HELP... Strange Whizzing noise at 4000k-500k

I did some real top speed runs last week at like 170+ and after i got on the bike the next time i noticed a real loud whizzing noise at 4K-5K. It does it with no load on the motor as well as when driving. I had some friends over and our best guess is its a cam chain/ tennsioner. The bike has a PC3,micron exhaust, crank vent, and velocity stacks. I also took out my cat with a termi y pipe. The bike still runs strong with no loss of power or any odd symptoms. Just a loud chain like whizzing at 4k-5k. I sounds fine everwhere else. Any help would be great. Has anyone ever had a cam chain problem??

Have you changed the chain or sprockets?

I have never changed the cam/timing chain. If you are talking about the drive sprockets and chain, no. The noise isnt comming from the drive chain though, it does it when i just rev it up with the clutch pulled in and the bike stopped. it also makes the same noise with the clutch out and the bike in neutral.... It is comming from the motor somewhere......

I have never changed the cam/timing chain. If you are talking about the drive sprockets and chain, no. The noise isnt comming from the drive chain though, it does it when i just rev it up with the clutch pulled in and the bike stopped. it also makes the same noise with the clutch out and the bike in neutral.... It is comming from the motor somewhere...... Smoking.........I have a 2005 R1 that has had a problem with stators burning out. This "whizzing" sounds very similar to the "whizzing" I have come to recognize as the stator bearing giving up the ghost right before the stator burns out. If it's the case with your bike, your stator will fail shortly. Some testing with a voltmeter would probably give you an answer to whether it's the stator. If your stator bearing is making noise, the stator itself is already being subjected to enough heat that it is probably not operating at 100%, which should be clear with some voltage testing. I hope it's not the same problem I've had. Keep us updated.

Does the bearing failing make the noise all the time or just some of the time? Its real wierd, i only hear it a 4K-5K. That would make sence because i have no loss of power..... How would i check that te stator is good, is it in the service manual? I will do a search..... THANKS!!!

Stator bearing?

http://www.crotchrocket.com/fiche_section_detail.asp #2 on the diagram is the bearing I'm referring to...... When my stator failed, massive heat was generated......enough to cause bearing failure.

http://www.crotchrocket.com/fiche_section_detail.asp #2 on the diagram is the bearing I'm referring to...... When my stator failed, massive heat was generated......enough to cause bearing failure. That link doesn't include enough info to show the image you want, but I looked it up and I see what you're talking about. (I haven't had a stator go bad on my '06 yet so I wasn't familiar with the new generator design). That would more accurately be called the rotor shaft bearing. That part should not get all that hot. Heat is generated by the stator, not the rotor, and the bearing is far enough away it shouldn't be subjected to any excessive heat that might be produced by a failed stator. Even so, the description given by Smoking is not consistent with bearing failure. Bearing failure usually produces a whining noise at all RPM's and has a noticeable "spin-up" noise as you rev the engine. Noise at a specific and narrow RPM range is usually caused by resonance. I would say the cam chain is a possibility, but more likely just an internal resonance, like the crankshaft vibrating in the journals, or an external resonance, like a stunt cage (can't tell you how many stunt cages I've found resonate and sound like something inside the engine about to blow up). Check for external vibrations first. Hold the throttle where you hear the noise and check frame sliders, plastics, exhaust for vibrations by grabbing them and see if the noise goes away. (Disclaimer: don't touch the exhaust with your bare hands.) If it's determined to be internal and not the cam chain, you may just need to get used to it and it may subside with time. My '02 did this after being rebuilt. We determined it to be a resonance with the lightened crankshaft in the journals. It was annoying but harmless and gradually went away over time.

We have pretty much ruled out external vibrations i.e checked bolts, plastics, exhaust stuff. I really sounds like a cam/valvetrain issue... I would love to hear someone describe what happened when their Cam chain tensioner failed, what is sounded like when running and after failure. What could get damaged if i keep rideing it if the tensioner is bad?

Just a thought, if it is resonance from the journals, wouldnt that mean the tolerances have gotten really bad recently as it never made this noise before. Now it makes it really loud, enough to hear clearly when i ride...

The best description of a loose cam chain is, it sounds like a diesel truck. That ticking/knocking sound is very obvious, and persists at all RPMs. In my case with the crank journals, it was a freshly built engine. I triple-checked the tolerance measurements so I know they were perfect. There was no resonance until the bike went up on the dyno for FI mapping, and as soon as it came off the dyno and I rode it, the resonance was fierce. It's going to be really hard for anyone here to help you diagnose your noise without being there to hear it. Good Luck.

i was searching for something similar since I am experiencing a ticking / vibrating noise as well, I can hear it mainly at 7000rpm but it is definitely there through out the rev range I thought this would be the valves that need their clearance set. Could this actually be the stator problem that was mentioned? The bike has been running hot and I had to service the starter due to the oilseal that whent would this description be consistent with the stator bearing going?

