Noise while coasting

[cbdeacon]

Hi ya'll,

About two weeks ago I traded in my starter bike (a lil Buell Blast) for a silver 2010 NT700. So far it's been outstanding and so much better than my last ride, I can't believe it took me this long to step up.
However since I got the bike it's been making a strange noise when I coast in both first or second gear with the clutch in, a humming whirring deal that's hard to place and disconcerting. It had 10k miles when I picked it up and the seller assured me that they had it serviced before sale, but they're a Harley dealer and didn't have much to say when I asked about the sound other than "it's normal for shaft drive, a Honda shop can tell you more."

http://imgur.com/a/plyxn3P

There's a link to a video I shot while riding, not a great view but you can at least hear what I'm talking about a little bit.

Thanks!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Hi, CB! Welcome to our Forum. The good news is that you've got a great bike that will serve you well. The bad news is that the noise you hear is, in fact, pretty standard. When coasting in lower gears, the NT sounds like it's got a box of rocks instead of a transmission.

There is a fix, though. Wear ear plugs! I think that the noise is amplified by the fairing.

My old NT (137,000 miles) still makes it and I've never had transmission issues. I'm picking up a new NT (only 22,000 miles) on Wednesday in Spokane. I'm willing to bet that it will make the same noise.

We're glad to have you with us. Tell us a bit about yourself -- riding history, what you had before that Buell, etc. You'll find that this is a great Forum, with lots of friendly and helpful folks. We've got people who are experts on motorcycles in general and NTs in particular. Ask a question and you'll get an answer right away.

 

[Fredo]

Pretty much sounds like mine. It depends also what kind of helmet you wearing. There is a lot of buffeting.

 

[cbdeacon]

Hi, CB! Welcome to our Forum. The good news is that you've got a great bike that will serve you well. The bad news is that the noise you hear is, in fact, pretty standard. When coasting in lower gears, the NT sounds like it's got a box of rocks instead of a transmission.

There is a fix, though. Wear ear plugs! I think that the noise is amplified by the fairing.

My old NT (137,000 miles) still makes it and I've never had transmission issues. I'm picking up a new NT (only 22,000 miles) on Wednesday in Spokane. I'm willing to bet that it will make the same noise.

We're glad to have you with us. Tell us a bit about yourself -- riding history, what you had before that Buell, etc. You'll find that this is a great Forum, with lots of friendly and helpful folks. We've got people who are experts on motorcycles in general and NTs in particular. Ask a question and you'll get an answer right away.

Thanks for the welcome, I had been lurking for a few weeks before I pulled the trigger on the new bike and I fully agree that it's one of the most friendly forums I've come across.

I appreciate the quick reply, this is my first experience with a shaft driven bike so the noise was a bit freaky. I'm glad to hear I'm just being a hypochondriac again, at least this time it didn't come with a 30 dollar copay. That's an impressive mileage, all done by you? It's going to feel brand new again for you I'm sure.

I started riding 4 years ago on a '93 nighthawk 250 until I started having some engine problems with it and moved over to the Blast last season. I had been living in Chicago until about a year ago so the smaller bikes were king for me, but since I've moved out to the country and started riding longer distances I wanted something with more touring capacity. After yet another round of mechanical problems on my like new Buell (that famous Harley reliability), I gave up and traded it in for the NT they had gathering dust in a corner of their showroom.

 

[harryhendo]

Congrats on the new bike. One of my other bikes has a shaft drive, and it also whines on deacceleration, especially in the lower gears. It is normal, and just part of the charm. I did, however, check the rear differential fluid level when I bought the NT and none came out of the level hole, so I drained it and found there was barely an ounce of oil in there. I then filled it to the proper level with Honda 80W fluid (any GL-4 or 5 will work) and I *think* the noise is a bit less. But that could just be my imagination. Good to check though.

 

[Brillot2000]

Welcome Aboard and Greetings from SoCal. .

The audio from the videos sounds exactly like mine. If you are referring to the "Wining" noise. That would be from the reduction gears in the final drive. This is your first shaft-driven motorcycle and this noise is normal for most shift-driven bikes. There should not be any cause for alarm. Everything sounds as it should.

 

[Phil Tarman]

That's an impressive mileage, all done by you?

If IRCC, the bike had 16 miles when I picked it up. The dealership's owner had ridden it between the time I bought it (it was still in the crate when I bought it) and two days later when I picked it up. He was apparently the only person who worked there who had any curiosity about it at all. I never talked to a salesman during the buying process or for the next couple of years who knew anything about the NT.

