DR650 gearbox whine

[paulj]

My 96 DR650 with about 16,000 on the clock, has gearbox whine under load in 3rd. I’ve seen it mentioned in one or two other groups, without further comment - maybe it is just a DR ‘thing’? – however I plan to lay-up my bike over the winter and do some basic maintenance – fork seals, frame repairs, electrics … - wondering if the gearbox should be cracked open and checked too?

[Crisis management]

Must be the time of year...my 2003 with 4,000km has a 3rd gear whine which I started noticing last week. Ok experts should we panic?

Previous DR (96 with 25,000km) didn't have any strange gearbox noises, mind you, it had the worlds loudest exhaust so maybe I just couldn't hear it.....

[cooneyr]

Finally somebody else mentions the same thing. I too have whine in third when under load. Worse at low to mid revs and not so bad at high revs. I've got a 97 (reg as 98) with 16000kms. The wine started at about 13000kms

Tried two different oils but no difference. Nobody on Yahoo DR650 group seems interested or knows anything.

I not certain on this but my guess from reading the workshop manual (page 3-38) is that there is a bush under the third driven gear. It is specifically mentioned on that page that the bush is to be aligned so that the oil hole is in line with the oil hole on the shaft. The bush doesn't appear to be splined so I would guess it can rotate hence the oil holes get out of alignment. I would guess this could result in a "dry" bushing, hence wear and noise. I've listened to the whine a bit now and the noise seems to me to be consistent with a worn bush (not that I have much experience to go on).

I'm still riding it without fixing and am not sure when I should repair but any suggestions welcome. Whine doesn't seem to be getting any worse at this stage.

Cheers R

P.S. manual available from Yahoo DR650 group pages and here http://www.deakin.edu.au/~mic_adm/DR650.pdf - it is 84mb of download though.

[Crisis management]

Thanks Ryan, for the info.
If it is a dry bush then it won't get any better and will need fixing. I assume this means a complete strip down as nothing is accessible without spliting the cases. Last time I looked at this it got into the "need special tools" category and I got the local dealer to do a strip & re-assembly (I needed to do a weld repair on a case) and this cost @ $550.

Any other way to get a manual? The suzuki one is $150 and I have tried other electronic manuals before with no success. I just tried your link but can't get the download to work, I just get a blank screen without any info downloaded.
Anyone got a workable idea????

[XF650]

I have slight 3rd gear whine in my XF650 (basically same motor as DR650) and my manual also mentions the oil hole alignment. Bike has done 22,000 km's but in the time I have owned it (last 8,000km's) the whine hasn't got any worse.
I'm more concerned about engine vibration that has developed since re-jetting & opening up the air box.

[cooneyr]

Thanks Ryan, for the info.
If it is a dry bush then it won't get any better and will need fixing. I assume this means a complete strip down as nothing is accessible without spliting the cases. Last time I looked at this it got into the "need special tools" category and I got the local dealer to do a strip & re-assembly (I needed to do a weld repair on a case) and this cost @ $550.

Any other way to get a manual? The suzuki one is $150 and I have tried other electronic manuals before with no success. I just tried your link but can't get the download to work, I just get a blank screen without any info downloaded.
Anyone got a workable idea????

Was expecting but not looking forward to the comments on rebuild. Nobody has confirmed my "theory" yet so I've been reluctant to spend the toy budget on such a fix. Might be inevitable though. Maybe we should contact Suzuki NZ to see if they have any comments. How do I go about this?

I had a go at the manual link and it seems to work fine for me? Just checked the Yahoo DR650 group and see they don't have the manual - opps. If desperate PM me your address and I'll burn a CD.

Cheers R

[Crisis management]

I will contact Colemans (Suzuki agent) here and see if I can pry something out of the mechanic there, at least we will know if it's a problem or not. Give me a day or two to do that. I'll try that manual link again and if unsuccessful will PM you.

Iain

[pete376403]

another site you may wish to try for info is www.advrider.com, llok in the "thumpers" section

[far queue]

Mine's an '03 at around 13000k and it's fine thanks

You could try the DR forum on Thumpertalk.com as well, lots of DR650 owners there that may be able to help.

[paulj]

I not certain on this but my guess from reading the workshop manual (page 3-38) is that there is a bush under the third driven gear. It is specifically mentioned on that page that the bush is to be aligned so that the oil hole is in line with the oil hole on the shaft. The bush doesn't appear to be splined so I would guess it can rotate hence the oil holes get out of alignment. I would guess this could result in a "dry" bushing, hence wear and noise. I've listened to the whine a bit now and the noise seems to me to be consistent with a worn bush (not that I have much experience to go on).

