kx250 noise with clutch out

[thirtyfour]

guy, I need some help, just recently got a 01kx250.
it has some nasty noise at idle speed with the cluth out(in its normal position)
when the clutch pulled in the noise goes away.

in all gears , riding the bike, it all seems normal.
the bike starts and runs fine otherwise

what do you guys suggest?
thanks

 

[darringer]

It's more than likely the needle bearing the clutch basket rides on is worn out. It makes the clutch basket wobble slightly causing a low, growling sound, with possibly some vibration. As soon as the clutch lever is pulled in, the sound and vibes disappear. It's an easy fix.

 

[crazy4nitro]

also check the clutch hub, i just replaced a basket for a buddy,it had cracked around the splined area where the steel insert is pressed in. this was on a 1990 KX125.

 

[BubZ]

It's also common to some extent on KX 250's. I am on my second one and even though it has very few hours on it you can here some noise when the clutch is out and it's out of gear.

I rode my 98 KX for 4 years and the sound became progessively worse over time but the clutch performed perfectly. If the noise is really nasty it's worth looking into of course, but I never even needed to change my clutch on the 98 and it was still roosting when I sold it.

Kawi's don't seem to have the same build quality as Hondas, but my 98 never broke and never let me down....

BubZ

 

[kshackleton]

guy, I need some help, just recently got a 01kx250.
it has some nasty noise at idle speed with the cluth out(in its normal position)
when the clutch pulled in the noise goes away.

in all gears , riding the bike, it all seems normal.
the bike starts and runs fine otherwise

what do you guys suggest?
thanks

By out, I assume you mean that the handle is released. If that's the case, I also assume that you are idling in neutral when you hear this noise, and not when riding?

If the clutch is released in neutral, the engine will be spinning some of the transmission gears on their shafts, the input shaft will be spinning and the output shaft will be stationary...first, second, and third gears are splined to the input shaft and will be spinning....4th and 5th will not be spinning, but the input shaft will be spinning inside the hub of those gears. On the output shaft [which will be stationary], 4th and 5th are splined and stationary, but 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will be spinning on the stationary output shaft.

When you pull in the clutch and kick it in gear.....the tranny gears stop spinning and only the outer clutch basket and the friction disks will be spinning [driven by the engine]. The inner basket and the metal disks, and all the transmission components will be stationary....this is when your noise goes away...correct?

Perhaps you have a bearing problem in the transmission. In any case....I would suggest dismantling the clutch first, since that's very easy....but if you find nothing wrong there, you may have to pull the engine and split the case to look for problems in the tranny.

I hope its minor....good luck.

 

[motometal]

I have noticed this with many bikes, all different makes and models. Some of those bikes may have had bearings that were a bit rough, nothing that was going to actually fail any time soon though. What I'm saying is, this noise is normal to some degree, tough for us to judge though depending on how loud it actually is etc. What type of trans oil are you using?

 

[thirtyfour]

Motul transoil 2T 10w-30

 

[ellandoh]

take a closer notice to some of your friends bikes and see just how much different yours is, all that ive noticed have a slight sound of a loose rattle .......best description i can get across the net

 

[thirtyfour]

thanks guys for your input ,

it seems that this noise comes and goes, some times it is not even there other times pretty obvious.
I guess I will let it be for now till it comes time to do a clutch job.

thanks again.

 

[crack rock]

i have the exact same problem with my 2001 rm 250 it makes a grinding/howling noise with the clutch lever released. i've seen a few threads on this before and they all said it was the bearing the clutch basket rides on i replaced that bearing about a month ago and while i had the clutch cover off i looked at everything else(except the steels) for damage and didnt see anything wrong. the noise might be a little better i cant tell but it still does it and it makes me worry when i hear it. supposedly some of this noise is normal but im not sure exactly what "some" means so i recorded my bike idling bringing the lever in and out.
<center>
<a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/sicchevelle/?action=view&current=ridingpictures342.flv" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/sicchevelle/th_ridingpictures342.jpg"></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
</center>

any opinions?

 

[Jbgabriel]

Same thing with my 99 kx 250

 

[crack rock]

Same thing with my 99 kx 250

is it as loud as mine?

 

[crack rock]

heres a better clip, the other one kind of sucked

<center>
<a href="http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/sicchevelle/?action=view&current=ridingpictures343.flv" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/sicchevelle/th_ridingpictures343.jpg"></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
</center>

 

[Jbgabriel]

The sound is similar to yours just not as loud. Mine clutch is also very grabby. I think i remember hearing that the clutches in these bikes are very suseptible to grooving. Would that have anything to do with it? Otherwise I'm not really worried about it.

 

[YZThumper]

I have a 2001 KX250 that I recently replaced the clutch components on because the clutch was very grabby. My clutch wasn't noisy like you describe, but was very grabby. Even with the clutch pulled in, the bike would try to lurch forward. My clutch basket was wavy, but not what I would considered grooved. It was the fiber plates that caused my clutch to be grabby. The fingers of my fiber plates were notched against the fingers of the clutch basket. Once I replaced my fibers and steels (I bought a complete kit), the bike shifts like a dream and seems to be relatively quiet.

 

[Jbgabriel]

Well today I put a little extra oil in to see if it would help anything. All it did was make it louder and more grabby. So next weekend im gonna tear into it and see what i find. Ill let you know.

 

[KX250newb]

I posted the exact same subject about 6 months ago after I bought my first KX250 00. I replaced the stock basket (stock basket was notched and worn out of spec) with a Hinson basket, also replaced the needle bearing. Dropped in a new set of fibers and plates and.......it still made some noise....although greatly reduced.

While at a track several weeks later I ran into a guy with a 03 KX and it made the same exact noise. I think the KXs are just a little noisy.

How worn are the plates? I bet your basket is notched?

Got an impact wrench...? You'll need it to get that clutch nut off, other than that its easy stuff.

I just listened to your video, sounds almost identical to what mine sounded like (even a little more severe). Sounds terrible doesn't it....I thought my bottom end was toast but in the end just the clutch!