I did get a good deal on the bike. At the time Russellville Honda in Russellville, AR, was selling the ABS bikes for $9,499. I'm thinking that the list price on the ABS bike was $10,999. I had talked a little bit with the on-line sales manager at Sun Honda and had an appointment to meet with him when I came in to close the deal. We had not talked about price.

When I got there sales manager had had to go to the hospital to be with his dad who was having emergency surgery. He had left the message for me to talk to Travis, who was maybe 21. Travis asked what Sun Honda, the Denver dealer where I had also bought my first '99 Kawasaki Concours, had to do to get my business -- who were they competing with. I told him what Russellville Honda was asking and he didn't flinch. I told him that I knew I'd have to fly to Little Rock to pick up bike in Russellville, but that they would pick buyers up at the airport. Then I'd have to ride it home to Fort Morgan, CO, but after that it would be broken in.

Travis called the sales manager at the hospital and came back and offered me the bike for .... $9,499. I was a little surprised and he told me that the sales manager had told him that they gave deals to jerks every day, and he was ready to give a deal to a rider! He told Travis that I was a rider. I was kind of surprised because I had never bought a thing from them except for that first Concours, two helmets and a Givi topbox for the Connie. I had gotten mad at their service department because they had delivered the bike to me with only 20psi in both front and rear tires and then tried to blame it on the sales department. I had told them that they'd never service the bike. And they hadn't. I had done all of the service on the Connie except for the 6,000 mile valve adjustment. (I wish I had been able to do the NT's service, but by the time I got it, I was past that.)

The NT has plenty of touring capacity. I did my 2013 "Epic Post-Retirement Ride to Alaska, the Four Corners of the US, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador" on it. 80 days and 21,000 miles. I've done three Iron Butt Association Saddle Sore 1000s (1000 miles in 24 hours) and one IBA Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in 24 hours) on mine. In fact, I was...get ready for this...the first person to do an Iron Butt certificate ride on an NT700 in the whole Western Hemisphere. I care about that, even if no one else does, or ever has.

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Yeah, that's pretty normal on the NT. I was able to reduce the noise by putting Lucas 80W-90 in the final drive.

+1 on using earplugs, I find they actually improve my concentration and make the ride more serene. These ones work well:

https://www.amazon.com/Moldex-6604-Sparkplugs-Earplugs-Uncorded/dp/B0015TD50C

Brad

 

[Michael Ehrhardt]

Common noise. Mine too. Chains make noise as well. Just make sure fluids are topped off.

 

[coaster]

I used to have a whining noise coming from the rear end of the NT ,I cured it by leaving the wife at home .

 

[ARKNT]

I would check the fluid but it is most likely OK.
I grew up in N. Illinois. Hope you can find a few curves to ride. I'm in Arkansas now and traded off the NT recently. You have found a great site here for information.

Brad

 

[timc490310]

I have the same noise, not as bad, puts my mind at ease. I only have 4000 miles on mine. Bought a ST1300, throwing the idea of selling the NT.

 

[Det78580]

Thank you for this nice video. I have the same noise on my NT700VA6 from the day I bought it in 2008. Mileage today is 58K, never had problems at transmission level.

 

[karl]

The final drive is a bit vocal on overrun but that is normal. Enjoy your bike.

 

[G man]

Just got my nt 700 deville and it makes a wyning noise wen slowing down I've changed the final drive oil and engin oil is clean . So is this noise normal

 

[Brillot2000]

Just got my nt 700 deville and it makes a wyning noise wen slowing down I've changed the final drive oil and engin oil is clean . So is this noise normal

This is normal. There are reduction gears within the transmission to the drive line which create the noise that you’re hearing. You should not worry about it. I personally like the sound of the bike makes.

 

[G man]

This is normal. There are reduction gears within the transmission to the drive line which create the noise that you’re hearing. You should not worry about it. I personally like the sound of the bike makes.

Thanks for your feed back i thought the bike was a bad one

 

[Phil Tarman]

G man, ear plugs help with that noise quite a bit.

 

[coaster]

I used to have a constant whining sound coming from the rear the motorcycle, cured it by leaving the wife at home,

 

[Ausmo]

I use these earplugs and highly recommend them.

Alpine MotoSafe Race for motorcyclists

MotoSafe Race: ideal earplugs for riding on motorways, the circuit or with an open helmet. The MotoSafe earplugs reduce damaging noise without feeling disconnected from your environment. Surrounding traffic, your navigation system, the intercom and motorcycle are still perfectly clear thanks to...

www.alpinehearingprotection.com

They are extremely effective at reducing strange noises including wind noise, you can still hear what you need to hear in the outside world.