Gearbox whine

[Haarek]

Anyone got it?

After riding my Downtown for a season I have become more and more annoyed by the intense gearbox whine at speed. I have the proper quality and amount of gear oil so I am wondering if other downtown riders hear the same whine. It intensifies with speed as one would expect. Below 50km/h it is not bothersome. At 80km/h it is pretty darn loud. Not in decibel I suppose, but the frequency cuts trough my helmet really well. My Downtown has done about 2000km so I hope this is something that will get better in time. Please tell me it gets better.... 

[boo]

It should not be doing that. If it is under warranty, have your dealer check it out and make note of problem before warranty expires.

[Vivo]

I have the whine in my Super 8 since day 1... mine I think is normal...

[feebleknievel]

no Whine on my DT 300 only thing mine has is a rattle sound up front when i hit a bump have looked for it for 2 months ,but found nothing loose

[de-dee]

  no rattle in my scoot and no whine at 45,000 km.  just getting sweeter all the time,.  now if the tires would last longer than 12,000 km. only have a few thousand km. on my power pures so far., is spring here soon???  4 inches of snow tonite glad im not in edmonton now ,.  they had 40 below a few days ago,. 

[Haarek]

Thanks for the replies. I don't  really think there is anything wrong with the scoot. The sound is characteristic for gears meshing at high speed. My only concern is that the noise is louder than on other scooters I have driven and that it will stay loud even after breaking in. Have anyone taken a look inside the gearbox? I am wondering if the gears are straight or twisted. Twisted gears tend to run more quiet in my experience. It is now winter here in Norway and the scoot is under roof and put away until spring. In the new year I will probably have a look inside to see if there is anything obviously at fault.

[ophelia]

I don't hear the gear whine on my Downtown 300i, but perhaps I don't have the ear for it.

[CROSSBOLT]

Haarek, the pictures in the service manual show helical or "twisted" gear teeth which should be way quieter than straight cut  or "spur" gear teeth. Spur gears are VERY noisy. My DT300i has some whine that is engine speed related which is probably all those roller chains in the engine: cam, starter and water pump. I would recommend you check the gear oil for correct type and quantity. Just ride it if all that is nominal and wait to see what happens. See what kind of trouble is caused by really good hearing!!? I gotta pull out my hearing aids to ride because of the wind noise and everything on the bike is really quiet!

Karl

[mrbios]

Change the gear oil in the rear differential yourself and verify that the correct amount is in there and that there are no metal shavings.   If it were to go bad down the road it takes a few hours to replace and and roughly $200 for the part so it's not the end of the world.  Consider wearing ear plugs to protect your hearing.