rachtak
Junior Member
My FZ6 has ~15k miles. Recently, the night after a 350mi ride, I noticed a strange knocking sound coming out of the front end of the bike. I've taken it to a mechanic, but he can't figure out what it is without opening up the bike.
My observations:
Description of noise: it sounds like pebbles knocking against the plastic fender above the front wheel. They are not loud, but can be felt slightly in the handlebars.
Location: Sounds like its coming from the front end of the bike
Frequency: rate of 3-5 knocks/second. Occurs in the 2500-45000rpm range. I can replicate the noise dependably if I engine brake hard or accelerate hard.
Misc:
-If I baby the clutch, the occurrences of the knocking are significantly lessened. However, normal and aggressive acceleration/deceleration creates knocking.
-Knocks do not occur when the bike is on the center stand and revved in neutral
-Knocks still occur when I disengage the clutch at ~20mph and coast to a stop at at light
-I cleaned and lubed the chain yesterday and I cannot tell if that has reduced the occurrences of the knocks or not.
UPDATE 4/4/2013: I had the chain and sprockets replaced but the sound still persists.
Just by searching the forums, I suspect that it could be that the chain/sprockets are in need of replacing. However, the mechanic I went to said that my chain looked good (no tight spots, no slapping, aligned, etc). He suggested that something in the clutch basket could be loose.
Since I can't stand the "sit and wait until it gets worse" prognosis. I'd like a second opinion. Has anyone ever encountered something like this? And is it more likely a chain/sprocket problem?
My observations:
Description of noise: it sounds like pebbles knocking against the plastic fender above the front wheel. They are not loud, but can be felt slightly in the handlebars.
Location: Sounds like its coming from the front end of the bike
Frequency: rate of 3-5 knocks/second. Occurs in the 2500-45000rpm range. I can replicate the noise dependably if I engine brake hard or accelerate hard.
Misc:
-If I baby the clutch, the occurrences of the knocking are significantly lessened. However, normal and aggressive acceleration/deceleration creates knocking.
-Knocks do not occur when the bike is on the center stand and revved in neutral
-Knocks still occur when I disengage the clutch at ~20mph and coast to a stop at at light
-I cleaned and lubed the chain yesterday and I cannot tell if that has reduced the occurrences of the knocks or not.
UPDATE 4/4/2013: I had the chain and sprockets replaced but the sound still persists.
Just by searching the forums, I suspect that it could be that the chain/sprockets are in need of replacing. However, the mechanic I went to said that my chain looked good (no tight spots, no slapping, aligned, etc). He suggested that something in the clutch basket could be loose.
Since I can't stand the "sit and wait until it gets worse" prognosis. I'd like a second opinion. Has anyone ever encountered something like this? And is it more likely a chain/sprocket problem?
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