timg Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 This from http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/how-tight-should-chain-be-new-bike-tech-tips-answers - for what it's worth: "It’s tempting to think the dealer is screwing this up, but if you take a look at the owner’s manual for the FZ-09 and FJ-09, they both list a chain slack specification of a scant 5–15mm. So the dealer is in the right even if it doesn’t “look” correct. The question is why does Yamaha spec the FZ-09’s (and FJ-09’s) chain tension so tight? We asked our Yamaha reps that very question and received an answer similar to what’s in the owner’s manual. If you run the chain any looser than 25mm of slack—at the mid lower run with the bike on the sidestand—it could hit the frame. Curious to know more, we placed our FJ-09 testbike on the lift and compressed the rear suspension. In our view, there’s no way the chain can come into contact with any part of the frame. Moreover, when we started the experiment with 30mm of slack, the chain had just 10mm of free play with the suspension compressed, which, in our interpretation, means that using the factory-recommended setting will result in no slack with the suspension compressed. Normally we’d strongly advise adherence to factory recommendations. Not this time. For whatever reason, Yamaha has called for a chain spec that, we feel, will result in a chain with little to no slack in actual use. That’s bad for chain-drive bikes—hard on the chain, sprockets, and even the countershaft seal and bearings—and we’d never subject one of our own motorcycles to such treatment." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 That's been the topic of a lot of discussion since the bike was released. No idea what some engineer based that spec on, but the consensus is loosen it up within reason.I see that now... BTW, slack adjusted to just under 30mm and the whine is gone! My root post here for reference: http://fj-09.org/post/40644/thread. Hoping my 200km scoot yesterday didn't hammer the bike much, but hey...the chain was still within 'spec'...so when Yamaha squawks, I will point them at it. Thanks for helping me out! Dealer adjusted chain today to 25mm slack, bike on main stand. Dealer's mech would not go to 30mm. Conclusion (after only a short ride home) - much improvement. [em]Wordsmith[/em] Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 A lovely 26ºC (79ºF) day, bright blue sky, little wind, and the first month of what laughably passes for winter here only is two weeks away. Took a brisk, mainly freeway spin this early morning totalling about 120km at speeds up to around the legal maximum of 110kph. This was to get a good feeling for the effect on engine ‘whine’ of the relaxing of chain slack to 25mm a couple of days ago. Delighted to say that this small change has resulted in a [strong]significant and very worthwhile reduction[/strong] in that annoying, intrusive, distracting noise, at all speeds. I took careful note at around the 100kph to 110kph range (+ a bit!) in both 5th and 6th gears, and the result is the same – much reduced and entirely acceptable noise levels (through my well-fitting custom ear-plugs). At 100kph and thereabouts the soft rustle of wind over the helmet seemed to be the most noticeable noise, with the 'whine' reduced to a soft hum. Back home, bees foraging in the foliage of a nearby [em]Murraya Paniculata[/em] flowering shrub make as much clamour! I have to confess that I never considered that the drive- chain might be the culprit until reading some quite recent posts here (I’d always assumed it was the cam-chain), so many thanks to those posters. I’m very pleased – it will now make freeway cruising so much more pleasant. [em]Wordsmith[/em][em] [/em][em]http://i.imgur.com/mobpgJM.jpg[/em] Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g8r Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I too have noticed the whine at a variety of speeds. I wear a Shoei modular helmet and foam earplugs. I had the chain slack adjusted to 25 mm on the center stand but found no real improvement in the whine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member icpete Posted June 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted June 15, 2016 As usual, thanks to this DB for providing so much useful information and the experiences of other owners. I just got my FJ-09 on Friday, was busy over the weekend, and had only made some short local trips until today. Then today I took it to work, a 40 mile commute each way, mostly at highway speeds. The first time I shifted it into 6th gear I noticed the whine; my first thought was that something was wrong with the transmission gears! I'm wearing earplugs so the gear whine is more noticeable over the wind noise. With more careful listening as I ran up and down through the gears, I determined that there was also a bit of whine in 3rd gear. I only have 100 miles on the bike, so I was hoping it would diminish with break-in. So tonight I researched "gear whine" on this forum and arrived at this thread; I had never read about this issue before now. Reading this thread is reassuring, I suppose, in that the gear whine is apparently normal; but unfortunate that it may never go away completely. I see an Akropovich in my future! Pete PS: Tomorrow I'm going to check my chain slack... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 PS: Tomorrow I'm going to check my chain slack...That will fix much of the problem, as many here have found. Aim for 25 to 30mm slack. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luma46 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I am glad I came across this thread. My first ride on my new GT, a bit of whine in 3rd, but quite audible in 6th. Goes completely away when decelerating or over 110 km/h. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdb Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Mine does it also but I’m usually too annoyed with the awful bar and peg buzz at 4800 rpm to pay it much attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripletrouble Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 You can hear it over the noise the windshield makes ? 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open1mind Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Same problem on mine, dealer's senior tech test rode it and proclaimed that it was normal and every FJ model may the same sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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