Squeal, knock and grinding noise coming from clutch area

[oaklandish]

I started noticing an occasional squeal noise when riding coming from the front end which seemed to start soon after a front tire change. At first I thought it was coming from the tire and took the wheel off to feel the bearings and had my brother ride it in front of the house so I could try to hear it. We couldn't reproduce it and the bike felt fine so I kept riding it to work (3 mile commute).
It only happens when the bike is warm, clutch out and throttling from a stop.

Eventually the squeal went away and now when the bike is warm and I'm taking off from a stop I hear a grinding and knocking sound. It's so consistent that we could reproduce it off the bike and it sounds like it's coming from the clutch area. There is still no performance issues or clutch problems but this is definitely getting worse and something is going to fail. When I first heard the knock it would go away after reaching gaining speed. Now the knock/grind becomes a humming/winding sound as it gains speed. Still no clutch issues but I have stopped riding it because I am certain something is going bad.

I've lurked on here for about a week reading clutch noise threads and I haven't seen anything similar to this so I thought I'd ask for opinions. I plan on taking the clutch cover off and inspecting the basket and anything behind it but it's not as simple as a Japanese bike so I haven't had the time yet.
I found a video of a Bonneville or some other smaller Triumph making a slightly similar noise. He's in a driveway taking off and it sounds similar but he said his problem ended up being a loose drivechain which we don't have...

 

[Gregger]

First off, how many kilos on the bike? Were any updates ever done such as clutch lifter shaft or cam chain guides? Any other history? Can you hear the noise with the bike standing still? (You initially stated you only hear the noise throttling up from a stop)??? This would eliminate potential brake drag noise/issues. If you only hear the noise with engine running is there any difference with clutch pulled in vs out now? How much freeplay do you have on your clutch cable housing to lever? Should be 2 to 3 mm. Have you noticed any change in this freeplay recently (Indicates a problem)? Is it possible to take a sound clip of the noise?

I'm guessing you should remove the clutch cover and check all the clutch components closely. Lifter piece, lifter arm, basket bearings etc etc. Take a look at the cam chain guides also and measure chain stretch. You might need a shim/spacer in your self adjuster but this would normally give you a paint can type of rattle.

 

[oaklandish]

First off, how many kilos on the bike? Were any updates ever done such as clutch lifter shaft or cam chain guides? Any other history? Can you hear the noise with the bike standing still? (You initially stated you only hear the noise throttling up from a stop)??? This would eliminate potential brake drag noise/issues. If you only hear the noise with engine running is there any difference with clutch pulled in vs out now? How much freeplay do you have on your clutch cable housing to lever? Should be 2 to 3 mm. Have you noticed any change in this freeplay recently (Indicates a problem)? Is it possible to take a sound clip of the noise?

I'm guessing you should remove the clutch cover and check all the clutch components closely. Lifter piece, lifter arm, basket bearings etc etc. Take a look at the cam chain guides also and measure chain stretch. You might need a shim/spacer in your self adjuster but this would normally give you a paint can type of rattle.

It has around 25k miles and I don’t know if anything has been updated.
As I stated before I hear the sound when taking off from a stop so yes the clutch needs to be out.
I’ve been reading all the clutch threads and every single one has the same 2-3mm response and this is not my problem have always had proper slack.
I also already stated I am going to remove to cover and inspect. I don’t believe this is the lifter sound, it’s much worse.
because it only happens when I’m taking off I cannot get a video of it.

 

[Gregger]

because it only happens when I’m taking off I cannot get a video of it.

It's so consistent that we could reproduce it off the bike and it sounds like it's coming from the clutch area.

If it only happens when you are taking off, how were you able to reproduce it "off the bike". That's what I was trying to ascertain. Anyway, take some pics of the assembly opened up. I'm sure others will pipe up. Good luck.

 

[oaklandish]

If it only happens when you are taking off, how were you able to reproduce it "off the bike". That's what I was trying to ascertain. Anyway, take some pics of the assembly opened up. I'm sure others will pipe up. Good luck.

My bad, when I said “we” could make the sound I meant my brother on the bike and I standing by listening to it. I no longer have a helper. I suppose I could put the camera on the ground and ride by it. That’s what the guy was doing in the video I found with a similar sound.
I will definitely be sharing pics when I get down to opening it. Maybe later today.