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Rough noise from the engine area


Guest alexm3388

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Guest alexm3388

Hi everyone,

 

I bought a new NC 750 DCT about three weeks ago and I've covered 500 kilometers so far (roughly 300 miles). The bike is brilliant in every way and rock solid on the road, pure joy to ride. However, after a couple of days I noticed- and I don’t know what else to call it but a rough kind of noise coming from the engine area. The best comparison I can make, would be to a car's radiator fan and those fans are inherently noisy, quite normal.

 

I'm in fact suspecting my own radiator fan to be the source of that noise but on the other hand and in all fairness, maybe there is nothing wrong with it, maybe that's what it should sound like (that's why I'm posting this question and hoping that some of you would confirm my assumption). Now, many of you would say why did it take me as long as two days to notice the noise. There are a few reasons actually:

 

    1. For the first couple of days I was getting used to the bike and that's what I was primarily concentrated on. As I became more familiar with the bike and more relaxed, that's when I began hearing the noise I'm mentioning here

 

    2. At the time I bought the bike, it was quite cold- the temperature in the morning varied between minus 1 and 2 degrees Celsius and at those temperatures I assumed, the radiator fan wouldn't get activated so soon. Now it's much warmer, around 20 degrees in the afternoon

 

    3. To be honest, the noise is not so prominent and it doesn’t drive me nuts, in other words, it isn't something so offensive that I would have to go back to the dealership and complain about it. And that is the whole issue- it's a bit worrisome but on the other hand it could be that I'm just worrying stupidly about the normal operation of the fan or the engine

 

Those are the three possible reasons for not noticing it immediately. To fast forward to today, I hear the noise now, as soon as I leave home in the morning and from work in the afternoon, bearing in mind that the temperature is up as of late.

    -Is it possible that the fan activates almost immediately as soon as I leave my parking spot? Surely the water didn’t reach the operating temperature after a minute or so of idling

    -Or is the fan running all the time, which I doubt?

    -Or is what I'm hearing just the normal sound of the NC engine?

 

I would appreciate a hint or two from experienced NC owners since going to the dealership will involve taking a day off from work, sitting and waiting over there and all that maybe for nothing.

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

Alex

 

  

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Pull the clutch while riding, if its still there probably the tyre noise. My S tyre noise is very loud but I just wear earplugs.

Here we go, knocking HD riders again.       Andy.

The engine smoothness of my S is fine by me but then I prefer to have some engine 'feel'.   The HD thing - the knockers should first take a good look at the manufacturing quality - it's the

bazza

Hi everyone,

 

I bought a new NC 750 DCT about three weeks ago and I've covered 500 kilometers so far (roughly 300 miles). The bike is brilliant in every way and rock solid on the road, pure joy to ride. However, after a couple of days I noticed- and I don’t know what else to call it but a rough kind of noise coming from the engine area. The best comparison I can make, would be to a car's radiator fan and those fans are inherently noisy, quite normal.

 

I'm in fact suspecting my own radiator fan to be the source of that noise but on the other hand and in all fairness, maybe there is nothing wrong with it, maybe that's what it should sound like (that's why I'm posting this question and hoping that some of you would confirm my assumption). Now, many of you would say why did it take me as long as two days to notice the noise. There are a few reasons actually:

 

    1. For the first couple of days I was getting used to the bike and that's what I was primarily concentrated on. As I became more familiar with the bike and more relaxed, that's when I began hearing the noise I'm mentioning here

 

    2. At the time I bought the bike, it was quite cold- the temperature in the morning varied between minus 1 and 2 degrees Celsius and at those temperatures I assumed, the radiator fan wouldn't get activated so soon. Now it's much warmer, around 20 degrees in the afternoon

 

    3. To be honest, the noise is not so prominent and it doesn’t drive me nuts, in other words, it isn't something so offensive that I would have to go back to the dealership and complain about it. And that is the whole issue- it's a bit worrisome but on the other hand it could be that I'm just worrying stupidly about the normal operation of the fan or the engine

 

Those are the three possible reasons for not noticing it immediately. To fast forward to today, I hear the noise now, as soon as I leave home in the morning and from work in the afternoon, bearing in mind that the temperature is up as of late.

    -Is it possible that the fan activates almost immediately as soon as I leave my parking spot? Surely the water didn’t reach the operating temperature after a minute or so of idling

    -Or is the fan running all the time, which I doubt?

    -Or is what I'm hearing just the normal sound of the NC engine?

 

I would appreciate a hint or two from experienced NC owners since going to the dealership will involve taking a day off from work, sitting and waiting over there and all that maybe for nothing.

