Hey,
Ive had my ZX9R since 2005. Back in 2012 it developed a whine at 80km/h, and it had some use between then and 2014, but was then put away till only a few weeks ago. Pulled it out again, dusted her off, fully cleaned out the tank and carbs/o-rings etc and it flew through its WOF like a champ.
However...
The noise at 80 is still there.
It doesnt matter what gear your in, what RPM, clutch in or out, the noise is there at 80km/h, +/- about 5km/h around that.
When you pull the clutch in, the whine sound volume increases.
I took it to Richards Motorcycles in Johnsonville (Wellington) back in 2013, and he spent the best part of a day on it, doing other bits too, but couldnt determine what the sound was. He thought it might be the speedo, however I have since eliminated that as the problem.
I then took it to TSS in the Hutt in Wellington in early 2014, and the bike came back worse than it went in, quite honestly. Not relating to this noise, as they couldnt figure out the noise at the time then, however the main point of it going in was for the B Service, not specifically for this sound issue.
It starts off as a sort of shimmering whine, not a constant shound, but a shh shh shh shh sort of sound, but it develops into a constant whine as the journey goes on. The Whine however isnt just a little whine, its like a full on soul destroying possessed beast, its rather loud, especially right on 80.
Did I mention its loud? It sounds like its all around you, so I have not been able to figure out where the sound is coming from.
Chain was one thought, and possibly wheel bearings, but clutch-in sort of rules out the front wheel bearing, but the back one or the sprocket carrier bearing could still be in play and the noise volume increases due to load changes.
Someone one mentioned it could be those rubber blocks in the back wheel or front sprocket, but I havent investigated there yet. It doesnt sort of seem like it would be chain or sprocket related though, it seems more like a bearing. I have adjusted the chain betwen a little loose and boarderline too tight, and the sound remains. I was hoping for it to highlight something, but it seems not.
Could it be the output shaft bearings on the transmission, given its speed related, and not RPM?
Could it be the clutch? The clutch overall works fine, no crunches between gears, there a thunk when you first click it into 1st from Neutral, but other than that it changes smooth. I think the thunk is fairly normal for these bikes.
So the Bike is a 1997, its done 51000km.
I dont want to sell the bike, its worth more to me than I would get for it, so I want to plod away and get it running right again.
If I was to take it into a shop, Im guessing it would be $1000 of time to figure out what the problem is, wit hno guarantee they would even find it (from previous experience) plus whatever parts it might end up being.
Any ideas I would greatly appreciate.
If there is anyone in Wellington who is a guru with bikes and would be happy to ride over one day and take it for a spin to help diagnose it, I would really appreciate it. Really wanting to get it sorted.
Short of this, I guess I just have to start buying bearings and replace things bit by bit, and hope that one of them solves the problem - but that is less than ideal.
Thanks
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