Had the 2000 Ultra with a Jim's 6 speed for about a year now and been hearing a kind of metal to metal sound in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th gear. I wouldn't call it a grinding noise, but a metallic kind of high pitched swish sound. It doesn't get hung up or skip, but I naturally try to get to 5th as quick as possible. Is this a normal sound?

 

Best to pull the top cover and see what can be seen.

 

i would get it checked out. you don't want it locking up on you.

 

Thank you. Will do.

 

Thank you. Will also do. Crappy thing is this is my first and I don't know the "typical" noises just yet.

 

Have you drained the tranny fluid? I suggest draining it & check for any metal in the fluid & check the drain plug magnet for large pieces of metal.

 

get the bike up in the air and rotate the rear wheel and see where the noise is coming from. could be a wheel bearing or even coming from the front wheel. may be primary noise also.

 

Ok. Well, ended up at the dealer. Had to change out the windshield mounts. That went smooth, but on the way, I noticed the trans was sticking in the "friction zone" and was dragging the motor. So, I have them adjust it while I'm there. Guy comes back and says the wrong clutch cable was installed and the routing was actually behind the frame, rather than in front. Anyway, they kind of rig it to "work temporarily". Actually, the rigging works better. Bike doesn't clunk into gear and there's no **** noise when going thru the gears (yeah, the whine is still there). So I hit the dealer first thing with a clutch cable I had originally wanted installed at the indy in the fall. Guy says that if I want that cable (it's longer for the 10" bars I put on) installed, he'll have to remove the EZ Pull mechanism (I figure I'd like one thing on the bike to be a usual part and tell them go ahead). 5 Hours later, guy pulls the bike around. I jump on, start it. Pop it into gear and immediately notice that the clutch feels like it's not fully engaging.

I pull it back (didn't even leave the lot) and have the guy run a re adjust on the cable. This time it seems to feel a bit better. Anyway, pop into gear, get to the end of the driveway, and while attempting to get into traffic, lever fully out, it revs to about 5k and accelerates at the same rate as if I were pushing it. Cars behind me nearly run over top of me, I'm sweating bullets and start praying, pull immediately to the side, wait on traffic to clear and U turn back into the lot.

This time, the dude seems frustrated (not a good idea after I nearly get turned into red highway paint, but, being that the adrenaline rush has left me a little spent, I hold my cool [jail isn't a good place]) and tells me that "I set it to factory specs". Hmm, perhaps a 6 speed on a '00 isn't exactly factory, but doesn't excuse the fact that it all combined for a near death experience.

I go back to the service writer and have him take the bike for a 50 foot drive. Puts it in gear and I tell him "rap the throttle" spins up, moves like a turtle. Needless to say, the bike's there for the weekend or maybe the week, who knows? So, I'm rambling here. I'm wondering how to find a long enough cable with a long enough threaded barrel to work with an EZ Pull clutch mechanism. Not that without was all that bad, but I know for sure she was hookin' and cookin' fine when I brought her in. I certainly don't think that suddenly the clutch went out, or the clutch spindle worked loose sitting there, or any of the other reasons I was given.

Is there a way to find a cable that works with the EZ Pull specifically, rather than keep ordering until the right one shows up?

 

i'm wondering if the tech has the ramp and ball setup correctly ? sounds like an adjustment to me or wrong parts.

 

I just called and left a message for them to check that out, as well as perhaps re install the other cable with the EZ Pull and route the cable outside of the fairing. Hell, I'll just zip tie the cable to the bars to keep it away from the tank.