Screaming/whining sound in 5th gear

[Vdriveboater]

I just bought a very nice '96 w/15k miles, the paint is beautiful, even has the Voyager liner bags for the side and rear cases and the hard wired Clarion helmet intercom. I'm removing the carbs for cleaning now due to rough running at idle and low speeds and will replace the 12 yr old Dunlop tires that ride like they're made of hard solid rubber. My big concern is a high pitched scream/whine noise in 5th gear beginning around 2800rpm and it gets louder as the rpms are higher. I had a '94 with 45k miles and it did not have this sound. I can also hear it in 4th gear but it's less pronounced, so I'm guessing it's something like gears or clutch that gets louder as more load is placed on the bike. My '07 Yamaha RSV V-4 has a loud whining gear noise that gets worse with my wife on the back, but it's not as loud as the Kaw. I changed the oil & filter (Delvac ESP 5W40) and it doesn't make a difference. I thought that I could feel the bike slow down slightly when as the whine comes and goes, but it might be my imagination. Any ideas about what is causing this, is it a concern, and can anything be done to stop it?

[SgtSlag]

Before you remove the carbs, try one of the following in the gas tank: Marvel Mystery Oil, SeaFoam, or Techron Fuel System Cleaner. That list is from least, to most, expensive. They can remove mild varnish deposits in the floats, carbs, and jets, and since your bike is running fairly decent, they should do the trick, without a wrench. Be sure to follow mixing directions, and give them 48 hours, or more, to work fully (should see results within an hour, but...).

Had a friend with a similar situation. He had a family, money was tight. He tried a can of SeaFoam, and his rough idle disappeared altogether. He was amazed, becoming a true believer after buying one can. It's not a miracle, but under the right circumstances, it can do the trick, for little money, little effort.

With regards to your oil viscosity... I used Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic, 5W-40, for a while. It led to false neutral shifts, between every gear in the transmission! It happened over a period of a couple of years, intermittently.

I switched back to a true 10W-40 Shell Oil, and that 5-weight difference almost entirely eliminated the false neutral issues I was having. Most here think I'm full of hot air, but I can only share what worked for me. YMMV.

Going to a 10W-40, or 10W-50 (for hot Summer days/desert riding, 90 F and above) oil viscosity might make a difference in your gear noise. Or it may not.



Cheers!

[Nails]

Before you remove the carbs, try one of the following

Yeah, pulling the carbs is a major PITA. Definitely worth investing a little time/effort to avoid. Seafoam is also my favorite snake oil. Since it's apparently been parked a while, you still might end up pulling them anyway; but this fuel treatment might make that cleaning go a little better. If you do plan to get into the carbs, also plan on pretty-much complete disassembly, all new gaskets and o-rings, new float valve parts, and take a good look at the big piston diaphragms for age cracks (these can be pricey). You'll want to have the metal parts cleaned in a quality sonicator. And you need to be meticulous with reassembly, especially getting the float height as exactly right as you can. Note that the floats have very little clearance as they move up and down.

And I've also experienced good things from a minor change in oil viscosity.

The gear whine is a common comment here. Do a search here on "straight-cut gears".

[cushman eagle]

I just bought a very nice '96 w/15k miles, the paint is beautiful, even has the Voyager liner bags for the side and rear cases and the hard wired Clarion helmet intercom. I'm removing the carbs for cleaning now due to rough running at idle and low speeds and will replace the 12 yr old Dunlop tires that ride like they're made of hard solid rubber. My big concern is a high pitched scream/whine noise in 5th gear beginning around 2800rpm and it gets louder as the rpms are higher. I had a '94 with 45k miles and it did not have this sound. I can also hear it in 4th gear but it's less pronounced, so I'm guessing it's something like gears or clutch that gets louder as more load is placed on the bike. My '07 Yamaha RSV V-4 has a loud whining gear noise that gets worse with my wife on the back, but it's not as loud as the Kaw. I changed the oil & filter (Delvac ESP 5W40) and it doesn't make a difference. I thought that I could feel the bike slow down slightly when as the whine comes and goes, but it might be my imagination. Any ideas about what is causing this, is it a concern, and can anything be done to stop it?

