Rear wheel wobble and noise

[bikerking.biz]

From your video, that wheel wobble is actually tire wobble. I didn't notice any wobble in the wheel. Tires are seldom perfect, some are worse than others. Didn't notice any noise out of character for a V 12 either. Don't know why the knocking would up and quit on you. But from the video, it sounds ok to me.

[ghostler]

Sometimes excessive tire wobble can be caused by a tire bead not fully seated on the rim. I had that happen to my front tire. After riding a few hundred miles, it partially seated so that it rode better but was still noticeable. Finally, I removed tire, broke the bead, cleaned the rim, temporarily relubricated with blue window cleaner, aired it up. Now it is properly seated, rides smooth, no problems since.

[cranky]

Sometimes I think I am just paranoid. I took my saddle bags off and took it for a ride. The knocking is gone. Not a whisper of knocking noise. It seems as if the whining noise is almost gone except when it is slowing down. Sounds like it is in the gears or drive shaft. I took a video of the wheel wobble up on the highway stands. You can hear the whining noise on the driver side in the video especially when I get near the drive shaft. Check it out and let me know if you think it is serious issue. It sounds great on the stands. Thanks in advance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CSX_bp ... e=youtu.be

With the bike up on stands, the tire can do cartwheels and not make a sound...

I couldn't tell, was there ANY wobble on the brake rotor, could it be dragging
on a shoe... I guess Ya could slip the brake off....

The sound, to me, seemed to be at wheel RPM, BUT I'd put a chalk line on the
tire and see if it strobed at the same time.

NOT a wrench, just thinking out loud..... Very Best to Ya!!!!

[Eydugstr]

Try backing off on the wheel torque a little. I used the book torque value and found the noise. After backing off on the torque by 5 foot pounds then 10 noise went away .

Thank you for posting this. Have been reading this thread with some interest. After replacing the rear rotor & rear wheel bearings on my bike, it started making the same kind of noise Paulezy described, in addition to the usual Jetson space car noise from the rear end. Loosened the rear axle nut and reset the torque to 70 ft-lbs instead of the factory 80, and the noise went away. When the bike was on the center stand I could spin the wheel and hear it before resetting the torque; When I lowered the torque could spin the wheel without hearing it, if that's any help.

[paulezy]

Thank you all for your the input. I am such a new rider and just a bit paranoid that every new noise is gonna put on the side of the road. Please bare with me as I gain confidence and understand my new bike better. This Voyager is an awesome motorcycle and I just love to ride it. I have since the above post put several hundred uneventful miles on it so fingers crossed and face to the wind. This should be a fun summer. Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~Hunter Thompson

[cranky]

.. Ya know, I've ridden a few miles, @20 years, like to go thru deserts where there
is nothin' for 100 miles in any direction - including phone service... and I challenge
anyone to not look around and for at least a few seconds... listen real close to
the sound of the scoot.. with the thought... don't stop now!!!! Just human, methinks...

I have a good friend that has had dozens of scoots, and quite a few of 'um were
1200 Voyagers... when I got mine, he said "it won't strand you".. he also
owned a scoot shop for years... NOT idle thoughts...

I know you will probably always feel a bit nervous... but confidence will
build.... Best to Ya!!!!!

[paulezy]

I started getting this oil drip on the pipes and burning oil smell just under the right side in front of the pipe bend. It is intermittent and I think I found where it is coming from, but now I started hearing a sound from the front of the exhaust like tinkling pebbles in the bottom of the oil pan. It is only during low idle and goes away. I changed the oil with Rottello T4 Synthetic 15w-40 but it is still there at start up idle. I just rolled over 26k miles on my 1987 1200. Is this bike still in the break in stage with metal heat up noise?

