gearbox whine, exhaust odor...normal?

[metallion]

I've owned my 2016 FJ for 5 weeks logging just over 850 miles on it so far. I really enjoy riding this bike and am really getting into it. This is the first metric bike i've owned in 19 years and there is a couple things that i've noticed about it that i'm not sure if is normal or not. 
 
The gearbox is noisy at certain speeds, especially whiney in 6th gear just cruizing along at very light throttle. When i'm back into the throttle it goes away. I almost always ride with ear plugs so it's not to big a deal for me. This past weekend i rode without them and really noticed the noise then. I know some bikes gear boxes are noisier than others but i'm hoping this is not bearing noise or some other result of Yamaha's very tight chain spec that the bike was set at for the first couple thousand miles from the original owner.
 
The other thing i've noticed is that the exhaust has a stinky smell and am wondering if that is normal as well. I know the bike has a built in catalyst but this has an odor to it that would make you think there may be an emission problem in a modern car or truck. I have not noticed any warning lights coming on the instrument cluster. I had an issue last week with the engine oil being overfilled and some got pushed up in the air box and burned through the engine but i've noticed the odor before that happened.
 
I am dropping my FJ off at the local dealer today after work to get the handlebar recall done and will bring up these concerns to the service writer. The bike still has about 5 months of factory warranty left on it. I have not had any interaction with this particular dealer as i've never owned a Yamaha so we'll see how it goes.

[rocky5000100]

I've owned my 2016 FJ for 5 weeks logging just over 850 miles on it so far. I really enjoy riding this bike and am really getting into it. This is the first metric bike i've owned in 19 years and there is a couple things that i've noticed about it that i'm not sure if is normal or not.  
The gearbox is noisy at certain speeds, especially whiney in 6th gear just cruizing along at very light throttle. When i'm back into the throttle it goes away. I almost always ride with ear plugs so it's not to big a deal for me. This past weekend i rode without them and really noticed the noise then. I know some bikes gear boxes are noisier than others but i'm hoping this is not bearing noise or some other result of Yamaha's very tight chain spec that the bike was set at for the first couple thousand miles from the original owner.
 
The other thing i've noticed is that the exhaust has a stinky smell and am wondering if that is normal as well. I know the bike has a built in catalyst but this has an odor to it that would make you think there may be an emission problem in a modern car or truck. I have not noticed any warning lights coming on the instrument cluster. I had an issue last week with the engine oil being overfilled and some got pushed up in the air box and burned through the engine but i've noticed the odor before that happened.
 
I am dropping my FJ off at the local dealer today after work to get the handlebar recall done and will bring up these concerns to the service writer. The bike still has about 5 months of factory warranty left on it. I have not had any interaction with this particular dealer as i've never owned a Yamaha so we'll see how it goes.

Gearbox whine: normal, especially in 6th around 60-70mph.  Some report less noise when they loosen chain slack, I didn't notice this. 
Stinky smell: Yes, just oils and stuff burning off.  It goes away after a bit.  Is it coming straight out of the exhaust? Or just the vicinity of the bike?
 

[metallion]

Thank you for your reply. I have slackened the chain down to a more realistic measurement (around 1" on the center stand) but the whine still remains. 
 
As far as the exhaust odor what i am noticing is coming straight out of the exhaust. Not quite as harsh as the rotten egg smell in an automobile cat but definatly a noticeable odor. Maybe it's just the smell of it "working" and doing what it's supposed to do.
 
 

[dbeau]

When you say gearbox noise are you talking about the howling sound you get at a certain RPM in a certain gear? Or is it all the time?
 
When I'm in 6th gear around 4k RPM (and various other gear/rpm combinations) mine sounds like a werewolf on a full moon night. I kinda like it.

[metallion]

When you say gearbox noise are you talking about the howling sound you get at a certain RPM in a certain gear? Or is it all the time? 
When I'm in 6th gear around 4k RPM (and various other gear/rpm combinations) mine sounds like a werewolf on a full moon night. I kinda like it.

Yes that's what i'm talking about, definately not all the time. It seems to be more noticeable when off the throttle or at light throttle just cruizing along though. It's not unpleasant at all just something i've noticed about the bike in my short time with it so i figured i would inquire. Thank you for your reply!

[nsmiller]

The whine is noise typical of a gear box with straight cut gears. FJ09 does not have helically cut gears that cars and some bikes do.
 
Smell could either be related to overfilled oil, or could be just normal breaking in of the engine. I would say take it on a good, long freeway (100-500 miles) ride with sustained speeds at 70+ mph, to get the exhaust good and hot and cook out any oil in the exhaust/cat. Then see if the smell remains.
 