Do you think the whine is coming from the transmission or rear end?
If the rear end,a fresh oil change may be in order.
Let us know.

[Vdriveboater]

Before you remove the carbs, try one of the following in the gas tank: Marvel Mystery Oil, SeaFoam, or Techron Fuel System Cleaner. That list is from least, to most, expensive. They can remove mild varnish deposits in the floats, carbs, and jets, and since your bike is running fairly decent, they should do the trick, without a wrench. Be sure to follow mixing directions, and give them 48 hours, or more, to work fully (should see results within an hour, but...).

Had a friend with a similar situation. He had a family, money was tight. He tried a can of SeaFoam, and his rough idle disappeared altogether. He was amazed, becoming a true believer after buying one can. It's not a miracle, but under the right circumstances, it can do the trick, for little money, little effort.

With regards to your oil viscosity... I used Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic, 5W-40, for a while. It led to false neutral shifts, between every gear in the transmission! It happened over a period of a couple of years, intermittently.

I switched back to a true 10W-40 Shell Oil, and that 5-weight difference almost entirely eliminated the false neutral issues I was having. Most here think I'm full of hot air, but I can only share what worked for me. YMMV.

Going to a 10W-40, or 10W-50 (for hot Summer days/desert riding, 90 F and above) oil viscosity might make a difference in your gear noise. Or it may not.



Cheers!

Thanks for the suggestions. Last night I finished getting out the carbs (same PITA that I recalled with my '94). I want to go through them myself so that I know exactly what's there, starting from a known quantity so to speak.

[Vdriveboater]

Before you remove the carbs, try one of the following

Yeah, pulling the carbs is a major PITA. Definitely worth investing a little time/effort to avoid. Seafoam is also my favorite snake oil. Since it's apparently been parked a while, you still might end up pulling them anyway; but this fuel treatment might make that cleaning go a little better. If you do plan to get into the carbs, also plan on pretty-much complete disassembly, all new gaskets and o-rings, new float valve parts, and take a good look at the big piston diaphragms for age cracks (these can be pricey). You'll want to have the metal parts cleaned in a quality sonicator. And you need to be meticulous with reassembly, especially getting the float height as exactly right as you can. Note that the floats have very little clearance as they move up and down.

And I've also experienced good things from a minor change in oil viscosity.

The gear whine is a common comment here. Do a search here on "straight-cut gears".

The carbs are out and I've removed all four caps, and the slides and diaphrams look excellent (zero rust on the insides of the two inner carb caps, unlike what they looked like on my '94). A few of the bowl screws won't come out, so I'm picking up an impact driver and bits from Menard's tonight which should take care of that issue. Surprisingly the pilot jet screws were exposed and all were at 2.5 turns, which I think is pretty much where they should be.

[Vdriveboater]

I just bought a very nice '96 w/15k miles, the paint is beautiful, even has the Voyager liner bags for the side and rear cases and the hard wired Clarion helmet intercom. I'm removing the carbs for cleaning now due to rough running at idle and low speeds and will replace the 12 yr old Dunlop tires that ride like they're made of hard solid rubber. My big concern is a high pitched scream/whine noise in 5th gear beginning around 2800rpm and it gets louder as the rpms are higher. I had a '94 with 45k miles and it did not have this sound. I can also hear it in 4th gear but it's less pronounced, so I'm guessing it's something like gears or clutch that gets louder as more load is placed on the bike. My '07 Yamaha RSV V-4 has a loud whining gear noise that gets worse with my wife on the back, but it's not as loud as the Kaw. I changed the oil & filter (Delvac ESP 5W40) and it doesn't make a difference. I thought that I could feel the bike slow down slightly when as the whine comes and goes, but it might be my imagination. Any ideas about what is causing this, is it a concern, and can anything be done to stop it?

Do you think the whine is coming from the transmission or rear end?
If the rear end,a fresh oil change may be in order.
Let us know.

The diff is the one thing I haven't yet checked, but I plan to drain and put Redline in there before it's back on the road. New Shinko Touring tires will arrive tomorrow to replace the 12 yr old rock hard Dunlops, so I'm hoping to have it back on the road by the weekend.

