Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi guys...I'm new to this forum and would like some info on my new Kawazaki VN 2000. Picked it up from down south last week and on the ride up to Glasgow i noticed a whine from the drive belt. This has gradually got worse and is constant when the bike is in gear and moving,,,(i have tried out of gear and there is no whine). The bike is under warranty but i have been told this is quite a common problem with the belt and it might just need a clean or some oil....Is it ok to use WD 40..... Any advice would be most welcome.
Thanks guys
Mo

I'm not familiar with that particular drive BUT I'd be looking for
wear patterns and alignment issues, possible loose set screws.

Such problems are common with v-belt drives in machines.

Hello and welcome to the forum. If your having a problem with your brand new motorcycle take it to the dealer and make them take care of it.

Thanks guys....I think you might have picked me up wrong. The bike is not brand new but 4 years old, (new to me) and i bought the bike from a trader 300 miles away from my location, although i did get a three month waranty (which is still valid) the Kawazaki dealership near to me are reluctant to touch the bike as they say it is an issue with getting paid for any work they will have to do, so they have suggested a few things i could try, Taking the belt off and cleaning it then using a lubricant or powder to try and reduce the whine.......... I will try this today, but i feel that after having paid £7000 hard earned cash for the bike i am being left to sort the problem myself (is a waranty worth the paper it's written on ????) Any way i will let you know how i get on after the cleaning and oiling.
Mo

So from what I'm getting, there's a whine coming from your drive belt area when you're in gear and moving, but not when you're moving and not in gear (like in neutral but rolling along), correct?
How many miles on the bike? IIRC the VN2000 has straight-cut gears to handle the torque that thing puts out, so it could very possibly be the transmission gears making the whine.

Took the belt covers off and cleaned and sprayed a small amount of WD40 on the belt and external drive from gear box......... Put everything back together and took it for a spin......... And yahooooo the whine has gone....................... WD40 works wanders, at least i know it's nothing more serious.
Anyway thanks for all your suggestions.

Why do I think "Belt Dressing" might have been a better choice than WD40???

But then what do I know???

Legionnaire wrote: although i did get a three month waranty (which is still valid) the Kawazaki dealership near to me are reluctant to touch the bike as they say it is an issue with getting paid for any work they will have to do,

Glad you got it taken care of but I have a problem with the above statement. Are you "procreating" sitting me? Hey, "O Ring", if I bring my bike to get checked out and it is under warranty and covered and you tell me "no" cause you may not get paid by the company. How is that my "procreating" problem?

Ok, I'm done now. Personally, I would look to see who is the regional rep for Kawa and bring this to their attention. The company should know about a dealer that doesn't want to handle warranty work and is forcing the problem off to the customer. Nothing may come of it but you never know. If anything, it gives the dealer a bad name and I would tell everyone I know about it.

Just my opinion.