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

[angrygirafe]

5 hours ago, roy826 said:

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.

Are you sure you bought a Yamaha? 😂

[roy826]

21 minutes ago, angrygirafe said:

Are you sure you bought a Yamaha? 😂

Pretty sure, it whined/roared when new something terrible in 6th gear. Figured it was under warranty and oh well not my problem. 6500 miles later I do not hear that anymore.

Maybe the ones hearing it are just simply running their drive chains to tight.😬

[petshark]

As I've written here before, I have zero doubt that some people like the OP are experiencing abnormal loud whine.

I've read about it too many times. It's a shame that these reports are often shot down by people who think that if their bike doesn't do it, surely it can't exist in others. I don't understand that way of thinking,

@OZVFR I don't think anyone has solved it. I have seen people selling their bikes because of it. I've always liked that sound but it's a lot louder some rides than others which is weird. I have it in all gears, most in 3rd, less in 6th. Could be because I'm almost never on the highway and don't use 6th often... I hope you find a way to solve it or ignore it.

Edited June 29, 2021 by petshark

[OZVFR]

1 hour ago, petshark said:

As I've written here before, I have zero doubt that some people like the OP are experiencing abnormal loud whine.

I've read about it too many times. It's a shame that these reports are often shot down by people who think that if their bike doesn't do it, surely it can't exist in others. I don't understand that way of thinking,

@OZVFR I don't think anyone has solved it. I have seen people selling their bikes because of it. I've always liked that sound but it's a lot louder some rides than others which is weird. I have it in all gears, most in 3rd, less in 6th. Could be because I'm almost never on the highway and don't use 6th often... I hope you find a way to solve it or ignore it.

I'm not too worried Petshark, every forum has people who somehow think their bike is perfect or exactly the same as every other sample. They also take things said as a personal attack, they must own shares with the manufacturer.

I don't think there is a fix from reading all the reports, I just hope it gets less noisy with more miles.

I've since found that some MT10's and R1's do the same.

I've owned too many bikes and done too many miles to think its in my head, this bike is terrible for 3rd and 6th noise.

I've owned lots of Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph, Suzuki and even a Laverda, and I often borrow my good friends (who have been riding with me for years) BMW and other newer machines for day rides, but this is my first Yamaha.

I've also never had a bike lose fasteners like this one, but it could be from previous owner not checking bike over, this will get done as I come to know and service it. I've always done my own work.

First port of call will be the suspension, specially the bikes inability to handle high frequency bumps mid corner (now waiting for flak).

[peteinpa]

Mine was a used 15 with 1k miles. When I took it apart during the winter for fork work I found the axle, pinch bolt, ABS sensor, and fender, all loose.

Lucky I didn't lose anything or crash.

These are all dealer set up items from the crate.

Check your fasteners.

Edited June 30, 2021 by peteinpa

[BBB]

Mine is a ‘15 @OZVFR and it whines in 6th, less so in 3rd but the sound is definitely different in that gear. I’m at the point with the bike that I only notice/remember it when I read posts about it though. An oil change may help, certainly worth a try.

As for the suspension: I rode around the shortcomings for a year or two and the changed the shock to a Nitron version and had the fork internals upgraded. You are certainly not alone in wanting better handling from the standard set up on the earlier bikes. I don’t think I’ve had things fall off the bike, but my mirrors vibrate loose every so often. I do a lot of spannering so fasteners get checked and retightened during normal maintenance. The fairing fasteners are like old friends.

And finally, don’t worry about the posting style of certain forum members. Like the gear whine, just tune it out. We (moderators) weed out anyone who consistently crosses the line, but in general this is a nice place to post experiences and get help. 

[petshark]

55 minutes ago, BBB said:

And finally, don’t worry about the posting style of certain forum members. Like the gear whine, just tune it out. We (moderators) weed out anyone who consistently crosses the line, but in general this is a nice place to post experiences and get help. 

And you deserve some praise for that. Every time I look for answers on facebook or general motorcycle forums it doesn't take long for me to get annoyed by the general lack of respect and log out. I've turned my back on social media in general but I find myself enjoying this forum and had not yet considered that good moderation is at the heart of that. So thanks moderators! 👍

[Ride365]

Very little "lack of respect" is ever shown by folks here and that will always be subjective from person to person anyways, but yeah some topics and or issues/gripes/complaints whether legit or not tend to be beaten to death "like on any forum". Strong views/opinions or being somewhat of a smartass doesn't make someone disrespectful, sometimes ya gotta have thicker skin just like in real life and laugh it off.  This whine is a design characteristic as which has been documented on more than a few threads, hell even the Triumph Tiger 3's do it too. This reminds me of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 idle-hammer annoyance which manner owners have and hate, it's totally harmless and some do it worse than others. 

[roy826]

I wasn't trying to disrespect anyone but simply stating my bike whined/roared badly when new (mostly 6th gear) and I do not hear any of that now at 6500 miles. That is all.

[skipperT]

12 minutes ago, roy826 said:

I wasn't trying to disrespect anyone but simply stating my bike whined/roared badly when new (mostly 6th gear) and I do not hear any of that now at 6500 miles. That is all.

That’s exactly how I read your post. 

Reminding riders about the chain tension was a good point also, but may have been lost in the forum noise. 

-Skip

 

[duckie]

So, in other words, you can not have a dissenting opinion. Got it... 

[coachluciano]

I have completely done away with it by staying in 5th gear -

 

[sirepair]

Just shy of 20k miles on my 15, and the 6th gear whine is still there. Chain is kept on the loose side of spec as I think the spec is tight.

I've come to think of it as a reminder not to look for 7th gear...

[OZVFR]

As I stated before, I don't get offended by what people say in a forum, it's pointless.

When I picked the bike up the first thing I noticed was the super tight chain and loosened it to 25mm slack straight away.

I also did an oil change with Motul 7100, brake fluid flush, coolant change as I do with every bike I buy so that I have a reference point.

The Triumph triples have a primary drive whine that is constant with engine revs, not a gearbox whine, I know as I had one and it wasn't ear hurting like the Tracer.

My old VFR had a loud gear drive cam whine that again was constant with engine revs and didn't bother me.

If I ever find a Tracer gearbox I would be keen to inspect it to see why this is only in 3rd and 6th.

Edited June 30, 2021 by OZVFR

[betoney]

I have never noticed a whine in any gear but then I don't know what I am supposed to be hearing?  🤷‍♀️

I have a '15, my buddy also has a '15 and another buddy has a '20 Tracer GT and I don't hear ANYTHING abnormal on any of them.  I just got back from a week-long roadtrip with a Honda, Kawasaki and 2 FJ's, swapped bikes and rode them all and they all sounded similar to me.