Two thoughts Luma: 1st , if your enginre is running hot than that is a cooling issue and i dont think it would be related to the stator/ gennerator. As far as i understand the stator just causes power issues if it fails. Now if your fans are not turning on......How hot are you talking about and under what conditions? 2nd is how many miles is on your bike? mine is at lik 12k so it shouldnt need to have the valves done till 26k(so says the service book).

That link doesn't include enough info to show the image you want, but I looked it up and I see what you're talking about. (I haven't had a stator go bad on my '06 yet so I wasn't familiar with the new generator design). That would more accurately be called the rotor shaft bearing. That part should not get all that hot. Heat is generated by the stator, not the rotor, and the bearing is far enough away it shouldn't be subjected to any excessive heat that might be produced by a failed stator. Even so, the description given by Smoking is not consistent with bearing failure. Bearing failure usually produces a whining noise at all RPM's and has a noticeable "spin-up" noise as you rev the engine. Noise at a specific and narrow RPM range is usually caused by resonance. I would say the cam chain is a possibility, but more likely just an internal resonance, like the crankshaft vibrating in the journals, or an external resonance, like a stunt cage (can't tell you how many stunt cages I've found resonate and sound like something inside the engine about to blow up). Check for external vibrations first. Hold the throttle where you hear the noise and check frame sliders, plastics, exhaust for vibrations by grabbing them and see if the noise goes away. (Disclaimer: don't touch the exhaust with your bare hands.) If it's determined to be internal and not the cam chain, you may just need to get used to it and it may subside with time. My '02 did this after being rebuilt. We determined it to be a resonance with the lightened crankshaft in the journals. It was annoying but harmless and gradually went away over time. That's not the bearing I'm referring to. Go to the link, select "2005 Yamaha YZF-R1", select "Crankcase Cover 1." There is a bearing near the outside of the stator cover. It is #2 on the parts fiche diagram. Part # 93306-20124-00. That is the bearing that failed due to excessive heat on my bike. FYI: Dropping the bike on its left side on that cover, designated "Crankcase Cover 1", can also cause the bearing to fail, therefore making the noise.

ok sorry i wasnt clear enough, by warm i ment that I have been riding in traffic everyday in 28 to 34 deg c so the bike warms up to 105 106 deg c and the fan does come on. I have 29000km on the bike and I do know that I should be doing the valve clearance at the next service, I would not have thought they would be that far out at this milage. I had a problem with the starter in that the oil seal leaked and I got oil in the starter which of corse gunked eveything up. I think the answer to my problem is that some nob had pushed my bike over on the left side and that would explain how the oil got there. I will be stripping the stator just in case this weekend to make sure everthing is in order. Thanks for the help.

yankin - oh, ok. dang that is the strangest generator design i have ever seen. but i guess they tried to make it easier to replace the stator with all the bad '02-03 stators and all the trouble trying to replace them. luma and smoking - one of the best ways to pinpoint engine noises is with a mechanics stethoscope. i wouldn't start pulling the engine apart (even if just a side cover) without having some idea of where the noise is coming from. the bearing yankin is referring to would be instantly detectable with a mechanics stethoscope since that bearing mounts on the engine cover.

Ya i have one, just to lazy to go dig it out. I should know what it is after this weekend. Time to get down and dirty with it. I'll post back and let everyone know. Thanks for everyone's help and ideas!!!

is there oil in the stator housing? i was going to open the case to look at the stator and oil began dripping out.

Yes. Put the bike on a center stand and the oil will drain below the stator so you can pull the cover off without making a big mess.

Still sitting with the same noise and I have done the shims etc what I have noticed is that the noise is only there when the bike is under load so I cant just rev the bike to find the noise at stand still, is there a way of posting a wav file on the forum?

My Bike is doing the same thing did you guys ever figure out what the problem was?

My Bike is doing the same thing did you guys ever figure out what the problem was? buddies bike is doing the same thing after top speed runs... anyone have insight?

mine makes a wine/whistle but is has been doing that since i put the AIS block off and the V-stacks...

I got some info from a friend that help my solve my problem. Mine was the 2 bearings thats on the left side of the bike. You have to remove the small engine cover and there is one bearing on the outside and one further inside which was a B**th to remove had to end up making my own custom tool and few hours of pounding with a hammer before i finaly got the bad bearing out and it took me about 30sec to install the new one and the wired noise went away.

Here is the part numbers for the 2 bearings that I had to replace 93306-20124-00 &93306-20230-00 they cost about $30 total for all 2.