Squeak

[Dead Eye]

So the thou has been off the road for a few weeks as I thought the Cam Chain needed doing. However, after taking a look at the auto tensioner everything seems fine and well within tolerances But, now a squeak has appeared

- It seems to mostly happen when slowing down and not at all when accelerating
- Clutch in/out makes no difference, nor does RPM - so that rules out me fucking up the cam chain
- New plugs is the only change made in addition to fiddling with the tensioner
- It's more noticeable under 40 MPH - though this is likely due to reduced engine / exhaust / wind noise
- It reminds of when a fan / aux belt or pulley is loose on a car

My guess and assumption is front wheel bearing but I can't seem to replicate the issue when I'm not riding the bike and it seems weird that it would just randomly start after being sat for 4 weeks. Figured I'd consult the foccer font of knowledge before tearing things apart

[red98]

Hi deadeye....could it be the exup ?

[Dead Eye]

I don't think so... I thought the Exup created a rattle if it was having issues and the bike is still pulling well throughout the rev range

One more thing that I forgot to mention; the squeak disappears when the bike is stationary regardless of any other factor (engine running, clutch, gear, side stand, brakes etc). Oh and braking has no effect on the noise - it doesn't make it worse or better

[The Male Whale]

That will be a wheel or sprocket carrier bearing then.


Whale

[Dead Eye]

So I decided to replace the front wheel bearings but this hasn't solved it. Doing a little more listening, podding and poking I reckon that the sprocket carrier bearing could be the next shout.

Putting the bike on the centre stand and putting it in to gear does produce the noise, albeit at a significantly diminished volume and frequency which is probably because there is no load on the rear wheel. The issue is that I can't seem to find anything in the Haynes book of lies about it

Edit: The only information about a sprocket carrier bearing seems to be to do with the rear sprocket, but the noise is coming from the front sprocket area... I'm confused (Yes, the sprocket and nut are still there and tight)

[The Male Whale]

I will assume that your chain is correctly tensioned (bit looser than most bikes....) and lubed shall I?


The only sprocket carrier bearing is on the rear.


Mine protested for quite a while and I couldn't find where it was coming from. The bearing finally collapsed and the wheel ate through the rear spindle completely and the wheel very near came off. I shit you not.


Take the rear wheel off, remove the sprocket carrier from the wheel and inspect. Inspect the rear bearings while you are in there.


Whale

[Dead Eye]

Yup, chain was cleaned, lubed and adjusted a week before I took the bike off the road and no issues were present. I went over the chain again regardless and all was well Also, when I was doing the front wheel bearings I took the time to strip and clean the front calipers (including removing the pistons and bleeding the system) as they were binding a little after I put new pads in - so they weren't the cause either.

I guess more investigating on the rear for now...

[Dead Eye]

Does anyone have a clever method or an actual tool for getting the Sprocket Carrier bearing seated? It's a large bugger so I don't have a socket large enough to act as a driver

[CraigL]

After a spirited ride back from Boston Bike Night on thursday    I too started to get a squeak from the rear of the bike, only noticable at low speed but much more noticable when pushing the bike into the garage. Upon investigating it only happens on the same quarter rotation of the rear wheel, seems new bearings are the order of the day 


Craig

[Dead Eye]

I've given up working on the rear bearings so I'll need a garage to do the work for me as I can't get the two wheel bearings out and I can't get the sprocket bearing back in *sigh*

Update 13/07/2016: Wheel has finally been dropped off to the mechanic so waiting on him to finish off the work that I started... and failed

[Dead Eye]

So I got the wheel back today, popped it on and went out for a ride and success! Noise gone... or so I thought...

20 miles later it's creeping back and after a further 10 it was going crazy

At this point I'm doing a checklist in my head to eliminate different theories and ideas based on symptoms. It's not the engine itself because revving it doesn't make a difference, it's not the clutch, it's not the front or rear bearings as they are now new, it does happen on the centre stand when the bike is put in gear... so it has to be drive train related... I'd already cleaned and lubed the chain, but fuck it let's try that again

So I'm 40 miles from home with the bike not sounding too great and I decided to find the closest Halfords and buy some Chain Lube (I usually have a can on me, but it ran out a couple of weeks back). Decided on trying something different and immediately get out in the parking lot and apply it generously and naturally make a mess BUT SUCCESS! NO MORE NOISE! Apparently the chain did not like the new dry/wax lube I applied. I swear the chain was not dry and you could see that it was lubricated but applying this new stuff (Muc-Off Endurance Chain Lube) completely eradicated the problem and it smells of bubble gum I guess at least I have new wheel bearings in now, so silver linings and all

TL;DR - Don't use dry lube. Check the simple things. Twice.

[slappy]

I have never understood how dry chain lube can work, its dry so how does it lube?

[Dead Eye]

I have no idea but I figured I'd give it a shot instead of having mess being caked behind the sprocket cover, chain guard and on the rim :P I don't often go out in the rain unless the car is off the road

Evidently this wasn't the best of ideas or requires a different approach; I don't know either way all I can see is that the new chain lube is working fine and I haven't had any issues with the 120~ miles I've put on the bike since