Sound of death?????

[oddshapedballs]

So, bike on the centre stand, spin the rear wheel by hand, slight knocking/tapping sound....is this the start of the end for my final drive?????

Bike is a 2011 - GSA - 33,400 miles.

 

[Mr K]

The obvious answer to this is "Don't do that!"

 

[oddshapedballs]

Should add, the tapping sound is definitely coming from the rear hub.

 

[autogs]

could be driveshaft uj joint gone?

 

[oddshapedballs]

could be driveshaft uj joint gone?

It feels/sounds like gearing in the rear hub, I put my hands up and down the entire drive train whilst someone else span the rear wheel and it's rear hub related for sure, if no one else has this I'm going with it's nearly fucked!

 

[Rocketman]

Mine went just a few weeks ago at the same mileage , have you play in wheel from top to bottom like checking for wheel bearing wear.

 

[oddshapedballs]

No movement in the wheel, gave it a good shake up/down/left/right and the whole 12 o'clock 3 o'clock thing etc. No other symptoms anywhere.

 

[duckspeed]

Mikeyboy is your friend

 

[Hoff]

Mikeyboy has just worked his magic on my final drive and drive shaft and all I can stay is TOP MAN, give him a ring.

 

[Rocketman]

No play is a good sign ,myself though I'd swing the fd down tommora and just check the ujs are ok and failing that straight on the blower to our resident fd messiah

 

[Bendy toy]

The noise could be straightforwards gear backlash. Drain the FD oil. If its clean don't worry too much.

My back end shaft universal joint had gone tight outside its normal working range. MikeyBoy replaced the UJ for me when he rebuilt the Final Drive. Its easy to check just undo the ParaLever pivot bolt and hinge the FD down. You can then feel the UJ for smooth action (or not).

Use high moly grease as used in drive shaft CV joints on the spines. You could also strip the ParaLever bottom pivot and pack the needles with the same grease. It wont affect the knock but it will extend the needle roller life.

 

[flatdog]

Don't get hung up with funny noises when the bike is on it's centre stand.
Uj's are at wrong angles, suspension is fully extended, every thing in the drive chain is loose and unsprung it will produce worrying noises.

As Mr K says. Don't do it.

 

[DrFarkoff]

If you are that worried "Diagnose it!" Don;t stand waving our hands over it!!!

Drop the oil and look for sparkles and or bits of metal!

If its clean and slippy and not got any of the above It "Should" be okay!

 

[NZRalphy]

Be careful.... I went through heaps of checks and worries and worked out it was all normal. The rear wheel has sooooo much play and slack in the hub gears it was scary. I thought it was all fubared! There is roughly 60-80mm slack at the side of the tyre when it is in gear and when on the main stand and idling or revved it crashes and rattles. On the road it is quiet.

 

[mikeyboy]

If you are that worried "Diagnose it!" Don;t stand waving our hands over it!!!

Drop the oil and look for sparkles and or bits of metal!

If its clean and slippy and not got any of the above It "Should" be okay!

As the good doctor suggests,drop the oil ,on the late type drive all of the bearings run in oil,if there is a issue the oil will be contaminated.
Also pull the abs sensor out, any metal bits will have stuck to it

 

[oddshapedballs]

Thanks for the replies and advice guys , I'll get to it later in the week, drop the oil, and see what else drops out
Not a lot of free time this week so I'm back on my old Hornet for the week, fucking shed of a bike, outside all year round in all weather with nothing more than a bin liner over the clocks and bars....but apart from needing the odd jump start, has never let me down.
I'll report back if/when I find anything.

 

[DrFarkoff]

And Hoping you will confirm Mike that on the Early versions Mikey the non oil included bearing should give a monotonous rumbling or roughness if there is a failure approaching

As the good doctor suggests,drop the oil ,on the late type drive all of the bearings run in oil,if there is a issue the oil will be contaminated.
Also pull the abs sensor out, any metal bits will have stuck to it

 

[Bendy toy]

If the GS was run on the stand with back wheel off the ground the gear backlash will make all sorts of noise and din. It's normal for any big twin to do that.

 

[oddshapedballs]

The only extra check I've managed so far this week is cold vs hot =
Cold (first thing un-ridden) - no tapping noise from inside the rear hub
Hot - tapping noise present from inside the rear hub

More investigation Friday night/weekend.

 

[oddshapedballs]

If the GS was run on the stand with back wheel off the ground the gear backlash will make all sorts of noise and din. It's normal for any big twin to do that.

Bendy, meant to say, this is pushing the back wheel round by hand, engine off.