Yeah - I see what you mean about that bush - although it would be unusual to not have the bush captive in some way if the oil hole is to remain aligned. But on reflection, wear on one side of the bush would allow the gear train to misalign with its mate and that certainly would make the gear noisy, especially under load.

And what's a bush doing in the main drive path? Surely this would be a ball bearing? - in my experience (admittedly limited) bushes are used on layshaft and other less-loaded shafts etc ...

Well ... I'm not alone it seems - this could be a good winter project!

[merv]

You're not giving me much confidence in the Suzuki product here boys making it sound like it has design flaws. Funny that's just what I had issues with when I owned my DR250R, it just had too many design flaws. So far Mrs merv's DR650 seems OK (its a 2004) but in comparison to even my Honda 250 it sounds like a rattly bucket of bolts and its not as smooth in the engine department i.e. it vibrates more, so I've just taken that as standard Suzuki and take no notice of it.

[cooneyr]

Yeah - I see what you mean about that bush - although it would be unusual to not have the bush captive in some way if the oil hole is to remain aligned. But on reflection, wear on one side of the bush would allow the gear train to misalign with its mate and that certainly would make the gear noisy, especially under load.

And what's a bush doing in the main drive path? Surely this would be a ball bearing? - in my experience (admittedly limited) bushes are used on layshaft and other less-loaded shafts etc ...

Well ... I'm not alone it seems - this could be a good winter project!

The only gear box I've have prior experience with is a Series 2A landy box I rebuilt - kinda different. It did have pins to retain bushes but they often broke when worn. The bush is on the driven shaft (not drive) but I hear what you mean about being on the main drive path.

You're not giving me much confidence in the Suzuki product here boys making it sound like it has design flaws. Funny that's just what I had issues with when I owned my DR250R, it just had too many design flaws. So far Mrs merv's DR650 seems OK (its a 2004) but in comparison to even my Honda 250 it sounds like a rattly bucket of bolts and its not as smooth in the engine department i.e. it vibrates more, so I've just taken that as standard Suzuki and take no notice of it.

If you compare the DR650 to the 1986 XL250R I had I know what I'd rather have - not a fair comparison though LOL

I've checked thumper talk, advrider, yahoo DR650 group and only found one mention of a 3rd gear whine - is was on the Yahoo group by a guy in ausi. Seems nobody in America has ears or the problem. I'm wondering if it is limited to Australian models (I'm assuming that we get Ausi models given no NZ country code on page 1-9 of the manual).

Keen to hear how the talk with Colmans went - Sportzone down here are not very helpful.

Cheers R

[Crisis management]

Mine's an '03 at around 13000k and it's fine thanks

Bastard, hope you have a gravity attack.....

I have talked to the mechanic at Colemans:
First the general disclaimer....This guy has done work for me before and I have found him reliable but he is only giving a comment on this problem based upon a conversation. I didn't take the bike in for him to check.

Comment was; Not heard a lot of this problem but has not had to rebuild or repair any DR's for such a problem. His advice was to keep an eye on it but carry on riding, he didn't think it would need any repair.

So, my decsision is to keep using and abusing it but keep an ear open for any real change.

[cooneyr]

Bastard, hope you have a gravity attack.....

Dont worry FQ has enough of those moments aye FQ He's lucky I didnt ride over him last time we all went for a ride.

I have talked to the mechanic at Colemans:
First the general disclaimer....This guy has done work for me before and I have found him reliable but he is only giving a comment on this problem based upon a conversation. I didn't take the bike in for him to check.

Comment was; Not heard a lot of this problem but has not had to rebuild or repair any DR's for such a problem. His advice was to keep an eye on it but carry on riding, he didn't think it would need any repair.

So, my decsision is to keep using and abusing it but keep an ear open for any real change.

Thanks for the info from Colemans. I'm in monitor mode anyway so will continue to do so until something changes. Just have to go faster and use 4th instead and minimise time in 3rd.

Cheers R

[far queue]

Bastard, hope you have a gravity attack.....

I manage to do so quite well without your good wishes thankyou very much

Dont worry FQ has enough of those moments aye FQ He's lucky I didnt ride over him last time we all went for a ride.

As I keep telling you, you guys just arn't trying hard enough. If you don't come off occasionally then your not pushing the envelope enough. Of course it could be that my envelopes a bit smaller than others.

Anyway, as you were, I'll let you all get back to your whining