Loud whinning Tranny noises

[Devo220]

My Rt which I have had for about 2 months is finally getting the best of me. I have done everything Synthetic oil BMW oil, Lucas Oil, 75 95 oil 85 145 oil this thing is just too loud. 1st, 2nd, and third gear are horrible, forth is better 5th is not bad. It sounds like an old pickup truck winding up . Oil is clean never any particles on plug magnet. Help I am getting ready to bail from BMW.

[Jerry Duke]

Find a fellow R11RT owner and hope on back and ride some and see if it's not the same. Could be normal or could be bearing problems.

[Dave Faria]

I have a 2004 R1150RT with 71k miles. It whines a little 1st and 2nd gear up to 3.5k rpm and then goes away.

[Devo220]

Forgot to mention bike only has 7100 miles on it .

[Waratah]

Hi Devo,

 

Sorry to hear about your transmission noise. I have a 2000 model R1100RT that developed a 2nd gear whine around the 50,000km (approx 31,000 mile) mark at six years of age. Local workshop stripped it down and found "pitting on the intermediate shaft 2nd gear" put it down to faulty case-hardening during manufacture and quoted an outlandish cost for a replacement intermediate shaft. No pronounced metallic particulate matter observed in the transmission lubricant, bearings, seals etc were renewed, I instructed them to box the transmission up and put the bike back on the road. Whining noise still there after bearings replaced. I'm about to click over the 80,000km (approx 49,700 mile) mark, 2nd gear is quite noisy (after transmission heats up, not when cold) and luckily at this stage it's limited to 2nd gear.

 

Your transmission problem? My $0.02 worth - possibly bearings, maybe similar problem with gear surfaces?

 

The future? I've learnt to live with the noise, albeit my problem is only with one gear. The intention is to offload the machine in mid-2010 and make room in the garage for a new R1200RT.

[upflying]

Wow, 7100 miles on a '97.

I don't have any clues or suggestions other than TADT. '97 is the year where transmissions were improved. Something like going from an M94 to a M97 transmission if memory serves me right.

Only a check of your VIN will tell you if you have the improved transmission or not. Perhaps experts here can tell you if there is an external difference.

If you are two months new to the BMW experience, keep in mind they make noise and come clunky as standard equipment. Mine is bit noisy too..especially around 2nd/3rd. I just plan to ride it till is quits. I would not "bail" from BMW just because of the transmission. If it does sound bad, how do plan to sell it anyway?

 

[David R]

I have a 2000 R1100 RT that I almost didn't buy until I found out the whining was "normal". Its silent in 5th which is the gear I use the most, so....

 

Synthetic 75W90 oil did help.

 

David

[Devo220]

Don't get me wrong the bike runs great, drives and shifts smooth and I love riding it.

I have Lucas 85w145 in it and it helps. Maybe I am just paranoid but I have been riding for 40 years and have owned alot of bikes and none have ever sounded like this.

[MontanaMark]

Devo,

 

Are you sure it's coming from the tranny? Could it be the drive line?

 

My 99 RT (98k miles) makes some whinning noises, but I've always attributed it to the drive line U-joints. It's not loud enough to bug me and it's been that way since I bought the bike used with 83k.

 

I've just always thought that's the way it's supposed to sound.

 

Neither the quality nor quanity of the sound has changed with the additional mileage.

 

The shifting between 1st and 2nd and between 2nd and 3rd is clunky, but if I preload the shifter and match rpm's somewhat, it's much smoother.

 

Regards,

Mark

[Devo220]

I guess it could possibly be the drive line, how do you tell the difference.

[AndyS]

My Rt which I have had for about 2 months is finally getting the best of me. I have done everything Synthetic oil BMW oil, Lucas Oil, 75 95 oil 85 145 oil this thing is just too loud. 1st, 2nd, and third gear are horrible, forth is better 5th is not bad. It sounds like an old pickup truck winding up . Oil is clean never any particles on plug magnet. Help I am getting ready to bail from BMW.

 

What state are the tyres in?

Worn tyres can generate some horrible noises and get people looking in all the wrong places.

Andy

[Devo220]

It has a new set of Metzlers on it. Maybe a thousand miles, But I will check tire pressure and see if that has anything to do with it.

[Jerry Duke]

Devo, do some research on gear oil weights. You might want to consider a lighter weight gear oil.

[Devo220]

I thought lighter oil would thin more when warm, and make more noise as the tranny heated up.

 

[NonComp]

I had an M96 gearbox in my '96 r1100r that was quite noisy in 2nd gear. It was failing and I had the gears recut to bring it up to M97 specs. Since then, I don't notice 2nd gear whine as much.

