Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 7, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted October 7, 2019 Greetings! I' m hoping someone can tell me what's up with my 98 VFR.... I'm getting a clicking/light whacking sound when the bike is in gear but the clutch is disengaged. No problems at all when the bike is in neutral or when it's moving. I've attached a vid that captures the sound.... **EDIT: Ack! Embedded video doesn't seem to wanna play... The download option seems to work though. It's 124MB....** Obviously, my first suspicion is the clutch wearing out (no slippage or other indications aside from the occasional ghost neutral) or gearbox (again, no problems when in motion)? Any help from the community would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time. Cheers! MOV_0352_001.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted October 8, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 They all do that, Sir. What you are probably hearing is the flapper valve on the airbox or the electric solenoid that drives it. The flapper is held open with the clutch pulled in, in gear, or whenever the revs are over 5500rpm, or in neutral. The clutch lever switch is the component that is causing the sound as it is making intermittent contact due to dirty contacts and also sitting right around the point that it is switching, which causes the flapper or solenoid to buzz or rattle. You can clean the clutch switch with contact cleaner and working it, or replace it (pretty cheap component). You can confirm that diagnosis by pulling the wires off the clutch switch and seeing if the sound goes away (and you won't be able to start the bike unless it is in neutral then). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 8, 2019 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 Heya! Thanks for the reply! It's a sound that subtly started at the start of the season and has progressively gotten worse throughout the summer. Never heard it in the 7yrs prior.... I really appreciate your time and efforts and I will attempt to confirm your diagnosis as you have suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 8, 2019 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 2 hours ago, Terry said: They all do that, Sir. What you are probably hearing is the flapper valve on the airbox or the electric solenoid that drives it. The flapper is held open with the clutch pulled in, in gear, or whenever the revs are over 5500rpm, or in neutral. The clutch lever switch is the component that is causing the sound as it is making intermittent contact due to dirty contacts and also sitting right around the point that it is switching, which causes the flapper or solenoid to buzz or rattle. You can clean the clutch switch with contact cleaner and working it, or replace it (pretty cheap component). You can confirm that diagnosis by pulling the wires off the clutch switch and seeing if the sound goes away (and you won't be able to start the bike unless it is in neutral then). Terry: As I was in the process of testing your prognosis, I realized that I had completely mispoke in my OP... The clutch is ENgaged. The video, if you saw it, is shot with the bike in 1st with the clutch in. That's when the sound manifests. If I slip into neutral, the sound disappears, which doesn't fit properly with your troubleshoot test, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted October 8, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 1 hour ago, yegvfrguy said: Terry: As I was in the process of testing your prognosis, I realized that I had completely mispoke in my OP... The clutch is ENgaged. The video, if you saw it, is shot with the bike in 1st with the clutch in. That's when the sound manifests. If I slip into neutral, the sound disappears, which doesn't fit properly with your troubleshoot test, correct? Assumed that is the case with the video - In gear clutch pulled in (Disengaged). Terry is correct, the clutch switch makes as you pull the clutch in, so Terry's suggestion of disconnecting a wire from the clutch switch is a good one, see if that resolves the issue. If it dose then that points to a dirty clutch switch and the noise being the Flapper Solenoid. The logic of when the solenoid energises or de-energises is a little obscure, however the simple test of disconnecting a clutch switch wire will give you an answer as Terry suggested. Clutch pulled in = Disengage, the engine and transmission are disengaged. Clutch NOT pulled in = Engaged, the engine and transmission are engaged. Easy to get confused! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 8, 2019 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 12 minutes ago, Grum said: Assumed that is the case with the video - In gear clutch pulled in. Terry is correct, the clutch switch makes as you pull the clutch in, so Terry's suggestion of disconnecting a wire from the clutch switch is a good one, see if that resolves the issue. If it dose then that points to a dirty clutch switch and the noise being the Flapper Solenoid. The logic of when the solenoid engages or disengages is a little obscure, however the simple test of disconnecting a clutch switch wire will give you an answer as Terry suggested. Thank you very much for confirmation. I'll go perform the troubleshoot and see what happens! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 8, 2019 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 4 hours ago, Terry said: They all do that, Sir. What you are probably hearing is the flapper valve on the airbox or the electric solenoid that drives it. The flapper is held open with the clutch pulled in, in gear, or whenever the revs are over 5500rpm, or in neutral. The clutch lever switch is the component that is causing the sound as it is making intermittent contact due to dirty contacts and also sitting right around the point that it is switching, which causes the flapper or solenoid to buzz or rattle. You can clean the clutch switch with contact cleaner and working it, or replace it (pretty cheap component). You can confirm that diagnosis by pulling the wires off the clutch switch and seeing if the sound goes away (and you won't be able to start the bike unless it is in neutral then). 1 hour ago, Grum said: Assumed that is the case with the video - In gear clutch pulled in (Disengaged). Terry is correct, the clutch switch makes as you pull the clutch in, so Terry's suggestion of disconnecting a wire from the clutch switch is a good one, see if that resolves the issue. If it dose then that points to a dirty clutch switch and the noise being the Flapper Solenoid. The logic of when the solenoid energises or de-energises is a little obscure, however the simple test of disconnecting a clutch switch wire will give you an answer as Terry suggested. Clutch pulled in = Disengage, the engine and transmission are disengaged. Clutch NOT pulled in = Engaged, the engine and transmission are engaged. Easy to get confused! Well, sheeeeet! Disengaged was correct. I wasn't confused after all! Lol. Spot on, gents, or so it seems! Didn't get a chance to take it for a spin (it's actually trying to snow right now, ffs... We were 16C degrees here at time of OP, now 2C. The end of riding season is nigh). Replicated what I did earlier in the garage to provoke the sound and.... Nothing. Just the sweet, healthy burble that I love. Thank you guys so much for your help. This was my first time utilizing this knowledgebase and, while I figured someone would eventually get me sorted, I never expected such a quick and detailed reply. Very generous of you both. May the wind be forever at your backs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Mohawk Posted October 8, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 As another avenue, the clutch switch actuator arm, i.e. the plastic peg that the clutch pushes to activate the switch wore out on my Y2K version. Switch was fine, just the end of the peg wore down a bit. It got intermittent, I added a little JB weld type stuff to the clutch lever to make up for the short peg. All good now 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer yegvfrguy Posted October 8, 2019 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 7 hours ago, Mohawk said: As another avenue, the clutch switch actuator arm, i.e. the plastic peg that the clutch pushes to activate the switch wore out on my Y2K version. Switch was fine, just the end of the peg wore down a bit. It got intermittent, I added a little JB weld type stuff to the clutch lever to make up for the short peg. All good now 🙂 Thanks much for the tip! I'll keep an eye out for that, though I'll probably just swap out the part. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ChasingNolan Posted October 8, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2019 19 hours ago, Terry said: They all do that, Sir. What you are probably hearing is the flapper valve on the airbox or the electric solenoid that drives it. The flapper is held open with the clutch pulled in, in gear, or whenever the revs are over 5500rpm, or in neutral. The clutch lever switch is the component that is causing the sound as it is making intermittent contact due to dirty contacts and also sitting right around the point that it is switching, which causes the flapper or solenoid to buzz or rattle. You can clean the clutch switch with contact cleaner and working it, or replace it (pretty cheap component). You can confirm that diagnosis by pulling the wires off the clutch switch and seeing if the sound goes away (and you won't be able to start the bike unless it is in neutral then). Terry is spot on regarding this issue and his recommendation. I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Lubricating/cleaning the contacts solved the problem. I figured if it ever starts reoccuring again I'd just replace the clutch switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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