Edit: You could try running a bit of seafoam in your next tank of gas and see if that helps the smell issue.

[nsmiller]

[video src=https://youtu.be/dmJH84FnQa8]
 
If you like the sound of straight cut gears, watch the above video.
 
Here's an article explaining why straight cut gears whine compared to helical ones.
 
 
https://www.carthrottle.com/post/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-straight-cut-gears/

[metallion]

Wow thanks for that video clip, that is quite noisy for sure! I'm pretty sure my Triumph Sprint GT has straight cut gears to but i don't notice the whiney noise from it like the FJ. 
 
I have heard of seafoam before but i thought it was a fuel storage additive. I will google it  and find out exactly what it is used for.
Right now the bike is at the local dealer for the handlebar recall. I told them about the exhaust odor and asked them to check it out while it is still under warranty. I doubt they will however since their focus is on the upcoming snowmobile season here in central NY.

[vapor40]

I'm also in the Syracuse area and just wondering which dealer you are taking your bike to?  

[oldbiker]

I had that smell until I realized I was getting chain lube over spray on the muffler. When I spray lube on the chain I put a piece of cardboard between the chain and muffler.

[metallion]

I'm also in the Syracuse area and just wondering which dealer you are taking your bike to?  

I took it to Preferred Powersports in Cicero since it's the closest Yamaha dealer that i know of. It is my first dealing with them so i'll see how it goes. My bike has been there for 1 week today for the handlebar recall and to get the remaining factory warranty transferred to my name. Last week they told me to drop it off and it would take about 1 week so hopefully i hear from them soon. I did not know they had to order parts for the recall, thought it was just a matter of re-loctiting the bolts. 

[vapor40]

I took mine to Wheel a Way after talking to preferred...  It only took them an hour or so for the recall I also complained about a cold start rattle and they installed a new cam chain tensioner. I guess there is a tsb for the noise.  
 
How do you like the FJ so far?  I have just over 9k on mine now and I really like it.  I did change a few things though.... seat was the first thing  :-) 
 
 

[nickb]

I've had my 2015 MT09 Tracer since Feb this year when it had only 1700km on it. It now has 11 000+ and I've noticed that bad smell since day one. It hasn't improved and I've taken some long (1000+km) high speed trips - smell is still there. When I wash the bike I scrub the exhaust manifold with steel wool - that seems to reduce the smell for a few days.

[metallion]

I took mine to Wheel a Way after talking to preferred...  It only took them an hour or so for the recall I also complained about a cold start rattle and they installed a new cam chain tensioner. I guess there is a tsb for the noise.   
How do you like the FJ so far?  I have just over 9k on mine now and I really like it.  I did change a few things though.... seat was the first thing  :-) 
 

The only reason i took mine to Preferred is because its alot closer for me to get a ride home from and hopefully back someday to pick the bike up. I just called them today (Wed 11/1) after dropping the bike off (Mon 10/23)  and the recall part has not even arrived yet! They said they expect it any day now and only takes about an hour to perform. I hope to get it back by this saturday as it seems to be the best day in the near future to ride it home. I asked them to check the transmission output seal because i saw some oil coming from it but they haven't even done that yet. If it was decent riding weather this would be unacceptable to wait this long for a simple recall.  
I've only had my FJ for about 6 weeks now but in that short time i've really enjoyed this bike alot. I wasn't sure if it would be exciting enough out of a smaller 850cc engine as it replaced a much faster & more powerful bike with a larger engine that i recently sold. Turns out it's measuring up to be the most fun motorcycle iv'e ever owned. Yes the first thing i changed was the poor OEM seat, scored a Sargent from a member on this forum within 10 days of ownership. 

[metallion]

I've had my 2015 MT09 Tracer since Feb this year when it had only 1700km on it. It now has 11 000+ and I've noticed that bad smell since day one. It hasn't improved and I've taken some long (1000+km) high speed trips - smell is still there. When I wash the bike I scrub the exhaust manifold with steel wool - that seems to reduce the smell for a few days.

A few weeks after i picked up my used FJ i discovered that the engine oil was way overfilled. It actually burned some oil through the exhaust as evident of a plume of blue smoke out of the muffler and a mess of oil in the airbox. I was thinking that was what is causing the foul exhaust odor. After i drained off 22oz of oil and rode a good 250 miles after the odor still exists. I think what i am actually smelling is just the catalyst in the muffler actually working and doing it's job. At least i hope so.