Whirring noise - Help!

[KDXDen]

The last two rides I have been on I have been getting a "whirring" sound out of my right side casing in what seems like my water pump area. It seems to come intermittently after I push the bike hard. It goes up and down with the engine revs. The bike only has about 12 5-hour rides on it. The first time it happened the sound went away when I leaned the bike over to the right at idle, then I did not hear it for the rest of the day. Then last Friday I heard it early in the ride so I shut the bike off and when I started it the sound stayed away for about 5 minutes. The sound then came back and would not go away, so we went back to the truck, let the bike sit for a half hour, then never heard it again for the next 4 hours.

Any ideas out there? This is freaking me out as the bike is fairly new and I am not a hard rider (relatively speaking..). I did a search on this site and on Google and have seen that other KDX owners have had this noise and I have seen references to oil levels and dry kickstarter bushings but no definitive answer yet to exactly what is making this noise. Seems like it can't be good but I have never seen a post that says that it caused any harm. I don't want to start pulling things apart if it would be a waste of time. Any ideas out there?????.

What a freaking bike though! I love this thing more every time that I ride it. I ride in tight twisty steep rocky NH terrain and this thing eats it up like it was nothing.

 

[sr5bidder]

I would try filling the oil up to the top of the window while on the side stand

but if it has been rebuilt there may be some thing that was not tightened properly.

 

[pdiddy]

Mine did the exact same thing. Turns out the issue was the amount of tranny oil. I dump in a full quart and the noise is completely gone.

 

[KDXDen]

Big thank you to you guys- sr5bidder and pdiddy! I filled it up to the top of the window (which ended up being the full quart) went for a 35 mile ride (and it was hot), and the sound never came back. Big relief.

Thanks again, I really appreciated getting the advice!

 

[julien_d]

I think the whirring noise is the KIPS governor. It sits a bit high in the right side case, and when you put some extra oil in it should be enough to partially cover the governor, quieting it down. I hear that whirring noise as well when I'm low on oil...

J.

 

[sr5bidder]

:cool: glad to help what oil are you using?

 

[KDXDen]

Sorry, I just threw out the bottle but it was the stuff in the red bottle from Honda that the local Kawasaki dealer recommended. Have no clue what it was. Any recommendations for what I should be using?

 

[julien_d]

That red honda oil is great. HP4 I think? I like it a lot, but it's a little pricey. I've been running Type F ATF. Mostly because it works well and it's cheap!

 

[KDXDen]

Yikes, Julien! How did you come up with the idea to run ATF fluid in the tranny? Even if someone mega qualifed told me to run it I probably wouldn't just because I would be afraid that he was screwing with me. People do that..... But it works well though? I am intrigued. Tell me more......

 

[julien_d]

Yikes, Julien! How did you come up with the idea to run ATF fluid in the tranny? Even if someone mega qualifed told me to run it I probably wouldn't just because I would be afraid that he was screwing with me. People do that..... But it works well though? I am intrigued. Tell me more......

Google it a while. Lots and lots of qualified people will tell you to do that. Perhaps they are all out to screw with you... anything is possible. A few qualified people will probably tell you not to run ATF as well. Of course, they could just be screwing with you too....

ATF is designed for both wet clutches and tight gear meshes. Sound a lot like what we're dealing with in a MC tranny? Yup, sure is! Anyway, it works great for 2 strokes and even 4 strokes that seal the crankcase oil from the transmission oil. Of course, you don't want to put it in a 4 stroke that lubes the tranny with the crankcase oil, that would probably be bad.

Like I said, do some google on the subject. You'll find more information than you care to read. I have never had any trouble running ATF in any of my 2t's, and I will keep running it cuz it just plain works good!


*edit*

Oh yeah, wish I could claim credit for "coming up with the idea" to run ATF in a MC tranny, but alas, people much smarter than me have been doing it for years and years... :ride:

 

[Joburble]

I have just got my KDX a few weekss ago and will be running ATF Type F in it. You guys are talking about running more oil than standard, exactly how many cc would you recommend?

GASGAS recommend running it (ATF) in their 2 stroke trials bikes http://www.gasgas.com/Pages/2003's/pro-03/pro-280-main-1.html

 

[KDXDen]

I put in the full quart like pdiddy and sr5 suggested and it worked great. I would go with that.

Makes life easy too. I have way too many oil containers sitting on the shelf with only an inch of oil on the bottom. I am too cheap to spend 7 bucks on a quart of oil just to throw out a quarter of it, but too chicken to mix them together when I have enough of them to do a complete oil change...

 

[julien_d]

Try running a full quart, if it foams on you or you feel like there's any added drag, drop down to about 850ml or so. Lately I've just been filling to the top of the sight glass. Seems to work well. Not sure exactly how much it is though. A bit more than the 750ml recommended by ma kaw, but not quite a full quart.

KDXDen,

Give the ATF a shot. A lot easier to swallow than the 7 bucks or so a quart for MC specific oil. It works really well too. Great clutch action and smooth shifts. Tranny gears all looked shiny and new when I split the cases to do crank bearings.

 

[KDXDen]

Speaking of clutch action, is it normal to have a lot of clutch drag on this bike? If I stall the bike and then try to kickstart it with the bike in gear and the clutch pulled in, the drag on the clutch makes it super hard to kick the bike over. I have the clutch adjusted just to the point where the freeplay in the lever is taken up, but the drag is very noticeable when I pull in the clutch. Bikes in the past never seemed to have that much drag, but maybe I am just not remembering correctly. If I pull in the clutch with the engine running there is no creep and it feels like it is well disengaged, and it does shift well. The only problem is trying to push it or start it with the clutch pulled in. Is this normal?

 

[julien_d]

Yup, pretty normal on most two strokes for the clutch not to work if the bikes not running. It's darn near impossible to start mine in gear with the clutch pulled. Must find neutral.

Of course, a new clutch basket would likely remedy most of the problem, but that's a considerable expense. Once it starts dragging while the bike is running, then I will start thinking about replacing/filing the basket.

 

[Joburble]

Hey Julien_d, just a bit off topic but I see you have an F11. I had one of those too, infact the one I had was bought by my father from "Don Smith" who had a big hand in designing it, he designed the KT250 and was involved in the design of the 2 stroke triples too. He also made up the name kwaka, which is in common use around the world. He was a friend of the family, but sadly died a few years ago. Just got a bit exited because the F11's are now few and far between. Love that rear fender!

http://www.donsmithtrials.co.uk/index.html

 

[julien_d]

Hey that's really cool! I love my old F11. It's a work in progress right now. I need to find the oil tank, front and rear fenders, and the cylinder is off to be bored.