Has my engine buzz gotten worse?

[OkieDavid]

Watching this thread closely...... Mine seems buzzy between 5000-7000. May just be a characteristic of the bike but it sure is annoying having to flex your fingers and shake your wrist every five-ten miles...Takes a LOT of the fun out of riding it.

[Trommel]

i just bought an 05, the previous owner seemt to take really good care of it, but I have this buzziung problem as well. Changed the oil about 200 miles ago, and am going for the chain next.

Cant wait to hear if the clutch cable fixes the problem.

[CanadianFZ6]

Originally Posted by Pondrat

Hi folks,

Everyone knows that the FZ6 has a distinctive buzz around 5500rpm and it's never been much of a problem for me. I've always thought of it as a "tactile tachometer" letting me know through the bars precisely when she passed through 5500ish rpms.

BUT, I just got back from a ride and my hands are numb. This has been getting worse for the last several weeks. Also, the buzz range has expanded (I think) to 5100-6300rpm where before it was just around 5500.

Is my engine buzz really getting worse? Maybe I'm just getting more in tune with my new toy? Has anyone else had this problem? Are there ways to minimize this, ie. something needs to be tightened, engine adjusted, new handlebar risers, shock absorbers, etc?

As always, thanks in advance for the excellent feedback I'm about to get from this great crew.

Peace,
Mike

This might sound strange... but I noticed atmospheric pressure affacted the smoothness of my bikes (and cars for that matter). On a sunny cool high pressure day, my FZ6 runs like a clock... smooth, powerful and with better fuel economy. On low pressure days (and humid), it runs rough and has less power. Most of this June for us guys in the east has been a write off... so far only 3 days with no rain in June.... Maybe the constant low pressure this June has made you notice the rough running? The on board computer does it's best to compensate for this, but there's nothing like a cool high pressure to make the internal combustion engine sing....

[Pondrat]

So, I had a terrible experience with trying to fix this now seemingly unimportant issue - and it's all my own fault:

First, know your torque wrenches! I dialed in "55 foot pounds" instead of "55 NM" and went to town on one of the engine mount bolts. Bad idea. I striped the threads from inside the engine - damn that sucked. Used a little JB Weld, but I'm sure it will never be the same.

Second, both the service manual and the owner's manual are very ambiguous when it comes to specs for tightening the chain. I tightened the chain to what I thought was the right tension, but I think it was much too tight and I heard a loud whine coming from the gearbox independent of RPM but related to speed - even with the clutch pulled in. So, it was back to the garage for 2 more adjustments...

...but not before I dropped the bike HARD on the right side on a very sloped driveway and snapped the footpeg off. It could have been worse were it not for the frame sliders. A quick trip to the dealer and 26bucks later, I hopped on the bike and felt a weird creak coming from the triple-tree through the handlebars. I thought I bent something, but after a 50mi trip, the sound and feeling are gone.

Soooooooo, questions still remain - what can be done to help the buzz (oh yeah, it's still there by the way)? What is the proper way to measure chain slack? Why did so many crappy things happen to me in the same day? (and oh yeah, I got locked out of my own office, lost a huge stack of really important files, and wasted a whole day at work with nothing to show for it - and I thought working on my bike would cheer me up )

All in all, life is still good. The bike still runs. It's still REALLY fun to ride around. And it was the first day of summer

[Scott64a]

I, too notice a buzz between 6-7500RPM, but I just call that The Beast getting prepared to unleash.

Once I get into the power band, it sings and takes off like a rocket.

Listen Pondrat, being an old pondrat myself, (pond hockey RULES!) and fudging up many nuts/bolts/adjustments/crank cases/clutches/and removing the entire timing assembly with spindle from a truck that one sad day, I have learned that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If the bike accelerates smoothly, and doesn't pull or wobble, doesn't blow black smoke or stall, (the worst!) then just ride it.

Have a friend check your chain tension while you sit on it, you should have about 1.5in of play at the point where it moves the mostest.

Lube it every few days by spraying 6 inches of the chain and give it time to "dry". Then as you ride it it will spread out along the whole chain.

You've already "torqued" your mounts.
When was the last time you changed you air filter? I have always done them every 8-10,000mi.
At least look at it, and if you can't see light through it, change it. I could see air intake causing the motor to have to work harder in other ways, and maybe that's where the extra throatiness and buzz is coming from. Think of your cylinders trying to suck as much air as they can and not being able to like an asthmatic.

[tag1963]

This buzzing noise everyone is talking about peaked my curiosity so I went for a ride and sure enough their was a buzzing noise coming from the left side of my bike down around generator/starter area. The noise would get louder and louder as I increased my throttle, but when I would ease up on the throttle to the point where I was coasting, there was no buzz. I check everything from engine mounts to ensuring my chain was align and had the proper slack. So I took my bike to the best place in San Diego, Lee's Cycle Shop. The guy took it out for a test drive and was gone for about 15-20 minutes. He came back and said that the buzzing noise was coming from my chain going around the front spocket, he even adjusted my throttle and clutch handle for free. But he said he was 150% positive that was the cause of my buzzing noise and that it was perfectly normal. So, I don't if my buzzing noise is the same that's being discussed in this forum, but I wanted to share.