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Voyager belt whine and lugging Fixed!!!!!

7.1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Sabre-t  
#1 ·
My bike runs out of warranty in June :( So to make sure I could claim all the bling and stickers that are oxidizing and or wearing badly and have the chrome fork seal caps and front bars that are showing signs of rust replaced I took it into my dealer for it's 12000 km end of warranty service. No surprises Kawasaki are resisting bling replacement and offering a parts only deal but that is another story!

I complained about the gear whine and the clunkiness of the 1st -2nd gear change, and for the life of me I could not go through town at slow speeds without lugging the engine and final drive under load a couple of times. Just couldn't gently increase speed without lugging from a low speed unless I was down to 1st or 2nd or feathering the clutch.

I know these issues have been discussed at length here, but I thought you never know I'll give it a try to see what answers or excuses the dealer comes up with :rolleyes:

The dealer had just hired a former Harley head mechanic and as the Voyager is built on similar lines he made sure he worked on my bike not the junior.

The Harley bloke serviced the Voyager took it for three test rides over about there hours while I waited before he was satisfied.

Told me that the belt was way too tight, And was the cause of most of my problems. He tells me he loosened the belt a fair bit and did visual rear wheel alignment, tinkered with the clutch and gear lever linkages till he was happy then said go, give it a try and see if there was any difference.

The result is the whine is now gone, non existent. The gears only clunk about two out of ten times, so much quieter and nicer to ride around town at low speeds as there is no lugging now unless I do the wrong thing.

Took it for a 400 km run the other day no issues at highway speed

Go figure! :confused:

I guess the moral of the story is find a old school mechanic who has kept up with new technology.
 
#2 ·
I can see the belt whine being attributed to a too tight belt. AFAIK, the only clutch adjustment is the amount of free play at the lever. I'm guessing the shift linkage could be adjusted to raise or lower the shift arm some. Don't see how that could help with the 1st to 2nd clunk.
 
#3 ·
I can see the belt whine being attributed to a too tight belt. AFAIK, the only clutch adjustment is the amount of free play at the lever. I'm guessing the shift linkage could be adjusted to raise or lower the shift arm some. Don't see how that could help with the 1st to 2nd clunk.

I agree, got me stuffed but what ever he did it works a whole lot better.
 
#4 ·
I think that the pressure the belt puts on that shaft loads the drive train up. Shouldnt happen with the type of bearing in there but, you never know. Its way too tight. Ive been running mine with less tension for two years and the whine and clunk are also non existant or next too it for sure.
 
#5 ·
I've got a good friend who has been a Harley Mechanic for over 40 years and he says that all these bikes coming out of the factories regardless of the make are coming out with belts put on way too tight. He loosens them all. He said that a belt that is too tight is bad on the rear bearings, he was talking about Harley's at the time. Perhaps it is also true with the Voyager. I believe I will loosen mine a bit as you can crack a flea it!
 
#6 ·
Dozrtravlin - if your mechanic ever makes plans to visit South Carolina let me know, I'll put him up for a couple of days while he makes those adjustments that no one at my dealership seems to be able to figure out. Otherwise I will have to figure out how I can get the Nomad into my carryon;-) Ride safe!
 
#8 ·
I'll let him know :waving: