Has anyone worked out a 6th gear whine problem fix?

[OZVFR]

I know this has been discussed already, but couldn’t find an answer. 
My low kilometre (7400km) 15 that I bought a couple of months ago has a noisy 3rd, somewhat noisy 4th and a really noisy 6th gear.  So much that it’s hard to ride the bike without ear plugs. 
The other gears are normal.
It now has 10200km. 

Are all bikes the same or is mine a bad sample? And is there a fix?

[Zach26]

You should be riding with ear plugs anyway if you want to preserve your hearing. The common consensus is that the noisy gears are just the nature of the beast and that there is no real "fix" for it. As far as I understand it the noise comes from the straight cut gears in the transmission and from the counter balancer shaft that triples have. 

[peteinpa]

I wish there was a fix, it's really the last anoying thing on this bike. I've fixed a few of them.

Too bad it doesn't have a cassette trans. you have to split the cases to get to it. I think shimming/adjusting the shafts would get rid of it.

Mine (2015) still does it from 50 to 70 mph in 6th and I always wear earplugs. Unless I'm riding hard I'm in 6th at 50 mph.

It's an interesting harmonic in how it's gone past 70.  It's not from wind noise drowning it out, it's just gone. I wonder if I change chain and front sprocket to no rubber damping if it will change?

Are the 2021's still doing it???

A few have chimed in that all years do it.

[duckie]

Well, then, sell the bike. Get rid of it and stop complaining about it.

I got 18k on my GT and the whine doesnt bother me and I have done several 400 plus rides recently. So is it really the bike or the person riding it that is the issue?

So , sell the damn thing and get a electric motorcycle if ya want quiet all the time.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by duckie

[Ride365]

My lord the things some of y'all complain about, this is a design/characteristic of the engine.......personally I love how it sounds.

[peteinpa]

45 minutes ago, duckie said:

Well, then, sell the bike. Get rid of it and stop complaining about it.

I got 18k on my GT and the whine doesnt bother me and I have done several 400 plus rides recently. So is it really the bike or the person riding it that is the issue?

So , sell the damn thing and get a electric motorcycle if ya want quiet all the time.

 

 

Electric bikes make no sound BUT a whine, THAT won't work. 🤣

[Garybinnyc]

I've not really noticed excessive noise.. perhaps my helmet filters much of that away but ultimately it's a motorcycle and some noise, when I want a silent ride I jump in my Lexus 🤣

[OZVFR]

From what I've read, it seems some bikes are noisier than others.

I always wear plugs on trips, it's only around town that I sometimes don't. I never said I wanted silence, I've always got rid of the stock muffler on every bike I've owned as hearing it is part of the ride experience.

I think every bike I've owned in the past 30 years has had a counter balancer shaft, and nearly every bike I've owned in the past 45 years has had straight cut gears, as most bikes ever made and I've never had anything like this.

It's a shame as the bike has great potential with a great chassis and fantastic motor.

I got rid of the noisy, turbulent stock screen and installed a wider shorter sports screen that got rid of the buffeting and wind noise. It's just the seriously annoying whine in 6th that I wish I could get rid of.

"Is it the bike or the person?" 400 ride? I just got back from a 2100km ride in 3 days and the 6th gear noise is bad.

I was asking a question, not complaining, you know the old saying? Better let people think you're an idiot rather than open you're mouth and leave no doubt.

 

[nhchris]

Agreed the sixth gear whine (and third) are annoying.

But don't look to an undamped front sprocket to help.  I am running an undamped 17 and it makes its own additional noise without any effect on the whine in sixth.

This ain't no Honda we're dealing with here!!

Edited June 29, 2021 by nhchris

[OZVFR]

8 minutes ago, nhchris said:

Agreed the sixth gear whine (and third) are annoying.

But don't look to an undamped front sprocket to help.  I am running an undamped 17 and it makes its own additional noise without any effect on the whine in sixth.

This ain't no Honda we're dealing with here!!

Ha, agree it’s no Honda. Not even a Triumph either. 
I didn’t think a sprocket change would achieve anything as the noise is internal. 
I now hold 5th to over 110kmh as it gets better at high revs. At around 80kmh it penetrates and hits my WTF part of the brain. 
I do like the bike. If it was a cassette type gear box I would pull it out and investigate. My guess would be that it’s factory tolerance related, hence why some are worse than others. 
 

The other thing I’d like to address is the fact that every trip I lose bolts or screws. 
It doesn’t vibrate badly, so don’t get it. 

[peteinpa]

I am starting to wonder about all these low mileage used FJ09's out there...Mine included. Were they traded for the whine?

I came from a long line of Hondas. Honda didn't have my next bike though, past or present.

My FJ09 has everything I wanted. Light weight, great power, short wheelbase, roomy riding position, and low price (especially used).

I already know I'll be living with the whine.

[micah2074]

I must be lucky. None of the noises she makes bother me and I haven’t lost a single fastener In more than 100k miles. 

[OZVFR]

Agree. 
After the 2001 VFR which I sold with 146,000km I bought a Triumph 1050 Sprint ST after giving up on Honda producing something that would entice me. 
Absolutely loved the Sprint after suspension upgrades, but loaded up it was a heavy bike. 
One day I sat on a Tracer while picking up bits at a bike shop and couldn’t get over how light it was and how low it carried the weight. 
To me the only thing the bike needs is upgraded suspension as stock is abysmal, good sport tyres which I’ve already done, a slightly longer swingarm to place more weight on the front wheel to get better feedback, and a windshield that actually does more than produce noise and turbulence. 
I’m not going to sell it because of the whine, but I definitely don’t need to like it. 
That’s not engine character, it’s bad engineering. 
I bought my Tracer privately from original owner who had only done 7400km in 6 years and only used it locally. Still had the original square tyres FFS. He was a vegetarian that wore a head bun and long beard,  what more can I say

[duckie]

Maybe ya need to write Yamaha about their bad engineering and tell them how it needs to be done. 

18k.......not a damn thing has fallen off. Multiple 400 plus miles.....not a damn a thing has fallen off. 

Kinda makes me wonder about some owners.......

 

[roy826]

Mine doesn't seem to do it anymore, 2020 at 6500 miles.

My clutch has a little rattle at idle and it just started doing that. Very faint but I do hear it. Not concerned about that at all I've owned way louder rattling clutches than this bikes in the past.