R1100RT - Road test (idle noise with clutch?)

[SWB]

Road test the bike again (3rd ride after all the tranny, clutch, bearings, tuning work, and broken leg and ankle). Rode maybe 10 miles, some slab, some local streets.

 

At idle, there is a clear "knocking" when the clutch is pulled in. When the bike is in idle, it goes away. It also subsides when the clutch is released and the gears engage.

 

I also noticed while coasting down a freeway ramp, probably with the bike in 2nd gear, as I just started releasing the clutch, I heard a high rev tapping (maybe "clicking") sound as the clutch engages or disengages.

 

I replaced the clutch control piston (a.k.a. throwout bearing?) when the transmission and clutch work were done, but if memory serves correct, that knocking might be indicative of a problem with that part.

 

And I'm concerned that the tapping may be a bad syncro gear (assuming Getrag trannys have those things).

 

Any other ideas or feedback. I'm not eager to pull anything apart again, and if the tranny isn't "right", I'm probably going to ride it until the tranny is toast in any case. (Removing it and shipping it back to the garage for repair again is just not happening, even if the service guy agreed to fix it. I'll just have to live with it.)

 

Thanks ... Scott

[T__]

Road test the bike again (3rd ride after all the tranny, clutch, bearings, tuning work, and broken leg and ankle). Rode maybe 10 miles, some slab, some local streets.

 

At idle, there is a clear "knocking" when the clutch is pulled in. When the bike is in idle, it goes away. It also subsides when the clutch is released and the gears engage.

 

I also noticed while coasting down a freeway ramp, probably with the bike in 2nd gear, as I just started releasing the clutch, I heard a high rev tapping (maybe "clicking") sound as the clutch engages or disengages.

 

I replaced the clutch control piston (a.k.a. throwout bearing?) when the transmission and clutch work were done, but if memory serves correct, that knocking might be indicative of a problem with that part.

 

And I'm concerned that the tapping may be a bad syncro gear (assuming Getrag trannys have those things).

 

Any other ideas or feedback. I'm not eager to pull anything apart again, and if the tranny isn't "right", I'm probably going to ride it until the tranny is toast in any case. (Removing it and shipping it back to the garage for repair again is just not happening, even if the service guy agreed to fix it. I'll just have to live with it.)

 

Thanks ... Scott

 

 

SWB, no synchronizers in your trans as most motorcycle transmissions are not synchronized..

 

If the noise goes away with the clutch engaged in gear (that would be moving down the road) that somewhat eliminates the trans as the problem.. We need a little more info here but if your noise seems to come & go in relation to the clutch position & not gear selection or wheel speed it looks more like a clutch problem than a trans or drive train problem.. (more info would help here)..

 

How did the trans input shaft splines look when you had it apart? If you have worn input shaft splines & a new clutch disk you might get a rattle until they seat in to one another (or fail)..

 

Everything tight on the clutch install?

 

Disk in facing the correct direction?

 

Push rod not bent when trans was removed or installed?

 

Twisty

[SWB]

Road test the bike again (3rd ride after all the tranny, clutch, bearings, tuning work, and broken leg and ankle). Rode maybe 10 miles, some slab, some local streets.

 

At idle, there is a clear "knocking" when the clutch is pulled in. When the bike is in idle, it goes away. It also subsides when the clutch is released and the gears engage.

 

I also noticed while coasting down a freeway ramp, probably with the bike in 2nd gear, as I just started releasing the clutch, I heard a high rev tapping (maybe "clicking") sound as the clutch engages or disengages.

 

I replaced the clutch control piston (a.k.a. throwout bearing?) when the transmission and clutch work were done, but if memory serves correct, that knocking might be indicative of a problem with that part.

 

And I'm concerned that the tapping may be a bad syncro gear (assuming Getrag trannys have those things).

 

Any other ideas or feedback. I'm not eager to pull anything apart again, and if the tranny isn't "right", I'm probably going to ride it until the tranny is toast in any case. (Removing it and shipping it back to the garage for repair again is just not happening, even if the service guy agreed to fix it. I'll just have to live with it.)

 

Thanks ... Scott

 

 

SWB, no synchronizers in your trans as most motorcycle transmissions are not synchronized..

 

If the noise goes away with the clutch engaged in gear (that would be moving down the road) that somewhat eliminates the trans as the problem.. We need a little more info here but if your noise seems to come & go in relation to the clutch position & not gear selection or wheel speed it looks more like a clutch problem than a trans or drive train problem.. (more info would help here)..

 

How did the trans input shaft splines look when you had it apart? If you have worn input shaft splines & a new clutch disk you might get a rattle until they seat in to one another (or fail)..

Splines were like new.

 

Everything tight on the clutch install?

New clutch kit, new bolts, etc.. Properly torqued with degree wheel.

 

Disk in facing the correct direction?

I'd have to take it apart to verify, but yeah, I assembled it off the bike and put it on the bike the way it was assembled.

 

Push rod not bent when trans was removed or installed?

Again, no way of knowing for sure; we used cut off bolts to line up the transmission bolt holes, and a clutch alignment tool for that task. The only "indicator" one way or the other is that the hand pull seemd much easier that before. My frame of reference was dirt bikes, which have a relatively tough hand pull, and I hadn't really ridden the bike in 11 months. Just about everything from the clutch cable to the flywheel was new, so it didn't necessarily surprise me that the pull hand improved. On the other hand, if the push rod were bent, I guess it could be failing to fully release the clutch, and that could explain the lighter hand pull. It doesn't seem to slip, and shifting is better than ever.

Twisty

 

Again, it sounds a lot like valve lifter knocking, except that it stops under load or when in the idle position. I haven't put more than 30 miles on the bike since repairs. I'll be putting 80 miles on it today. Maybe riding it will resolve the problem. Or, maybe I'll be doing a clutch job again soon.

[KyleGaston903]

HEy there,

 

I was reading this problem on your post and I had a question. WHenever I engage my clutch just like this person does i get a slight ringing sound. I am wondering does that mean my clutch is definetely going out? Or could it be that there is a bad wire. I also heard that there could be build up under the transmission that could cause that? If it is the clutch could you give me some information about it? like how much it costs, how much longer I might have etc? Thanks for your time in reading this.

 

Kyle Gaston

FMFD FF/EMT

[Ken H.]

WHenever I engage my clutch just like this person does i get a slight ringing sound.

Hummmm... Describe the sound more... Is it a one-time sound, or goes on continuously? When pulling the clutch or releasing it? At the friction zone or before or after it?

[SWB]

WHenever I engage my clutch just like this person does i get a slight ringing sound.

Hummmm... Describe the sound more... Is it a one-time sound, or goes on continuously? When pulling the clutch or releasing it? At the friction zone or before or after it?

 

It's steady, rhythmic. At first I thought it was the engine at low revs, until I realized that the only time I heard the knocking was when the clutched was engaged. In gear or in neutral, no problem. The "knocking" is a little bit like an airless spray pump, sort of the hollow knock, knock, knock.. or as my valves have sounded when the bike was a bit low on oil. I can just barely engage the clutch (bike not yet moving), and it stops.

 

If it were just the transmission, e.g. maybe a bad bearing, it would probably be going all the time when the clutch was disengaged, not just when engaging.

 

A bent push rod or throwout bearing seem like the best bet. It's all been replaced, and I'm pretty sure the slack adjustment on the clutch is adequate.

 

I'm thinking of replacing the transmission fluid or at least draining it and taking a look tonight. With a newly rebuilt tranny and clutch, this shouldn't be happening.

 

Thanks .. Scott