My Shaft Drive is making noise (?)

[Aifwikir]

I'm new to this shaft drive on my 1500. I'm wondering how noisey (loud) the whirring/whistling noise is supposed to be. At slow speed (15-30 mph) I can hear it over the engine & road noise. (Even with my pipes being a little louder now)
I'm sure there isn't a problem with it, just curious about how noisey it should be. I've had it for 2 months and only have 500 miles on it. I hate winter!



Aif

[rfb92345]

I'm new to this shaft drive on my 1500. I'm wondering how noisey (loud) the whirring/whistling noise is supposed to be. At slow speed (15-30 mph) I can hear it over the engine & road noise. (Even with my pipes being a little louder now)
I'm sure there isn't a problem with it, just curious about how noisey it should be. I've had it for 2 months and only have 500 miles on it. I hate winter!



Aif

Mine doesn't make any noise at all.

[Spok]

um....mine made zero noise as well. I had all the normal engine top end noises on my 1500 but nothing from the drive trane. check to make sure you have oil in your final drive (rear end) and if not, get some in and/or take it to your dealer for a close inspection.

parts do fail

[rfb92345]

I have had mine apart a few times. The final drive is pretty straight forward if you are mechanically inclined. The only special tool you need is to remove the pinion nut. Unless you are replacing pinion bearings, that is not necessary.

I would do as Spok suggests. Simple things first. Check the lube...if there is none, put some in. If it continues to make noise, take it apart or take it to the shop.

[bretsk2500]

a shaft drive should make no noise... if you can hear it over your pipes STOP riding it and find out what's wrong. Hopefully you've not done too much damage (wear) to the bevel gears if it's out of oil.

[N3FOLN3FOL]

Your shaft drive may need some greasing on the splines. It could be a case that Kawa did not put enough in there during the build process. With low mileage, you should be covered under factory warranty. My suggestion is to take it back to the dealer and have them check it and get it documented via service receipt.

[bluestringer]

I'm new to this shaft drive on my 1500. I'm wondering how noisey (loud) the whirring/whistling noise is supposed to be. At slow speed (15-30 mph) I can hear it over the engine & road noise. (Even with my pipes being a little louder now)
I'm sure there isn't a problem with it, just curious about how noisey it should be. I've had it for 2 months and only have 500 miles on it. I hate winter!



Aif

You sure it's the shaft drive and not just gear whine. The straight cut gears will whine, especially on decel. Check the oil in the pumpkin.

[Aifwikir]

I checked the oil first off. Good-to-go!
As Blustringer said it may just be the gearbox. I did notice that it does go away when I pull in the clutch. I'm sure it's not anything serious as I don't hear grinding or have any vibration out of it (smooth as silk). It is coming from the left side and I notice it more on decel (2nd & 3rd gears).




Thanks guys! I'll have the shop check it on the 600 mile check-up.



Aif

[oldodge]

+1 on the gear whine from straight cut gears. I notice mine on decel too.

[Ole Yeller]

Like some others have already said, my shaft drive doesn't make any real noticeable noise and, I'm sure that my motor is quieter than yours (I-4).
My 2 cents would be to take it back to the dealer and tell them about your concerns and have them check it out. That way, if it goes out in the future you will have some documentation. Just because your bike is new doesn't mean that there couldn't be something wrong. Though it is very rare, sometimes brand new bikes have issues. There was a kid last summer on this forum who had a brand new Kaw sport bike and the shifting mechanism failed with less than 100 miles on the bike. Stuff happens.

[sisooktom]

I only read the subject, but I'd say you need to see a doctor!

[brother]

The one on my 01 Nomad makes some noise,they all do. My belt drive on my Electraglide is a lot more quiet. In fact I put 85-140 in my Nomad at 15K to try and quiet it down and it blew the inner seal. I put a used unit with 15K and it was noisy like the original. I have 38K on it now and it's still working fine. If you were that close to siting on the rear end in your car or truck you would hear some gear wine also.

[Cruising]

Aif.... I suggest you take it back to the dealer! There should not be any noise at all. That's the joy of having the shaft - no noise - no maintanance - nothing... take it back.

Jim

[Spok]

Aif.... I suggest you take it back to the dealer! There should not be any noise at all. That's the joy of having the shaft - no noise - no maintanance - nothing... take it back.

Jim

i beg to differ. if you refer to your owners manual, there is a drive shaft maintenace schedule at 15000 miles

here is a how to

http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/fo...2-22-07-a.html

[RichLockyer]

I will get a whine from mine on decel dropping from about 40/45 down through about 25/30 or so (clutch in or out).
Just keep an "ear" on it and be wary of any change. A sudden worsening, or a difference in sound with the clutch in vs out could be a sign that the bevel gear drive's outer bearing is about to go to bearing heaven.
That's NOT good and can damage the housing itself.

It is true that shaft drives are low-maintenance (especially compared to chain-drive), but they are not no-maintenance. Every 15000 miles the gear oil should be changed (I use Mobil-1 75w90), and the swingarm should be removed and the universal joint checked for smoothness and lack of "notchiness", the slip joints on the shaft lubricated, and the swingarm bearings lubricated.
Fortunately, that is about the same time frame that you'll be changing rear tires, and removing the tire is half the job.

Spok has done a very good writeup on performing the maintenance... I think it's a sticky in the Cruiser section.

[Classic]

I also get some gear noise especially on deceleration but it's almost always there and always has been. Gears make noise. I change the gear oil in the differential about every third oil change and over the past 52,000 miles it's been done so many times it runs clear when I drain it. I change it that often because it's so easy to do when you're already down there changing the oil. Adds maybe five minutes to the whole job so why not?

[Spok]

I also get some gear noise especially on deceleration but it's almost always there and always has been. Gears make noise. I change the gear oil in the differential about every third oil change and over the past 52,000 miles it's been done so many times it runs clear when I drain it. I change it that often because it's so easy to do when you're already down there changing the oil. Adds maybe five minutes to the whole job so why not?

thats what I did as well when riding my 1500, man I miss that gem of a ride. anyway, and not to mention that oil is cheap and gears is expensive

[12volts]

My MS made this same noise and only got worse. It ended up needing the bevel gears and bearing replaced.

[jeffs99vulcan]

I just read the subject too... is it a ticking? Like, during decel?!

[V2Kpower]

Change to synthetic oil in the gear box, and do a swing arm maintenence on the bike, including cleaning and lubing of the drive shaft splines.