Has my engine buzz gotten worse?

Hi folks,

Everyone knows that the FZ6 has a distinctive buzz around 5500rpm and it's never been much of a problem for me. I've always thought of it as a "tactile tachometer" letting me know through the bars precisely when she passed through 5500ish rpms.

BUT, I just got back from a ride and my hands are numb. This has been getting worse for the last several weeks. Also, the buzz range has expanded (I think) to 5100-6300rpm where before it was just around 5500.

Is my engine buzz really getting worse? Maybe I'm just getting more in tune with my new toy? Has anyone else had this problem? Are there ways to minimize this, ie. something needs to be tightened, engine adjusted, new handlebar risers, shock absorbers, etc?

As always, thanks in advance for the excellent feedback I'm about to get from this great crew.

Peace,
Mike

When's the last time you changed your oil and how many miles do you have? Mine buzzed a little bit before I got it broken in real good. I wrang its neck a little bit and it runs smooth as can be now.

I changed the oil less than 1000miles ago and the bike has around 7300mi. This is FZ6inNH's old baby so I'm guessing he did a good job of breaking it in for me. :thumbup:

Actually, cranking it up a bit was one of my worries. I recently went on a hard ride with my crazy boss and got it up towards the 12-13k range a few times. A couple times because I went into neutral from 1st when meaning to go to second (another thread for another time). Could I have hurt my innocent FZ6 by accident??

Most likely not. I have hit neutral by mistake and rammed up into the limiter, mine still works. LOL

Now you should check all your bolts for tightness. That may be your problem.

Pondrat said:

I changed the oil less than 1000miles ago and the bike has around 7300mi. This is FZ6inNH's old baby so I'm guessing he did a good job of breaking it in for me. :thumbup:

Actually, cranking it up a bit was one of my worries. I recently went on a hard ride with my crazy boss and got it up towards the 12-13k range a few times. A couple times because I went into neutral from 1st when meaning to go to second (another thread for another time). Could I have hurt my innocent FZ6 by accident??

Click to expand...

Well, yes, she was certainly broke in right and taken care of well.

I doubt you've hurt it at all. The FZ6 has a rev limiter in it that won't let you do harm.

What I'm guessing is perhaps your posture and grip on the bike? Maybe you've relaxed a bit and your resting your weight on the handlebars rather than keeping the elbows bent and arms relaxed? Gripping too tight? Try sliding forward on the seat, hugging the tank with your knees and concentrate on keeping the elbows bent and a looser grip. Keep the arms a bit relaxed and make sure you're not leaning into the handlebars at all.

Then, vary the gears and RPM range.

Check the tire pressures, check the oil level. Check the chain free play. Make sure everything is torqued down properly. If you can see a nut or bolt, check the PDF service manual and tighten to specs. Get to know her more intimately.

Checking the engine mounting fastners is the definite first step, as this is easiest. If that doesn't improve things, you should consider looking at the throttle body balance. Often a slight imbalance here will cause an increase in preceived vibration. It's not hard to do, if you have a balancer (carb-stick, twin-max, poor-man's manometer, etc) or have your dealer do it... It is part of the scheduled maintenance after all...

This "buzz " you are talking about , can you get the buzz to happen in neutral and revving it up to 5500 rpm ??
If so try grabbing and moving the clutch cable at the 90 degree elbow just at the lever !! my clutch cable buzzes at 8k rpm and I have taken it back to dealer on Wednesday 6-11-08 and they ordered a new cable and are calling Yamaha about the problem I will see if that new cable fixes it
Greg A.

This a problem for me, as well. Any info would be good. THX, Grumpy

cashcrzzy said:

This "buzz " you are talking about , can you get the buzz to happen in neutral and revving it up to 5500 rpm ??
If so try grabbing and moving the clutch cable at the 90 degree elbow just at the lever !! my clutch cable buzzes at 8k rpm and I have taken it back to dealer on Wednesday 6-11-08 and they ordered a new cable and are calling Yamaha about the problem I will see if that new cable fixes it
Greg A.

Click to expand...

Any word yet? Please let us know of this solves your issue. It could help many others.

My '08 doesn't have this problem but the OP's '05 used to be my bike. So I have a sentimental investment in this thread.

Mine tends to get better and worse at times too. I haven't really pinned down what makes it better or worse, but I'm thinking it could be heat or humidity. I do find it feels smoother after I've been riding for a few hours on a sunny day, and buzzyer on cold/wet days but that could just be how the conditions are making me feel.

Watching this thread closely...... Mine seems buzzy between 5000-7000. May just be a characteristic of the bike but it sure is annoying having to flex your fingers and shake your wrist every five-ten miles...Takes a LOT of the fun out of riding it.

i just bought an 05, the previous owner seemt to take really good care of it, but I have this buzziung problem as well. Changed the oil about 200 miles ago, and am going for the chain next.

Cant wait to hear if the clutch cable fixes the problem.

Pondrat said:

Hi folks,

Everyone knows that the FZ6 has a distinctive buzz around 5500rpm and it's never been much of a problem for me. I've always thought of it as a "tactile tachometer" letting me know through the bars precisely when she passed through 5500ish rpms.