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

Alex

If your water level is ok in the rad, just leave it running in the drive until its gets really hot.my fan is almost impossible to hear so that will delete that cause.My gears sound rough -but only in some gears!

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Alex

Do you only notice this noise when riding, or is it there as well when you are stationary ?. I know some people have mentioned tyre noise in the past depending on what tyres you are running. Also The engine isn't the quietest I've ever had, sometimes if its still running when I take my ear plugs out  it sounds like a bag of spanners (well not quite that bad but you get the idea).

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Guest dentonlad

+1. When I ride without earplugs the noise, mechanical and wind, is dreadful. It often sounds like something is waiting to burst out like the alien in John Hurt's chest. After 8000 miles it hasn't. Put earplugs in and it sounds sweet......

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Guest alexm3388

Thanks for your quick replies guys

 

 

Barry,

 

I listened to the fan on one occassion and it isnt very quiet, that's what prompted me to suspect the fan. Wrt to the gears- the noise is there from the 1st to the 6th, regardless.

 

Mark and Keith,

 

If that's the case, I feel much better about the whole issue now. Mark, the noise is absent while stationery and the tyres are Pirelli Scorpion- read good reviews about them. However, the noise is quite hoarse, like Keith mentioned- something just waiting to burst.

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If you start the bike from cold and do not rev the bike it should take about 15 minutes before the fan kicks in.

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DB1965

its the fan mines exacly the same and its been checked, bloody exhaust so quiet all you hear is the engine noises, soon got used to it,  :thumbsup:  ear plugs a defo on any trips more than 10 minutes 

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Guest Neil700

Welcome to the forum Alex. The NC is a bit of a noisy thing, the valves are also a part of the concert being a normal old rocker system and not the quieter ohc with shims. I'd you are looking for a screen, try War Eagle Racing in Pretoria. They have a special for a tall screen and a headlight cover R1100. For our UK friends that is around 55 quid and really well made too. Neil in Johannesburg.

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Guest alexm3388

David,

 

my original thought was the fan and still is actually, however, this morning again was quite cold when I left home, around 2 degrees. From my garage to the gate I heard nothing, the moment I engaged the main road and put a load on the engine, there it is. I doubt the fan would activate almost immediately at this temperature. I have no idea, I'll phone the dealership and ask if anyone else complained about the same thing.

 

Neil,

 

thanks for the heads up. The rocker noise I'm familiar with and I'm sure as heck its not that. This noise you can compare to a radiator fan on a large SUV but not as bad, like I mentioned in an earlier post it isnt so offensive. Just the mere fact that its there is beginning to mess with my head.

 

The suggestions wrt earplugs are quite ok but I think I would like to make sure that the noise I'm hearing is an integral part of the NC experience before I start muffling it. :D

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Alex you say you are running Pirelli Scorpions.I cant say for sure but I would suggest that what you are hearing is tyre noise.Google Pirelli Scorpion tyre noise you will find threads where people have changed them due to the noise from them.

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Guest bonekicker

Alex welcome to the forum, my mp3 music player battery ran flat yesterday and had to listen to noisy engine and road noise, charged up player no more noise !!! problem solved  :D

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Guest hunter

I noticed quite a high level of "rough noise" coming up in front of me but have become used to it now.

 

I have a tall Puig screen which gets rid of a lot of wind noise but I have deduced that it gathers and might even amplify the "rough noise".

 

I have decided the noise is a combination of engine, tappet, tyre / road and chain noise.

 

The volume of the noise change depending on road surface conditions.

 

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Guest alexm3388

G,

 

that's exactly what I'm talking about- the noise coming up in front of me, as you say.

 

Mark,

 

I did consider the tyres to be the issue, or "the" tyre- the front one. That would actually solve my problem because I could easily live with noisy tyres.

 

The suggestions wrt to earplugs or a music player are ok, I just have to figure out if the noise is an integral part of the NC experience, then I could start muffling it :D .

 

I recorded the sounds coming from the bike this afternoon, so I could share the evidence but I havent a clue how to upload the file. Can anyone point me in a right direction? I'm still going to tinker with it, maybe I come right.

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bazza

It's a real problem as one person's noise isn't a problem to others! I do an oil Aga conversion with a pressure jet burner and we have use a decibel meter to measure noise -but that's on a  fixed cooker not subjected to wind/road/tyre noise.

Yes mask it with ear plugs, MP3 or a taller screen but if it's checked out and not a mechanical issue then its down to YOUR hearing. Ducatis have a real noisy dry clutch -but the owners put up with it for the miriad of delights of that marque (so I am told)

so Alex get it checked in case its an engine problem then decide what you are going to do! We await the next installment!

