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Any ideas on this 2012 Spyder RT knocking sound?
- Thread starter RazorV
- Start date
BajaRon
Well-known member
What is your belt tension? Did you have a tire or rear brake change recently? Are your tensioners tight? Usually, any loose belt hop will be on the smaller, less surface area front sprocket. I'm still thinking it's a front sprocket issue.
Snowbelt Spyder
Well-known member
Yeah, but still, pull off the left side panel and see if the front sprocket is jumping belt teeth causing the belt to flop around and hit the guard in the rear. Goes to what Ron and Peter are both saying. Will be easy to tell. The front sprocket would be turning and the belt won’t be, or won’t be at the same rate. Besides, if the belt is jumping teeth, probability is you’ll need a new belt anyway. Unless there’s some additional reason why the belt is so loose, yet not damaged.
BajaRon
Well-known member
My fear is that it's the front sprocket jumping splines. I hope I am wrong.
The only reason I've been thinking it's not that is that usually, if the front sprocket even starts jumping splines, the bike stops moving at all pdq! :yikes:
Belts that are 'loose, but still engaging teeth' do tend to at least provide some drive, and usually, only slip on acceleration! So I was trying to be hopeful for derby.... :dontknow:
Still, it's always hard diagnosing things like this over the internet/without actually seeing it in person, isn't it!? Even with video's &/or sound recordings, it's never quite the same as being there and actually looking at it/listening to it in person! :banghead:
BajaRon
Well-known member
You are exactly right. We speculate with much less than all the information. A lot like fighting fire. Except that you're usually in a much bigger hurry to get results. And I agree. A fair amount of the symptoms would be explained by a very loose belt. But jumping the rear sprocket is unlikely. If it is a loose belt (best case scenario, I'm thinking), I'd suspicion that a rear tire or brake pad replacement (or some work that involved the removal or loosening of the rear wheel assembly) occurred. If they didn't get things buttoned up properly. The axle could have shifted forward causing the belt to get loose. But that would usually give you a belt running way off center on the pulleys.
We'll have to see what the outcome is. Sometimes, everyone is wrong! :yikes:
Chrisshumaker
New member
I've got the same exact noise... what did yours end up being?
Welcome to posting @Chrisshumaker. Sadly, I doubt you'll get a response from @RazorV, who last posted May 2022 and last visited the Forum in June 2022, or about 4 years ago now!
And the other poster asking about this problem in this thread, @Derby713, hasn't been back on the boards since August 2024... 
This is why it's always important to check the date of the first post in a thread; the last few posts in the thread; and any specific posts you want to reply to/ask questions of the poster, all before you reply. 
Still, re your problem - if the noise you're getting is a 'just the one clunk' type noise on first selecting a gear from Neutral (ie. First or Reverse) after starting up the engine, then that's a normal feature of engaging the 'not yet turning' constant mesh gearbox that our Spyders have - you might be able to reduce it a little by choosing the right oil, getting the oil warm first, etc. but you probably won't ever get rid of that initial clunk entirely (there's a whole lot of discussion on the Forum about it, just search on 'Clunk' with the 'Search titles only' box checked - Search is up in the top right of each page.
) In fact, because that particular clunk is the nature of the gearbox/a feature of basic physics (ie. engaging a running engine with a not yet turning gearbox is applying a force to a standing object - and a thing at rest will try to stay at rest unless there's a force applied) then you should probably be a little concerned if that single clunk on first selecting a gear goes away entirely! 
Then there's the 'short duration chatter' that some Spyders, particularly V-twins, get when you first try to move off - that chatter noise that usually only lasts a second (or maybe three, but not too much longer) as you begin to move, then goes away fairly quickly and doesn't really happen at any other time. That too is basically normal, it's the nature of the stacked clutch plates gripping and releasing as they first take up the pressure of drive. If it's of short duration, doesn't continue for 10+ seconds, then it's likely perfectly normal; and it's often made worse if you back off in alarm at the noise, but still keep a little throttle on, instead of either gently powering thru it or backing off entirely. IIRC, the clutch recall in 2013 or so on the V-twins upgraded the clutch to ensure this wasn't an issue.
