Awful transmission noise

[silverRider]

So I have a 2004 R1150R with 39000 miles on it. Throttle bodies are way out of sync so I'm dealing with that issue. However, I started it last night and it made this awful noise that seems to be coming from transmission. It is clicking and whirring noise that goes away when clutch pulled in. If I play with the clutch a bit, pull in and out couple of times, it will stop but then if I pull the clutch in again and release it will return.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Doug

[peels]

will it move under its own power?

[silverRider]

will it move under its own power?

I haven't tried since I put it away yesterday afternoon, but it did before, no issues. However it was a slow ride home, stuck in traffic for an hour, stop and go, and it was warmish out.

Doug

[MarkShelley]

First thing to do is drop the oil out and check for ominous metallic bits on the magnetic plug or in the oil itself.

[peels]

will it move under its own power?

I haven't tried since I put it away yesterday afternoon, but it did before, no issues. However it was a slow ride home, stuck in traffic for an hour, stop and go, and it was warmish out.

Doug

try to see if it moves in gear, eliminate the worst case scenario. clutch spline failure.(doesnt sound like it) could be the slave cylinder bearing too? ive heard those can be noisy if they go bad. Mine was slightly noisy, and it just died. But I didnt hear much because I ride with earplugs.

[towerworker]

The R's transmission is notoriously reliable so I doubt there are problems internal to the tranny. My guess would be the same as peels in that it's possibly slave cylinder related or worst case a spline issue.

[CycleRob]

Throttle bodies are way out of sync so I'm dealing with that issue.

A one cylinder cyclic idle alone will cause the running clearances between the primary drive gears, meshing transmission gears and input shaft splines to all contribute to making the noises you hear. First check that the throttle cables are fully seated inside the knurled adjuster ferrules on each TB -and- there is touchable freeplay swaying looseness on the visible cable portion connecting to both of the throttle pulleys.

Since the TB synch is 'way out', you'll be unable to use the very sensitive differential water manometer to set it. There are 3 ways to get the synch very close BEFORE you use the be-all-end-all H2O manometer.

1--Use a (borrowed) TwinMax, Mercury CarbStyx or other expensive synch device.
2--Set the BBAS (BigBrassAirScrews) by ear at idle, listening closely for even pulses at the exhaust discharge opening while simultaneously (slowly) turning each screw both ways from an initial 2 turns out. Set the On-Throttle cable adjusters, engine off, by left hand finger feeling the Left TB throttle pulley while eyeballing the Right TB pulley as the throttle is repeatedly moved off the idle stops, then remove the play from the delayed one until they appear identical. When you get it right (with patience and good judgement) you'll find the running synch is very close with the water manometer. Of course it depends on the blue painted idle stop screws being set properly and not tampered with.
3--Use a homemade water jar diffential manometer to get it close.

There is an almost easy way to make a homemade water jar device to adjust a TB synch that is "way out of adjustment". Mine is nearly completed, using a scrap length of board, 8 feet of tubing and 2 tightly covered glass pickle jars, both just under half filled with water. That setup, resting on the seat, allows the errant big vacuum imbalance to drain all the water from one jar into the other, then bubbling only air thru the almost full one, without passing any water into the engine. It gives you a lot of time to make and wildly experiment with all the available adjustments with no negative consequences! The full jar has the higher vacuum, indicating less throttle applied by that side's BBAS at idle or throttle cable adjuster when on throttle. Total cost of the system, considering the screw top glass jars as recovered from the trash/recycling bin, is the cost of a board scrap, some wire, screws and 8 feet of the same clear vinyl tubing used in the water synch stick . . . well under $10

.

[peels]

tuning the bike with pickle jars.....

I love it.

just clean them good first...the smell of pickles makes me sick.

[towerworker]

tuning the bike with pickle jars.....

I love it.

just clean them good first...the smell of pickles makes me sick.

Question from bystander..."what are them big things sticking out on the side of the motor?"

answer........"them are big pickles!"

[silverRider]

A one cylinder cyclic idle alone will cause the running clearances between the primary drive gears, meshing transmission gears and input shaft splines to all contribute to making the noises you hear.

You are bang on as usual cycleRob. I did adjust BBSs by ear and the noise is gone. Also managed to stabilize the idle speed at 1100. I just rode the bike to work and she is still unbalanced with vibration at idle and quite a lot of it approaching 4K rpm. I think TwinMax is in my future.

I must say one thing, they joy of owning a BMW boxer is not just in enjoying the quirky German machine that puts a smile on my face every time I sit on it but also the nice people that ride them, maintain them and are always willing to help. I'll let you guys know how it works out. Now lets find a TwinMax that won't take a month to ship to Canada.

Happy Friday.

Doug

[captaincable]

Make a rough meter as CycleRob suggested and a manometer for a total of less than $10-15 and use the rest for a new farkle. They are so simple to make and fun to use and what a sweet sound as the bike comes into "tune".
Enjoy
Mike

[silverRider]

Okay gents, here is the update...I have the sweetest running RR north of the border (maybe even further south, but I won't make those claims). The problem was the right throttle cable was too tight and never fully closed the right fuel valve. The last sync was performed by BMW. This is how I got there, thanks to cycleRob's suggestions:

-warm up the bike
-shut it down, set both BBSs to two turns out and loosen both throttle cables
-hook up 4' sync tool (blue food colouring looked really good)
-throttle bodies were almost in perfect sync, idle a bit too high, easily balanced and set at 1100 rpm
-as the bike is running, slowly tighten the left throttle cable until it it started changing the balance, then back off half a turn and lock
-slowly apply throttle, and tighten right throttle cable until I could keep the rpm at 4000 and achieve perfect sync.

Gents, thanks for all your help, I can't get the grin off my face. Now let's go ride before the snow flies.

Doug

[Doug]

I just happened upon this thread, as I often do when I have a spare moment... happen upon R-R threads. Just wanted to say WOW this forum rocks. Threads like this are exactly why I started the forum and why its such a great resource now. Thanks Cyclerob et al for making this place so.... useful! I love it.

[peels]

I just happened upon this thread, as I often do when I have a spare moment... happen upon R-R threads. Just wanted to say WOW this forum rocks. Threads like this are exactly why I started the forum and why its such a great resource now. Thanks Cyclerob et al for making this place so.... useful! I love it.

come for the info, stay for the pickles.

[morourke]

I am getting the same awful transmission noise and it is not rideable. It will give power to the wheel, but it is weak. My came about after I removed my tank and put it back. I did at first not reattach my fuel line properly and the engine was running funny so I turned it off attached it correctly, but now that awful noise comes out. When I pull the clutch the noise stops. I read the above and am not sure mine is the same problem. Any thoughts?

[silverRider]

I am getting the same awful transmission noise and it is not rideable. It will give power to the wheel, but it is weak. My came about after I removed my tank and put it back. I did at first not reattach my fuel line properly and the engine was running funny so I turned it off attached it correctly, but now that awful noise comes out. When I pull the clutch the noise stops. I read the above and am not sure mine is the same problem. Any thoughts?

I would check that both throttle cables are properly seated on the throttle bodies before anything else. Pull them up a bit and make sure they go all the way down in their proper position. It is easy to unseat those, especially the right one when removing the tank. This will completely mess up your throttle body balance and could result in the rough running that I experienced with my bike.

Hope this helps.

Doug