Clutch clank. Too much?

[HALMC]

When my '96 R1100RT is in neutral, warmed up, with the clutch out released -- lever out, there is a considerable clank coming from the drive train that will abate if I pull the clutch lever -- reappear when I release it again.

My questions are, how much is too much? What causes this clank? Is it harmful?

As difficult as it is to describe in writing the magnitude of any sound, I would say that people in cars waiting beside me for the light to change can probably hear it better than they can hear the exhaust of the bike.

Comments?

[bikerfish1100]

Did you change the tank badges to read Ducati? That has been kinown to cause the symptoms you're speaking of.

you need to bring it to someone familiar with oilheads to hear it- diagnosing "how loud is too loud?" over the interweb is really tough, it's waaaay too subjective a question.

[HALMC]

Did you change the tank badges to read Ducati? That has been kinown to cause the symptoms you're speaking of.. LOL, although it crossed my mind, I was afraid it would steer me to nearest sushi bar.

you need to bring it to someone familiar with oilheads to hear it- diagnosing "how loud is too loud?" over the interweb is really tough, it's waaaay too subjective a question. Yeah, I know. I just thought I'd give it a try.

The clutch works perfectly -- easy shift into neutral from first or second, smooth get-away. Bud damn, this puppy clanks!

[Happy Wanderer]

When my '96 R1100RT is in neutral, warmed up, with the clutch out released -- lever out, there is a considerable clank coming from the drive train that will abate if I pull the clutch lever -- reappear when I release it again.
Comments?

I also have a '96 R1100RT and for what it's worth, it does exactly what you are describing. I really notice it when I am going slowly in first gear navigating a parking lot or whatever as I pull the clutch lever in and out so I can "coast" along, at the point where it engages and disengages there is a clanking sound. It's louder letting the clutch out than in I find.

I too wonder if it is a sign of mis-adjustment or just the disc slapping the plate or :dunno Worse than the clutch getting sloppy I wonder if it's a U-joint, or spline or final drive and just sounds like it's coming from the clutch. Yikes. But it has done it since I bought the bike a year ago with 30K miles on it. I've put on 9K more since then. Noise stayed the same.

Been thinking about it the last couple days as I prepare for a long ride south to the 49er rally in Mariposa. Called a buddy with a '97 RT and his does the same thing.

It may not be a problem, or it might be a sign of a clutch disc getting a little thin so there's play in there. Not sure what it is really but it would be nice to know where the noise originates.:scratch

[PGlaves]

Without hearing the noise it is hard to tell for sure but I suspect you are hearing normal gear lash in the transmission.

I gather you are describing a noise you hear when the bike is sitting, idling, with the clutch lever fully out, not pulled. But it goes away when you pull the clutch. Not that you hear it when you are pulling or have pulled the clutch.

If so: Sitting in neutral with the clutch not pulled the transmission input shaft is turning. The input shaft is locked solid to the engine by the clutch. The output shaft is not turning the driveshaft and rear wheel because the transmission is in neutral.

So what you are hearing is almost certainly coming from the transmission input shaft.

If it is a single clunk I have no clues except maybe a bad input shaft bearing. If it is a clatter that goes away when you either pull in the clutch or speed up the engine above idle it is gear lash you are hearing.

The engine and input shaft are speeding up on each power stroke and slowing down on each compression stroke by minute amounts, while mating gears in the gearbox are (by inertia) attempting to turn at a constant speed. So you get a clacking sound from the gear box.

The original 1994 R11s did this a lot. It was a feature. The later transmissions had rubber O rings on the shafts as dampers to quiet the noise. But after a while the O rings harden and the noise appears.

You can minimize the noise by carefully synchronizing the throttle bodies. When my R1150 gets clanky it is telling me it is time to synchronize idle, which often means removing the bleed screws and cleaning the tips and the idle air passageways.

[kgadley01]

Are you sure its not the ABS engageing? when I first got my RT, I didn't know what the strange clanking sound was. other members here told me it sounded like the ABS. thats what it was...

[PGlaves]

Are you sure its not the ABS engageing? when I first got my RT, I didn't know what the strange clanking sound was. other members here told me it sounded like the ABS. thats what it was...

Probably not with the bike in neutral at idle.

[kgadley01]

good point Paul...

[HALMC]

Thanks for the several replies. Seems there's something of a consensus that the noise is normal for the vintage and breed. The local BMW sage also mention the gear lash in the transmission (tho I've not yet taken the bike to him) so I'm just gonna represent it to prospective buyers as normal. I've had the bike for a few months total and it does everything well and exactly as it has all along.

Thanks again, gentlepersons.