BUT, I just got back from a ride and my hands are numb. This has been getting worse for the last several weeks. Also, the buzz range has expanded (I think) to 5100-6300rpm where before it was just around 5500.

Is my engine buzz really getting worse? Maybe I'm just getting more in tune with my new toy? Has anyone else had this problem? Are there ways to minimize this, ie. something needs to be tightened, engine adjusted, new handlebar risers, shock absorbers, etc?

As always, thanks in advance for the excellent feedback I'm about to get from this great crew.

Peace,
Mike

Click to expand...

This might sound strange... but I noticed atmospheric pressure affacted the smoothness of my bikes (and cars for that matter). On a sunny cool high pressure day, my FZ6 runs like a clock... smooth, powerful and with better fuel economy. On low pressure days (and humid), it runs rough and has less power. Most of this June for us guys in the east has been a write off... so far only 3 days with no rain in June.... Maybe the constant low pressure this June has made you notice the rough running? The on board computer does it's best to compensate for this, but there's nothing like a cool high pressure to make the internal combustion engine sing....

So, I had a terrible experience with trying to fix this now seemingly unimportant issue - and it's all my own fault:

First, know your torque wrenches! I dialed in "55 foot pounds" instead of "55 NM" and went to town on one of the engine mount bolts. Bad idea. I striped the threads from inside the engine - damn that sucked. Used a little JB Weld, but I'm sure it will never be the same.

Second, both the service manual and the owner's manual are very ambiguous when it comes to specs for tightening the chain. I tightened the chain to what I thought was the right tension, but I think it was much too tight and I heard a loud whine coming from the gearbox independent of RPM but related to speed - even with the clutch pulled in. So, it was back to the garage for 2 more adjustments...

...but not before I dropped the bike HARD on the right side on a very sloped driveway and snapped the footpeg off. It could have been worse were it not for the frame sliders. A quick trip to the dealer and 26bucks later, I hopped on the bike and felt a weird creak coming from the triple-tree through the handlebars. I thought I bent something, but after a 50mi trip, the sound and feeling are gone.

Soooooooo, questions still remain - what can be done to help the buzz (oh yeah, it's still there by the way)? What is the proper way to measure chain slack? Why did so many crappy things happen to me in the same day? (and oh yeah, I got locked out of my own office, lost a huge stack of really important files, and wasted a whole day at work with nothing to show for it - and I thought working on my bike would cheer me up )

All in all, life is still good. The bike still runs. It's still REALLY fun to ride around. And it was the first day of summer :thumbup:

I, too notice a buzz between 6-7500RPM, but I just call that The Beast getting prepared to unleash.

Once I get into the power band, it sings and takes off like a rocket.

Listen Pondrat, being an old pondrat myself, (pond hockey RULES!) and fudging up many nuts/bolts/adjustments/crank cases/clutches/and removing the entire timing assembly with spindle from a truck that one sad day, I have learned that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If the bike accelerates smoothly, and doesn't pull or wobble, doesn't blow black smoke or stall, (the worst!) then just ride it.

Have a friend check your chain tension while you sit on it, you should have about 1.5in of play at the point where it moves the mostest.

Lube it every few days by spraying 6 inches of the chain and give it time to "dry". Then as you ride it it will spread out along the whole chain.

You've already "torqued" your mounts.
When was the last time you changed you air filter? I have always done them every 8-10,000mi.
At least look at it, and if you can't see light through it, change it. I could see air intake causing the motor to have to work harder in other ways, and maybe that's where the extra throatiness and buzz is coming from. Think of your cylinders trying to suck as much air as they can and not being able to like an asthmatic.

This buzzing noise everyone is talking about peaked my curiosity so I went for a ride and sure enough their was a buzzing noise coming from the left side of my bike down around generator/starter area. The noise would get louder and louder as I increased my throttle, but when I would ease up on the throttle to the point where I was coasting, there was no buzz. I check everything from engine mounts to ensuring my chain was align and had the proper slack. So I took my bike to the best place in San Diego, Lee's Cycle Shop. The guy took it out for a test drive and was gone for about 15-20 minutes. He came back and said that the buzzing noise was coming from my chain going around the front spocket, he even adjusted my throttle and clutch handle for free. But he said he was 150% positive that was the cause of my buzzing noise and that it was perfectly normal. So, I don't if my buzzing noise is the same that's being discussed in this forum, but I wanted to share.:rockon:

It's been a long time since this tread but in the interest of giving back to the universe and more specifically to the forum that supported by earliest days of riding, I wanted to follow up on the buzz issue and on my hands going numb on long rides.

Eric, you were spot on, thank you. Soon after you recommended those changes in riding posture, I adopted them and haven't had a numb hand in 3 years. More importantly, your out-of-the-box answer to what seemed at first to be a mechanical question was thoughtful and much appreciated.

To Scott64a, well said - if the bike rides straight, doesn't blow black smoke, etc etc. just ride it! and Enjoy!