However, if your noise is a 'more than one clunk' noise (&/or a 'machine gun' type rattle on trying to accelerate in any gear, associated with a lack of immediate response to increased revs) that only happens after you've selected a gear and when you try to accelerate, especially if you try to accelerate hard, then the rest of the earlier discussion in this thread may well apply. It could be a clutch issue; it could be a sprocket issue, front or rear, possibly a worn or damaged sprocket; or, as I mentioned toward the end of the last page and as has been discussed a bit more above, it could be a loose or worn belt skipping teeth on one or both of the sprockets. Now that more Spyders are beginning to get up in milage on their original belts, I've recently begun to notice that last one becoming a bit more of a growing trend, not yet a biggie, but maybe on as many as 6 Spyders now - I can't recall seeing it on a low milage belt, or even just a loose belt - yet, but if the Spyder concerned has over 150,000 miles or so on the belt, and especially if it's been worked hard, then because of those I have seen, that's probably one of the first places I look to find the source of a lack of drive and a 'machine gun' type rattle now! If it's NOT that worn belt/sprocket issue, at least I've eliminated the simple things first.
Over to you!
Chrisshumaker
New member
Thanks for replying. The noise happens when accelerating in 1 and 2nd gear, kinda sounds like marbles in the clutch area but seems to go away when in 3rd and higher gears. Once we noticed it, she rode it 85 miles home from a trip and the noise did not get any louder or change. The belt and sprocket are all good. I'm thinking it's in the clutch, either the centrifugal bit or the basket. The manual will be here tomorrow or Monday, and I'll start tearing it apart. I'm a professional auto and large truck mechanic, I just haven't had to work on these Spyders. My Harleys I know inside out, so I'm just looking for some insight into Spyders. Also, the noise is repetitive and doesn't seem to make it when I pull the belt off, meaning no load on the trans. Any thoughts?
mecsw500
Well-known member
Having had a lot of BMW boxer twins over the years, the first gear clunk on my Spyder is nothing in comparison.Welcome to posting @Chrisshumaker. Sadly, I doubt you'll get a response from @RazorV, who last posted May 2022 and last visited the Forum in June 2022, or about 4 years ago now!
Still, re your problem - if the noise you're getting is a 'just the one clunk' type noise on first selecting a gear from Neutral (ie. First or Reverse) after starting up the engine, then that's a normal feature of engaging the 'not yet turning' constant mesh gearbox that our Spyders have - you might be able to reduce it a little by choosing the right oil, getting the oil warm first, etc. but you probably won't ever get rid of that initial clunk entirely (there's a whole lot of discussion on the Forum about it, just search on 'Clunk' with the 'Search titles only' box checked - Search is up in the top right of each page.
Then there's the 'short duration chatter' that some Spyders, particularly V-twins, get when you first try to move off - that chatter noise that usually only lasts a second (or maybe three, but not too much longer) as you begin to move, then goes away fairly quickly and doesn't really happen at any other time. That too is basically normal, it's the nature of the stacked clutch plates gripping and releasing as they first take up the pressure of drive. If it's of short duration, doesn't continue for 10+ seconds, then it's likely perfectly normal; and it's often made worse if you back off in alarm at the noise, but still keep a little throttle on, instead of either gently powering thru it or backing off entirely. IIRC, the clutch recall in 2013 or so on the V-twins upgraded the clutch to ensure this wasn't an issue.
However, if your noise is a 'more than one clunk' noise (&/or a 'machine gun' type rattle on trying to accelerate in any gear, associated with a lack of immediate response to increased revs) that only happens after you've selected a gear and when you try to accelerate, especially if you try to accelerate hard, then the rest of the earlier discussion in this thread may well apply. It could be a clutch issue; it could be a sprocket issue, front or rear, possibly a worn or damaged sprocket; or, as I mentioned toward the end of the last page and as has been discussed a bit more above, it could be a loose or worn belt skipping teeth on one or both of the sprockets. Now that more Spyders are beginning to get up in milage on their original belts, I've recently begun to notice that last one becoming a bit more of a growing trend, not yet a biggie, but maybe on as many as 6 Spyders now - I can't recall seeing it on a low milage belt, or even just a loose belt - yet, but if the Spyder concerned has over 150,000 miles or so on the belt, and especially if it's been worked hard, then because of those I have seen, that's probably one of the first places I look to find the source of a lack of drive and a 'machine gun' type rattle now! If it's NOT that worn belt/sprocket issue, at least I've eliminated the simple things first.
Over to you!
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