I have a 03 v star 650 classic, 9000 miles. Great condition. On the last leg of a weekend ride I noticed a noise coming from the rear of the bike. I thought I had picked up a nail, but found nothing. When I got home I put the bike up on a stand and ran it for a few minutes and there was no noise. Took it off the stand and rode it around the block and could hear it again. Only when its under load. For lack of a better description it sounds like a leather strap hitting the tire about every 1 1/2 tire rotations. Its just loud enough to hear and doesnt sound like its grinding or anything like that There is no bulge on the tire. I cant tell if its the brake or the rear drive. It seem to be coming from the rear drive side. I am looking for any suggestions before taking it apart.
I have an 03 as well with 47K on it and recently had it go out for the SECOND time. I talked with the dealer who talked with Yamaha directly and was told that if the u-joint at the front of the drive shaft gets tight that it will cause this issue. A known issue, no mention of this in the maintenance of the bike, and Yamaha is unwilling to do anything about it. The first time mine went out the splines on the coupler and rear shaft were dust, and NO lub anywhere near them. When I replaced it the shop packed the coupler with bearing grease before assembling again, and when it dies this time there was no lube anywhere. No visible leakage either. I have no idea where it went.
Rather messed up that a "bullet proof" system as I haev been told by many dealers, has this issue, is known by Yamaha, and nothing is being done for the majority of us.
My solution: Get rid of the bike and do not buy another Yamaha!
STOP RIDDING THE BIKE NOW!! Your problem IS your final drive... I myself had the same problem on my 99' (11,000) 650 also. The exact same sound happened before it failed. I just came back from a bit of a ride and was going back on the road in about 30 minutes. Instead of jumping on the freeway, thank God I took a side road because with no sign or warning it just locked up. I was doing about 25 mph so with a lot of fish tailing and falling forward, I was able to keep the bike from going down. Forget 60 or 70 on the freeway!! There was a recall on this part because the manufacturer knew it had a flaw. The joke is, they only set the years from 04 to 06... Well mine, others that I know and ones I have now found out, range from 98 thru 06. So that is where you are at, you need to replace the final drive, you maybe able to save your drive shaft though. The internal gear drive which is pressed inside has begun to brake off little pieces... Soon one if not several pieces will work its way into the drive shaft end gear locking it up and its all over. So do not chance it.
That is what I believe is the problem...
I have a 01 vstar 650 classic, it has developed a squeel that is very loud after I had the bearings changed(front and rear).What could be causing this?
we have an 2003 classic and our neighbor has 2005 and were having the same problems the neighbor .he has changed and checked all the stuff in the rear end expect for the final drive or swing arm..his has been doing it awhile ours just started today..from what year is this problem happening cause were wondering if the newer models of classic is not having this problem if you can get one from a new model (wrecked one) and put it in the older ones.. also is this effecting the customs so other friends have 2009 customs and wondering if it going to happen to them
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You need to check the splines on the front yoke, the driveshaft and the coupler that ties the shaft to the final drive. Also check the splines were the drive and wheel go together. I have the same problem with mine and just ordered the parts last night.
Am working on my third final drive on an 03 with 29,000 miles. tried the lubrication thing on the couplerat front of pinion gear,was recomended lithium greasebe used,I used never sieze, lithium with graphite, after about 4000 miles removed rear wheel for tie change and noticed that even with lubrcation pinion had groove strating to be cut into pinion splines about 3/4 inch from tip of shaft,plenty of never seize still on shaft.I believe the true problem is the short cone on final drive where shaft enters and the lack of any bearing at this or any point is truly the issue...ei the shaft is deflecting under load and cutting into spline untill it pulverizes the end of shaft, good luck finding 535 ring and pinions now the word is out and they are scarce as well, am looking into possiblity of swapping entire swing arm final drive, and wheel assy from 1100, they can be found on ebay for around $75 till this word gets out then they will jump in price too. am presently working on through drilling coupler on third drive assy slotting pinion and installing grade 8 bolt (is junk at this point so i got nothing to lose. love the bike, has excellent weight and handling capabilities, and have plans to stroke more hp out of motor nut untill final drive issue can be resolved this is the weak link on this bike. will let you know how both fixes fair.