[triton28]

I'm not sure if this applies to your particular unit but on 1986 and "some" 1987s an ignition advance unit was fitted at the factory which had the part # 21119-1179 stenciled in white on the top. It was too advanced in the spark timing at low/idle RPMs and as such with a low battery voltage was prone to cause kickback in the starter system during rollover. This was damaging to the chain and the chain tensioner at the least and subsequently the factory issued a new igniter and chain on subsequent units. I believe there was a recall of the affected units to replace the igniter and chain. Some units never made it to the recall and the chain could in some cases snap and smash the crankcase.
The redesigned igniter had the part # 21119-1248 stenciled on the top and there was a new stronger chain available, # 92057-1276.
Now having the old igniter isn't a problem with a solid well charged battery, but by now a lot of '86 and '87s have had numerous owners and undoubtedly some of the owners have fallen victim to the radio memory voltage drain and have tried starting the bikes with a low battery. Not good with the old igniter in place as the chain suffers the shock of kickback and stretches over time with repeated occurrences. This stretched/weakened chain condition doesn't go away
Some units, such as my first '87, have had the 1248 igniter installed and all is well. I would even say it probably still has the original starter chain seeing how it had the 1179 igniter when I first got it.
However my second '87 is a different story; it came to me with the 1179 igniter so I suspect the chain is the earlier part # as well, especially since I can hear a intermittent/non rhythmic rattle at low idle which disappears with increased RPM.
So I called Mr.Carl Leo and voiced my suspicions about the chain. He offered a description of the symptoms and a way to check for the chain rattle: after warming the engine up to normal operating temperature, and of course having the carbs in reasonable sync with each other, lower the idle speed to around 700/800 RPM, as low as possible, and listen for the presence of a sporadic rattling noise around the alternator drive area of the crankcase. Sometimes there isn't any rattle and then the next second it is evident, but usually only at idle RPM.
Then rev the engine a little to around 1200 RPM, hold it for a second or two and see if the noise goes away with strain on the system but returns/shows up on the RPM drop to low idle, slack tension condition of the chain.
If this is when your rattle shows up I hate to say it but that could indicate a stretched chain or perhaps a problem with the chain tensioner spring loaded slipper assembly. At the very least contact Mr. Carl Leo, voyagerparts@bellsouth.net and discuss your noise; it may be something other than the starter chain.
Mr. Leo has vast experience with these bikes and is generous in sharing his knowledge with those who ask.
Are you sure all the possible rattling nuts and bolts are tight? Hopefully you will find a loose heat shield or loose radiator screen mounting bolt, anything other than what I described above.
If after all it seems as though the noise is indeed the chain/tensioner, it is only a question of when will it break, not if it will. It will require a complete teardown of the engine to replace the affected parts, or replace the engine with another later model year unit.
Sorry for the possible bad news and I hope I am outlining a problem which you don't have, but it is better to know in advance and be able to save the disappointment of an unexpected catastophy.
Dave

[paulezy]

I have looked all over in the online manual and cannot find the starter chain tensioner. Can anyone tell me where it is located in the manual?

[triton28]

Go to Chapter 8; Crankshaft and Transmission, section titled Alternator Shaft/Starter Motor Clutch, page 8-18.
Not a lot of info but it's there.
Edit: when removing the chain tensioner be careful to not lose the 2nd spring of the assembly. It is a tiny spring which operates the anti return pawl for the tensioner spindle.

[paulezy]

Thanks Triton, I found it.

[paulezy]

Hot hot day today, waited till dusk to go for a ride and when I let out the clutch the engine starts rattling clattering noises. If I over rev it doesnt do it as much. If I lug the engine it rattles and clatters. Any ideas?

[Bulrid8]

Mine is starting to slightly chatter in 1st gear, when 2 up. I think the clutch is slipping with the added weight. If I rev it higher, it does it less. Hope it holds till winter and I will change the clutches out.

[triton28]

Paulezy;
sounds like clutch rattle usually caused by the needle bearing clearances- lessens when one pulls the clutch lever in to the bar.
Bulrid8;
in 3rd gear when going up a hill, roll on the throttle briskly, not sharply, and if you have clutch slippage it will show up by doing this test.

[Me Again]

I have read about this problem many times and have noticed that more often than not the problem is just a broken spring and the entire clutch does not need servicing

[paulezy]

Oh for cripes sake, I thought I checked the igniter last year and thought is was good. I just checked it for kicks and giggles and it is part number 21119-1179 which it seems is the bad one. Having found this where do I get a new igniter and will Kawasaki still fix it under warranty?