Motor squeal on acceleration

[mdales]

Hi there,

I'm getting a squeal occasionally if I accelerate assertively (e.g., during an overtake), sounds to me like it's coming from the motor. It's not consistent, but it is disconcerting when it happens - usually I back off and it stops and if I apply speed more gently things are fine.

If I was to make an uneducated guess it sounds like something is rubbing that shouldn't, but it's hard to say.

Anyone else had an issue like this?

All the best,

-- Michael

[mdales]

To try and help give a better description, I went out with a go pro. The audio isn't great, but you can make out the squealing noise as I pull off a couple of times.

[siai47]

Does it happen in any gear or just one?  Bike warmed up or just anytime during a ride?  How long since you serviced the transmission fluid and was the correct fluid used?  Have you checked the transmission oil level?  Whatever it is, it doesn't sound too bad---yet.  Get a look at the oil (just change it) and see if there is anything in it.  If you find pieces large enough on the magnet to read a part number on, then you are really in trouble  !

[mdales]

The bike is at 4.5K miles, so is halfway between services. It was done by (what happens to be) a polaris dealership, so I assume the correct fluid was used. But given that's an easy thing to do, then I'll check the levels tomorrow.

Many thanks,

[siai47]

Drain and change the transmission oil---you might be surprised at what comes out and what's on the drain plug 

[Shinysideup]

I second the replace tranny oil.

Actually, there are many dealerships that I would NOT trust to put in the correct fluid, in the correct amount.

Just talking out of my anal pore, I would think a Polaris dealer that was totally devoted to ICE bikes, could well be among those service departments not up to speed on Empulses, especially given that those bikes probably didn't get management all hot and excited by their huge sales performance.

When you drain the transmission, it would be a good idea to measure what comes out; should be about 1L.

Have you checked the alignment of the chain on the sprockets? I find this tool much more precise than marks on the swingarm:

https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-0048-Chain-Alignment/dp/B000GTVOJQ

One other possibility leaks into what passes for my brain: It could be the first signs of a rear wheel bearing failure. Several of us have had those fail (search threads) and, since the OEM bearings don't have a weather seal and since you appear to be where it rains alot....

[mdales]

Finally got everything together to do an oil change. The bike was a bit low on oil it turns out, down to about 700ml, rather than the 1 litre recommended in the service manual (this is a 2014 bike). There were some small filings on the plug and in the filter, but nothing major that fell out (in the picture the bigger blob is actually some filings, and squishes when pressed, so no big metal bits).

I took it for a small run post oil change and I didn't hear any issues, however it's a very small sample so I'll take it out for a longer run tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

[HadesOmega]

There's a filter?

[mdales]

There's a filter?

The filter was in a funnel I ran the old oil through after to check for detritus

[HadesOmega]

Oh good idea, how did the magnet on the drain plug look?

[mdales]

Oh good idea, how did the magnet on the drain plug look?

It was a little furry with filings, but not massively so. I have to confess I've never done an oil change before this one, so I've no idea what normal is, but I guess I'd expect a little bit of filings build up over a couple of thousand miles since the last change?

I must confess, I don't find the gearbox on the Brammo to be the smoothest unit I've experienced, so I was a bit worried I'd find worse

[Shinysideup]

I just changed my oil at 42K miles (every 3K since new) and it still has a furry drain plug. Since the bike works well, I'm no longer worried.

[mdales]

Well, a week on, and I've not managed to reproduce the issue, so perhaps it was just that it was a little low on oil that was causing the issue.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!