After going through this (fought shop for a month before they believed me and the bearing was about to come apart...lots of pieces in the final drive) and doing lots of research here is what I know. The pre 2004 V-star 650s had issues with the swing arm alignment. The 2005 and up just fail the damn bearing. Now here is a good sign Yamaha finally did something or made it worse. At least 4 places online show two part numbers for the bearing on the pinion and one of the other bearings. There are 3 reasons to change a part number: 1. Company goes out of business (nope), 2. Part is cost reduced (hope not) or 3. The part is bad enough you have to start covering stuff under warranty. So my plea to all of you is write the BBB and your attorney general office and copy Yamaha. If they get slammed enough at least future 650 owners won't suffer.
PS...How about an alternator shorting out at 11,000 miles. Pain to get to and replace but at least it wouldn't kill me on the highway.
PPS I think the 650 is really designed for starter riding and soon as you push it things fall apart.
Same problem on my 2004 650, coupler and drive pinion were turned to dust, and no lube to be seen anywhere. pinion will work out of a 535 virago final drive if you want to repair it yourself with used parts, mine is still apart in my garage. hard as hell to find final drive parts for 650 v star, and expensive as hell when you do!!!! Last yamaha i will ever own. Yamaha wont stand behind their product...... :(
No solution either. My 07 650 started the exact same noise with less than 5000mi on it. Watch for my no reserve auction on ebay in the coming weeks
I WILL NEVER BUY OR RECOMMEND ANY YAMAHA PRODUCT AGAIN!!! JUNK JUNK JUNK!!
Cheaply made Harley look-a-like wanna be. It aint a Harley if it dont mark its spot!! lol
Everybody sell your 650 v stars back to yamaha and dont by another thing from them and then maybe they will fix there **** and take better care of the people that buy there product
I do not have a solution, but, I have a 2007 VStar 650 and it's making the exact same rear-end noise.
SOURCE: Ticking noise in rear of 650 V star
lift rear end ensure wheel is straight, chain will tick if not running true. next step remove chain and turn wheel by hand, listen for noise, wheel should spin freely when spun, like once or twice around before it stops. sometimes also ticking sound from drum brake is just a loose lever from the brake pedal to drum. pads will not tick. to be really safe, remove wheel and take apart.
SOURCE: 03 650 v star classic: what is the factory
2 1/2 turns out
Testimonial: "thanks for this info I have a problem with close throttle serge hope this wil be the answer the screws one 1/2 turn the other 3 "
SOURCE: My 535 ran great until a few months ago when it
The clicking is the sound of the solenoid not engaging. If your battery is not low - the solenoid should enc=gage properly. If the battery is charged - then I would replace the solenoid. The cylinder under the seat may be the solenoid. If it has a spark plug type of wire coming from it - it is the coil. If the wires (large ones) go to the starter - it is your solenoid. Let me know if this helps. Thanks
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Did check the oil. The level and oil are both good. I took the back wheel off and checked the brakes and they are in great shape. Someone said to check the dampers (?) which I thought was strange. Not sure how they would make any sound but they look good to me. My friend said he saw a small crack with a
magnifying glass. I dont think at this point they need to be messed with. The barrings on the drum side did have a small amount of grease coming out so I think I will replace them now while I have it open. I dont really want to take the final drive apart. Never done that but it looks like that is the next step.
i had same problem and founde out it was the final drive no grease but my couple and wirm gear waqs to far gone, had to buy another final drive. take the drive shaft off 4 bolts no oil there needs grease. the swound i got sounded like a slip clutch and high pitch sound. good luck yamaha does not sell parts for it. i buy mine on e-bay
have you checked the drive oil?
my husband and a friend of ours is having the same problem.. the friends started a while back ours started today 8-9-12..our friend has changed just about the whole rear end but the final drive and the swing arm.. our bike is 03 with 30,000+ miles and friends is 05 12,000+ miles.. our other friends have vstar customs 2009 and i am wondering if they have this problem as well... if the newer models dont have this problem can you get one from a newer classic and put it in the older classic...
YOUR SPOKES ARE LOOSE
Spokes are loose, thats the tick-tick noise that sounds like it's coming from the differential.
your spokes are loose, that's the tick-tick noise
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