 

Get the serial number off the geabox and cross refence the number with the list of gearboxes to find the model. I think that the guy in the US who does gearbox rebuilds (can't think of his name) has them on his site.

[Starfighter]

I use Redline shockproof heavy in the gearbox of my RTP and LT...

(looks like a thick rasberry milkshake when you put it in)

Smooth and quiet......

[NonComp]

I had an M96 gearbox in my '96 r1100r

Sorry. Typo. That should have said "M94". There is no "M96".

[T__]

Devo, is the whine the same frequency in each gear or different sounding in each gear?

 

If about the same frequency in all gears then your noise is probably not in the individual gears sets.. Maybe something like the final drive gears or trans input to intermediate shaft drive gears..

 

If the noise is different in all the gear ranges but still noisy in all gears that usually points to either worn gear tooth crown (not likely at your low mileage) or something with the trans shaft spacing between shafts (that is not adjustable in the BMW trans)..

 

Usually on the straight cut gear transmissions you will get a noisy gear or maybe two but usually not all the gear ranges..

 

Once a straight cut gear set gets noisy it is usually impossible to get rid of without replacing both gears involved.. The noise itself is usually not a sign of impending failure just irritating..

 

On the gear oil reducing the noise.. It’s not so much the viscosity itself as the it is the gear oil cling that can reduce the noise a LITTLE.. The more gear oil that clings & sticks to the gear teeth the more cushioning you get at tooth engagement time.. Problem is,, most modern gear oil is formulated for fuel economy & reduced aeration so doesn’t have the clinging ability of the real old gear oil’s.. The older gear oil’s that cling like honey have good tooth cushioning but are pre GL-4/GL-5 ratings so don’t have the tooth scuff protection of the modern GL-5 gear oil’s.. With straight cut gears they usually don’t even need the scuff protection that helical gear sets do as the drive is straight across the gear tooth not a side loading like on a helical gear set..

 

Twisty

 

[Devo220]

The noise is the same noise. 2nd and 3rd as your RPM's get higher the noise gets louder. In 4th and 5th gear it is not bad, but in gears 1 2 & 3 it is pretty noisey. Kinda like an old pickup truck used to sound going through the gears.

[rgraham]

Mine likes to whine in 3rd only, and in the lower rpm range. The higher the rpm, the quieter it gets till it's gone. I'm so used to it now, I don't even notice. Or just naturally stay out of that zone.

[T__]

Devo, seeing as each gear set has a different number of teeth that mesh then the frequency of the whine will be different in each gear.. If the noise is the same FREQUENCY at the same RPM in each gear your noise is not coming from the individual gears (like 1,st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) probably more like the final drive or input to intermediate gear set..

 

Is your noise the same on acceleration,, deceleration, & coast/float?

 

 

Twisty

 

[Devo220]

Yes

[NonComp]

Ultimately, the two bikes I currently own (and all the previous ones) run much smoother and quieter when I wear ear plugs. I've come to see earplugs and a ride-enhancing farkle.

[Clive Liddell]

When the gearbox "breaks in" - mine is still breaking in with dino oil 80W-90 GL5 at 85000km - the whine of the straight cut gears lessens somewhat. I used to be concerned that, with the noise, I would find some "metal" in the drained oil - well, after the first and second oil change the oil has been perfectly clear of any debris (I change all oils every 10000km)

 

OT - the same goes for my great R850R with the earlier gearbox - no problems!!

[Trullion]

My 850GS, a 2000 model with the "best" gearbox (M97) has whined in 2nd 3rd and 4th gears more or less from new. I reckon it is just the noise made by the gears; until the gearbox needs work for some other reason I'll leave it alone. My'96 1100RS still has the infamous M94 box; so far (touch wood) it is working OK. This doesn't whine at all and the change is much better than on the later box in my GS. I don't believe that constant whining in the intermediate gears is an issue with the earlier boxes any more than it is with the M97.

 

Regards

[Devo220]

I adjusted the clutch changed the tranny oil adjusted tire pressure. Now I am going to ride it and not worry. If something happens I will worry about it then. Tranny oil was clean when I changed it by the way. Thanks for all the good advice this place is great.

[BMUU]

Devo - I really laughed when I read your post, “kinda like an old pickup truck used to sound going through the gears”. When I was a kid, my uncle owned a 1953 Ford F100 pickup. Every time I ride my R1100RT, accelerating or decelerating, memories of that old truck keep coming back to me. I’ve just accepted the fact that it was normal for the F100 to sound that way and it’s normal for R100RT. At least the RT synchros into all the gears (most of the time)! Your description was perfect!