[Nails]

The carbs are out

On mine, the rubber caps (on the ports to synch) rotted, basically leaking like they weren't there at all. Ran a tad better after fixing.

[Highway Rider]

About the screaming /whining noise, if that occurs at about 70mph that is normal. On my bike, I always knew when I was doing 70 that is when I would hear the noise. But It would not be there at 65 and it would go away when I got to 70. It was a very annoying noise at the speed of 70

[cushman eagle]

About the screaming /whining noise, if that occurs at about 70mph that is normal. On my bike, I always knew when I was doing 70 that is when I would hear the noise. But It would not be there at 65 and it would go away when I got to 70. It was a very annoying noise at the speed of 70

Yes,HighwayRider,that is the speed my '99 is the loudest and it has not changed in the 92,000 miles I have owned it

[Vdriveboater]

About the screaming /whining noise, if that occurs at about 70mph that is normal. On my bike, I always knew when I was doing 70 that is when I would hear the noise. But It would not be there at 65 and it would go away when I got to 70. It was a very annoying noise at the speed of 70

That sounds pretty much what mine is doing. I'd like to know what it sounds like from the side of the road when the bike passes by.

[Nails]

I'd like to know what it sounds like from the side of the road when the bike passes by.

I'm guessing much like an electric motor. I'm okay with that. (Or "agricultural" -- I grew up on a farm and am okay with that, too.)

[GrandpaDenny]

Check in the tech section, IIRC there is an article about excessive noise, and how to adjust the balance shaft. So it's probably a nice easy no-dollar fix.

[GrandpaDenny]

Found it. https://www.amervoyassoc.org/techtipsXI ... 20Backlash

[GrandpaDenny]

Balancer Gear Backlash Adjustment

Problem: Many have complained about Voyager XII gear whine or transmission noise. Although the Voyager XII has straight cut gears in their transmissions due to the desire for a more sturdy and reliable transmission, straight cut gears compared to helical cut gears do make more "gear whine". However, some time it may be something more than the normal, mostly unobtrusive straight cut gear whine that you might hear. It could very well be that the balancer gear backlash needs adjustment.
Solution: A fairly simple adjustment may be needed to the balancer gear backlash, here's how to do it (refer to the picture below):

Backlash

You need to look on the right side of the engine (sitting on the bike) to find the balance shafts clamp lever- pictured to the left. The punch marks on each shaft should point to the correct side. The mark on the front shaft points to the rear. The marks should point in the direction as shown in the photo (to the rear). Then:
Start the engine and let it at idle.
Loosen the balancer shaft clamp bolts.
Turn the front balancer shaft clockwise until the balancer gear makes a noise.
Turn back the shaft counterclockwise until just the gear stops making a noise.
Adjust the rear balancer shaft in the same manner.
Tighten the balancer shaft clamp bolts securely.

[Vdriveboater]

Balancer Gear Backlash Adjustment

Problem: Many have complained about Voyager XII gear whine or transmission noise. Although the Voyager XII has straight cut gears in their transmissions due to the desire for a more sturdy and reliable transmission, straight cut gears compared to helical cut gears do make more "gear whine". However, some time it may be something more than the normal, mostly unobtrusive straight cut gear whine that you might hear. It could very well be that the balancer gear backlash needs adjustment.
Solution: A fairly simple adjustment may be needed to the balancer gear backlash, here's how to do it (refer to the picture below):

Backlash

You need to look on the right side of the engine (sitting on the bike) to find the balance shafts clamp lever- pictured to the left. The punch marks on each shaft should point to the correct side. The mark on the front shaft points to the rear. The marks should point in the direction as shown in the photo (to the rear). Then:
Start the engine and let it at idle.
Loosen the balancer shaft clamp bolts.
Turn the front balancer shaft clockwise until the balancer gear makes a noise.
Turn back the shaft counterclockwise until just the gear stops making a noise.
Adjust the rear balancer shaft in the same manner.
Tighten the balancer shaft clamp bolts securely.

Thanks Denny, I'll check that out once I get the carbs and new tires installed.