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Guest Steve700x

If it's a slightly tinny grating noise from the front it's either a Honda thing or a Bridgestones thing (I can't tell because I've had 3 Hondas all of which did it and all of which had Bridgestones!!

I suggest taking the advice of the majority and insert a couple of earplugs (in the ears is best) and eradicate the problem.... There's nothing wrong with the bike if that's the sound.

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Guest alexm3388

It's a real problem as one person's noise isn't a problem to others! I do an oil Aga conversion with a pressure jet burner and we have use a decibel meter to measure noise -but that's on a  fixed cooker not subjected to wind/road/tyre noise.

Yes mask it with ear plugs, MP3 or a taller screen but if it's checked out and not a mechanical issue then its down to YOUR hearing. Ducatis have a real noisy dry clutch -but the owners put up with it for the miriad of delights of that marque (so I am told)

so Alex get it checked in case its an engine problem then decide what you are going to do! We await the next installment!

 

Bazza,

 

you're right, my problem may not be a problem at all- others might have the same kind of "phenomenon" present and not pay much attention to it at all. That's what other posts indicate at least. I dont have the time to go and have it checked out as yet but I'm going to mention it when I take the bike in for its first service in about 500km.

 

In the meantime, I uploaded the recording of how the bike sounds. The clip is only a minute long but please bear with it because after I started the bike, it was idling for about 40 seconds and then I went. After you hear the clip, most of you will say "its the wind howling". I shielded the microphone from it and by the way, its only a short trip from my pasrking spot to the gate- the speed is about 15km/h. You will notice how the noise appears all of the sudden. And this sound clip doesnt do my bike any justice, the microphone is placed just above the engine and its natural that it'll pick up a terrible racket.

 

http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=fNkd6hpTbcMFaIXP6avDtYh4l5k2TGxc#.U7W4Y1ev-B5

 

I really appreciate all of your inputs, thanks a lot.

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Alex

 

I have listened to your clip several times, and I cant hear anything that doesn't sound perfectly normal to me to be honest, unless someone picks up something I haven't.

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bazza

yes i agree with Scara- it sounds normal to me!

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Guest alexm3388

Well then, I'll stick with it just the way it is. In essence, this bike is a real trooper, it's just great. If it does get any worse soon and I take it in to be looked at, I'll post the outcome here. Or, after the next 10,000 problem-free kilometers I might reflect back on how stupid I was.

 

Guys, thanks a ton for all your feedback, it's much appreciated :D .

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Guest hunter

Alex.

 

Sounds OK to me too.

 

I wear earplugs all of the time whilst riding and have never deliberately been been without them whilst riding any of my bikes / scoots over the years other than during my formative teenage biking years and find that without them their absence is is so very noticeable.

 

I am aware that not everyone likes wearing ear protection but personally I find they do muffle a lot of sounds, make my riding experience that much more enjoyable and also assist hearing protection.

 

So it may well be worth your while trying and getting used to ear protection which should in turn reduce the noise you are hearing.

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Guest scrumpymike

Alex, haven't played your recording but just to agree with others: on the rare occasions when I'm doing such a short/slow ride that I don't bother with ear-plugs, I find the din made by the bike to be truly disturbing! For peace of mind, I'd still get it checked out by your dealer though.

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kharli

I know yours is a new bike ..but on the nc a few dodgy links in the chain can set up some awful noises.. on my third chain from new at 30000 miles and both the old chains were totally knackered before being fully stretched..with a worn front sprocket and 6 or 7 very loose links ... it was enough to close inspect and find out what those new noises are ! (weird mechanical clunking like a square wheel bearing)  new chain sprockets and back to the er ...familiar 270 deg crank , noises !

ear plugs for long journeys for sure !

other than that and other consumables bike still as new (much grimier)

  The front sprocket was jammed up with mud oil and grass ..that may of led to some o ring failure?

 trying out an ognibene h ring chain ..couldn't find reviews.....you have to use their peening tool to near breaking point to spread those `soft` rivits....check spread before riding off (I didn't !!) (luckily came off straight away )(well it looked ok without me glasses!)

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Guest Arthritic Toe

If it's a slightly tinny grating noise from the front it's either a Honda thing or a Bridgestones thing (I can't tell because I've had 3 Hondas all of which did it and all of which had Bridgestones!!

I suggest taking the advice of the majority and insert a couple of earplugs (in the ears is best) and eradicate the problem.... There's nothing wrong with the bike if that's the sound.

I was surprised to discover that much of that noise from the front end must have been tyre noise from the Bridgestone BT023's.  I've just changed to Pirelli Angel ST's and they are much much quieter.  Very happy with them so far, although not been out in the wet.

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