Brothers stock 08 has a problem

[atomsplitter]

Email sent from my brother Patrick. He has an 08 R3 Classic.

Lee,

A new issue has cropped up on my bike. I’ve spent hours searching the R3 forums and doing google searches and I’m not finding anything. Before I take it to the shop I thought I would ask if you may have heard of this issue.

At speeds above 20mph I can intermittently hear a loud chirping. It sounds a lot like a smoke detector’s chirp when the battery gets low.

Any ideas on what it could be is appreciated.

 

[tdragger]

Crickets through the intakes? Any mods to the intake system?

 

[Captain Rich]

Hmmm, I seem to recall that symptom years ago - output shaft bearing (back in the days when it could be installed backwards and starved for lubrication). Not sure if that was still a problem in an '08 - mine's an '06 and it took over 15K miles to exhibit the symptom. Hopefully your brother's problem has a simpler answer.

 

[Captain Rich]

P.s - What started as a Chirp, became a low squeal then a scraping noise over time...that's when I took it to the dealer. As I recall, there was nothing else damaged by waiting for the symptom to progess (I couldn't find the source of the Chirp either).

 

[pjsmithres]

Is it RPM dependent or speed. increased frequency.

RPM - engine.
Speed - Wheels?/Brake pad?

 

[atomsplitter]

Is it RPM dependent or speed. increased frequency.

RPM - engine.
Speed - Wheels?/Brake pad?

I've recommended he replace all the wheel bearings. The bozo that had it before him pressure washed it and ruined the final drive as a result. He's already replaced that unit.

 

[atomsplitter]

Update, Pat called me Saturday to say he found the source of the problem. Low oil level in the oil tank. Wonder what damage that caused.....

 

[Captain Rich]

Glad it's not the output shaft problem. Does he think low oil pressure was setting off an alarm or something mechanical making the noise? Best of luck to him either way.

 

[atomsplitter]

The oil pressure idiot light never came on so it was something else. He says it runs fine now, but keep your fingers crossed anyway...