A tickling noise from the rear - shaft?

[Anonymous]

Hi there dear know-it-alls!

I just purchased a GS1100G -82 and love it! The bike is in a very good shape and runs really healthy.
Okay, when I leave on the center stand for a while and then start: it burns oil for a few seconds. I can live with that (using the side stand), no need for an immediate repair.
The head gasket leaks a bit - maybe I have it changed next winter.
But one thing slightly worrying me is that tickling sound when I come to a parking lot and turn off the motor and roll the last meters so I can hear it. Get what I mean?
When rolling a warmed bike (with a warmed shaft) there is a tickle-tickle-ding-tickle-ding coming somewhere from the rear. The frequence of the sound goes down as I slow down the bike.
The former owner told me that the final drive makes a squeaking noise when not lubed well. (It got lubed in the shop juts prior I bought it, at the same time they changed the rear tyre.)

What do you think? Do I have something seriously wrong or worn down in my final drive? Is this common with these shaft drive Suzukis?

Big thanks for your kind help

Yours

Esko Naskali, Finland

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Welcome to the forum Esko

Did you check the rear wheel bearings?
Take a look trough the final drive refill hole with a torch and see if the beveled gear is in good shape and if the oil is in the correct level.
Good luck.

Eliseo.

[focus frenzy]

wheel bearings would be first suspect without actualy hearing the noise.
also look at the brake rotor for any imperfections.there could be some runout (side to side movement) in the rotor and you hear this as a clicking of the calaper.

[dpep]

also look at the brake rotor for any imperfections.there could be some runout (side to side movement) in the rotor and you hear this as a clicking of the calaper.

I would put it up on the centerstand in neurtal and spin the rear wheel to see if I could replicate the ticking. Also, put it in neutral as you roll to a stop (not just pull in the clutch) and see if that makes any change. Also, try lightly applying the rear brake in both situations stop and see if the clicking stops before the wheel stops turning. Let us know the results.

Do a search of this site on the word "splines". Read up on those threads. It is important info for someone with your bike to know.

[Planecrazy]

Also make certain that the bolts connecting the shaft itself are tight. There was a report less than a year ago from somebody who found out the hard way that his were loose. One of them came out and caused the shaft to jam ... which in turn locked the rear wheel while he was riding.

It is possible that a ticking noise could be the result of a loose bolt shifting as the shaft spins. I imagine that the bolts this person was referring to are located at either end of the shaft where the u-joints are...

BTW, I'm NOT referring to the bolts you see on the outside of the shaft housing. You will have to get inside to check the ones in question.

Good Luck!
Steve 8)

[feelergaugephil]

My GS1000G was making a simular noise, I checked and rechecked everything, I found that the rear disc was loose, then when I tightend it up, the noise was still there but not as much, the rear disc was now warped, so I changed it out, now it's quiet agin.

[Anonymous]

Recently I asked advice for my GS1100G...
Finally I went to a small and simple repair shop (the prestigous ones refuse to do nothing but change oils to bikes not more than two years old).
The man used a bid screwdriver as a stethoscope - and the diagnosis was: the bearings supporting the shaft at the rear are gone.

Now I am waiting for the parts (two bearings and two seals) to arrive.

Let?s see!

Best regards,

Esko Naskali
Helsinki
Finland

[duaneage]

THe fancy shop would probably not know how to diagnose the problem anyway. While it is apart I would inspect the rear drive spline gear that engages the rear drive assembly and check it for cracks. Grease it well before assembly. New wheel bearings are not a bad idea since you have th wheel off.

[Anonymous]

Yup, actually at this small shop we started with taking the rear wheel off to see if the grooves of the drive plate are damaged. But no, it seemed all right. We put a lot of grease to it, the wheel back in its place, but the tickling sound was still there.
The bike on the center stand, rotating the wheel with hand - no sound. It tickles only under weight.

I surely hope the new bearings will fix the problem!
We also opened the shaft tunnel and it had a little bit of rost thrown on its wall - maybe from the dried out bearings?

I?ll let you know.

Yours,
Naskali

[Anonymous]

*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$ happened!

I had to wait for the bearings for four weeks - only to discover that the problem is not the bearings. The new ones were put in place - no affection. The old ones were quite all right.
So I went to a respected old bikes specialist. He has customers waiting in a queue of one month. So he couldn?t examine my bike. But his guess was: the rubber dampers of the rear wheel are so worn and soft that the bolts wind in a position where metal contacts metal. Something like that.
So now I am waiting for the new rubber dampers.

Meanwhile my bike started to blow main fuses. It seems like we have the common rectifier/regulator/stator problem here...

Luckily my son has a Korean made 125 cc bike Daelim. The summer is short so I ride with that!

Naskali