650 V-Star squeaks.....any ideas?

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Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:48 pm

I have taken my bike into the dealer twice because it squeaks. It sounds like it is coming from the front seal of the final drive.

The bike shop said they could find nothing wrong with it. They took it apart and regreased inside the first time and said it appeared it was just dry inside.
It started squeaking again and this time they said it had water inside and that the water washed away the grease. ( It's water soluble grease ) They dried it out and regreased it and said that maybe I was getting water inside it when I wash the bike. I asked if it was more likely from riding in the rain so much.
That was Saturday.
Sunday evening I noticed a squeak and today I could hear it even more. The bike has been nowhere near water this time.

It is noticable during my slow ride through the parking garage and slowing for a red light.

Anybody got any suggestions as to what else I might look at that could be squeaking?

TechTMW · #2 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:00 pm

How many miles on the bike?

They use water-soluble grease because normal grease eats rubber. If the problem is that seal (And i don't see what else i could be) you may just have to live with it, just like some cars have squeaky shocks ... or you could put normal grase on the seal, but that would definitely have adverse effects over the long run.

If you put the bike on the center stand (if equipped) or find a way to get the rear wheel in th e air and see if you can isolate the noise ... maybe it's not that seal at all ??

#3 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:59 pm

blues is right, that seal does squeak and it makes no sense. The service guy she saw on Saturday is putting in an inquiry with Yamaha Canada's service dept to see if there is a known problem with the seal and or a recall notice coming out. He said that if given the greenlight by Yamaha, he would re & re it. I just find it hard to believe that it started squeaking again so soon. Patience blues, it may be a moot point soon....

blair · #4 Unread post by **blair** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:11 pm

Every once in a while my bike squeaks.

Every time, I go "what the hell is that?"

And every time, it's the right pannier, which has got itself wedged slightly on top of the rear member of the softail frame.

I lift the bag a little, it pops loose, and goes on about its business silently.

Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:20 pm

TechBMW wrote:How many miles on the bike?

They use water-soluble grease because normal grease eats rubber. If the problem is that seal (And i don't see what else i could be) you may just have to live with it, just like some cars have squeaky shocks ... or you could put normal grase on the seal, but that would definitely have adverse effects over the long run.

If you put the bike on the center stand (if equipped) or find a way to get the rear wheel in th e air and see if you can isolate the noise ... maybe it's not that seal at all ??

The bike has only 5,800km on it. If I know the squeak is nothing harmful happening I can live with it.
The fact that it was filled with water inside is a little disconcerting. If a bike is going to be sold in a rainy part of the world, it should be sealed somewhat better.
However, it still under warranty, so, if it's something serious, they will fix it......if they can figure out what it is.

Sigh.....I seem to always end up with something wrong...both the mountain bikes I owned had mysterious noises....turned out the bearings in the hub were not seated right in one of them and the other had a cracked saddle....it took a while to figure out that squeaking noise....lol

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

Mon Aug 15, 2005 2:49 pm

There is another squeak....now on the front wheel/brakes.

Last week at work someone attempted to move my bike, but the disc lock prevented them from taking it away. However, the disc lock was jammed in between the fork and the disc.
I suspect this may be why there is now a squeak on the front.

I can hear this squeak when I am out on the road at 40kmh...any faster than that there is too much noise for me to hear it. I can hear it when I ride through the parking garage at walking speed. No brakes are applied, but it sounds like the squeak of a front brake application.

Any ideas? I will need to go to the shop again to address this but it's always good to go with an idea of what it may be so they think I know what I am talking about....even if I don't.

Tue Aug 16, 2005 1:55 pm

I called the bike shop today and explained and asked if he had any ideas. He sounded very sure that it was a dry front wheel bearing. Shouldn't that have been greased better at the factory?

I made an appointment to take it in. They will have to take the front wheel off and gease the bearing. In the meantime, he said, to spray a little WD40 in there.
From removing gum to silencing squeaks...is there nothing that WD40 can't do?

It has stopped the squeaking.....until I can take it in for a proper job.