[bresna]

My 2000 has it at 70 mph too. If I let up on the throttle a bit, it goes away, but comes right back when I give it some gas. Annoying at times.

[John Luttrell]

I almost didn't buy my Voyager last year because of the whine. I did some home work on it though and after some discussion with some Kawi mechanics I found out that the transmission gears in these bikes have straight cut gears instead of helical cut gears; they designed it this way for for stronger gears knowing that a lot of people would be towing with the bike.

The only down side to straight cut gears in the tranny is they tend to develope the whine under load as they break in. No harm, just normal op's for these bikes.

[bikerking.biz]

What kind of oil do you run in your engine and rear end If not synthetic, I would suggest that in both as that seemed to quiet mine down quite a bit. Still does it, but not objectionable.

[TaiwanJohn]

Sometimes the clutch basket can become loose, and can accentuate the whine from straight cut gears. It is not too tough to check that, if you are handy. Mine was loose a couple of years ago when I replaced clutch springs. A loose clutch is not something to panic about, though. If it is too loose, you will notice a lot of noise in that area, or problems disengaging the clutch. I have seen many loose clutches on bikes over the years.

Also, when you are cruising, even at 60-70, there is the less load on the transmission and clutch, not like when you are accelerating or decelerating. Without a load, there is a little slop between gears, and this can cause more whine.

[Nathan (South Carolina)]

My '01 has over 86,000 miles and has howled around 70 mph since new. It is just the nature of the bike. I always compared the sound of the gear whine to the sound of a supercharger or a jet engine's turbine. Just turn up the volume on the radio and ignore it.

[radrog]

After speaking to Carl I'll pass on this information.... Most of the gear whine is from the straight cut gears that are spread throughout the tranny and engine on these bikes. That produces the whine that most if not all experience somewhere in the rpm range, mostly around 3500rpm or around 65-75mph in 5th gear. A lot of the whine does come from the balancer shaft adjustment. It can be adjusted per the service manual and will make some difference and in some cases eliminate the whine completely. It could also affect it in the way of moving the whine to a different rpm range. Again, I'm just passing on Carl's experience and knowledge, I have not done this myself. I'll try the adjustment myself in the next week or so. If anyone has done this please pass on your results...

Thank you and have a nice day!

Roger