need to hear from the pro's

I've been having a noise at aroud 40 to 45 mph lately. The other night It got noticeably louder, so I took it to my cycle repair guy to diagnoses it for me. He said it's coming from the middle gear area, and gave me a price to replace the middle gear and bearings, seals. The total was just under a $1000 for everything. He's well respected, and I trust him. my question is how big of a deal is it to do it yourself. Do any of you guys carry any of the parts ( Sean, Captain). He's got $500 for labor so it sounds like a pretty big tear down. I've never been to deep into one of these bikes but I have some good mechanics around me. What do you think?

Is the noise all the time or mainly on decel ? It could be just the nut in your differential backing off.

The noise is most of the time, steady, decel and exel. It is extremely specific. only between 40 and 45. faster or slower it goes away. I'll check the differential nut for sure though.

tothemax93 said:

The noise is most of the time, steady, decel and exel. It is extremely specific. only between 40 and 45. faster or slower it goes away. I'll check the differential nut for sure though.

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Just to make sure you know which one I am talking about you have to pull the differential & its the nut inside when you pull the driveshaft out.

captainkyle said:

just to make sure you know which one i am talking about you have to pull the differential & its the nut inside when you pull the driveshaft out.

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ok.

tothemax93 said:

The noise is most of the time, steady, decel and exel. It is extremely specific. only between 40 and 45. faster or slower it goes away. I'll check the differential nut for sure though.

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Take off the middle drive gear cover and see whats there.

On the side note, those engines likes to produce some serious vibrations in the specific rpm range.

tothemax93 said:

I've been having a noise at aroud 40 to 45 mph lately. The other night It got noticeably louder, so I took it to my cycle repair guy to diagnoses it for me. He said it's coming from the middle gear area, and gave me a price to replace the middle gear and bearings, seals. The total was just under a $1000 for everything. He's well respected, and I trust him. my question is how big of a deal is it to do it yourself. Do any of you guys carry any of the parts ( Sean, Captain). He's got $500 for labor so it sounds like a pretty big tear down. I've never been to deep into one of these bikes but I have some good mechanics around me. What do you think?

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How did the mechanic determine that it was a middle gear problem? By test-riding the bike himself, or using a stethoscope?
You say the noise appears at 40-45 mph, but is this when the bike is in the same gear? In other words, is the noise speed, or rpm related?
Determine the rpm range that induces the noise, preferably if you can do this while the bike is on the centrestand. Chances are, it will be a very narrow range of rpm. Maybe this is what your mechanic did already?
If the noise doesn't appear with the bike on the centrestand, in neutral, I would suspect that it is originating from a tire or wheel. If the noise appears with the bike in gear, your mechanic is probably right -middle gear or driveline related.
The best scenario is that the noise is simply a vibration caused by a loose part, which could be anywhere on the bike. if you find out it is rpm-related, and doesn't appear below or above that specific rpm, that is what I would look for first, before digging too far into the bike.
Cheers!

satariel666 said:

On the side note, those engines likes to produce some serious vibrations in the specific rpm range.

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yes, yes it does

Miles Long said:

How did the mechanic determine that it was a middle gear problem? By test-riding the bike himself, or using a stethoscope?
You say the noise appears at 40-45 mph, but is this when the bike is in the same gear? In other words, is the noise speed, or rpm related?
Determine the rpm range that induces the noise, preferably if you can do this while the bike is on the centrestand. Chances are, it will be a very narrow range of rpm. Maybe this is what your mechanic did already?
If the noise doesn't appear with the bike on the centrestand, in neutral, I would suspect that it is originating from a tire or wheel. If the noise appears with the bike in gear, your mechanic is probably right -middle gear or driveline related.
The best scenario is that the noise is simply a vibration caused by a loose part, which could be anywhere on the bike. if you find out it is rpm-related, and doesn't appear below or above that specific rpm, that is what I would look for first, before digging too far into the bike.
Cheers!

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I know he test drove it, but I don't any other way he checked. I dropped the bike off a week ago and have been working out of town. I only talked to him briefly on the phone. I was going to stop by his shop today, then they sprung work on me. It made the noise in 3rd,4th and 5th, all at the same 40 to 45. So it seems to be more speed related than rpm. I'll try putting on the centerstand and running it to see if the noise is still there.

So I spent a little time investigating the problem on my own. I did the screwdriver to the ear test to really locate the noise. In my opinion it's coming out of the differential. I didn't hear any unusual sound at or around the middle gear cover. Then I checked the oil level for the diff. When I pulled the plug it looked like metalic paint was coming out. So I really believe thats the source of the problem. So the next question is would it be a quicker, cheaper fix to just buy a different differential and replace it or to go through mine with new parts. What is the avalibility for differentials for these bikes. Do you have any for sale, Sean or Kyle

tothemax93 said:

So I spent a little time investigating the problem on my own. I did the screwdriver to the ear test to really locate the noise. In my opinion it's coming out of the differential. I didn't hear any unusual sound at or around the middle gear cover. Then I checked the oil level for the diff. When I pulled the plug it looked like metalic paint was coming out. So I really believe thats the source of the problem. So the next question is would it be a quicker, cheaper fix to just buy a different differential and replace it or to go through mine with new parts. What is the avalibility for differentials for these bikes. Do you have any for sale, Sean or Kyle

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I have one it would be $ $ 115 shipped it needs a paint job but besides that good.

sounded good to me to:clapping: I PMed him

A little up date. My cousin, AKA my mechanic, and I tackled changing the differential today. Thank You Kyle for the part. What a piece of cake. Since it hadn't been apart in a while some of the disassembly took a little elbow grease, but in all it was a breeze. I'm even thinking of getting a venture diff to change it over if I go on a long trip. The best part of this is that the diff was the problem. No more noise and the bike is now a little faster. I can feel a noticeable difference in how the bike rolls. I really think there was a slight drag in the diff. Kinda like an emergency brake hanging up just enough to make a car feel sluggish. also, it had been making that noise ever since I bought it, so I never knew the difference until today. So I went from a $1000.00 Middle gear tear down to a $150 do it yourself in a few hours cake job.

tothemax93 said:

A little up date. My cousin, AKA my mechanic, and I tackled changing the differential today. Thank You Kyle for the part. What a piece of cake. Since it hadn't been apart in a while some of the disassembly took a little elbow grease, but in all it was a breeze. I'm even thinking of getting a venture diff to change it over if I go on a long trip. The best part of this is that the diff was the problem. No more noise and the bike is now a little faster. I can feel a noticeable difference in how the bike rolls. I really think there was a slight drag in the diff. Kinda like an emergency brake hanging up just enough to make a car feel sluggish. also, it had been making that noise ever since I bought it, so I never knew the difference until today. So I went from a $1000.00 Middle gear tear down to a $150 do it yourself in a few hours cake job.

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Congratulations glad that was the problem. Let me know if you decide on a Venture diff I have them from time to time to.