The FZ1 engine whistle/whine sound...what is it?

Two questions, actually make that 4.
Is the only difference between the new bikes (that make the whining niose) and the old that don't, fuel injection?
Therefore, is the fuel pressure a lot higher for the injected ones?
Thus, is it the fuel pump making the noise?

Other question is, the bike has an oil cooler on the front down the bottom of the engine, is this a new thing (like fuel injection is fairly new to some bikes) or have they always had them, so could it be the oil cooler?
 
scottyd said:
Two questions, actually make that 4.
Is the only difference between the new bikes (that make the whining niose) and the old that don't, fuel injection?
Therefore, is the fuel pressure a lot higher for the injected ones?
Thus, is it the fuel pump making the noise?

Other question is, the bike has an oil cooler on the front down the bottom of the engine, is this a new thing (like fuel injection is fairly new to some bikes) or have they always had them, so could it be the oil cooler?
Click to expand...

The fuel pump could definitely be a contributing factor to this noise and would make sense. Fuel injected engines definitely run higher fuel pressures. However, I don't hear this noise on my '06 :confused0024:

Yamaha's 5-valve engines have had oil coolers of some sort or another for many, many years so I doubt it's that.
 
Hmm yeah i think i will just go with saying its the Turbo, ha! So does the FZ1 have an oil cooler? My 08 runs just fine with the noise, so i will pay no mind to it, just a question other bikers have asked me...
 
Peaking of sounds, my bike, a new '09, makes a "fluttering" sound, and I have attributed it to the EXUP. I dunno. I was tempted to take it back to the dealer to get them to check it out. :squid[1]:
 
Is this simply the transmission/clutch whine? Most bikes make a whine while idling, some are just louder then others. I know my 09 does it.
 
scottyd said:
...Thus, is it the fuel pump making the noise?...?
Click to expand...

The fuel pump would be my guess also. I'm willing to bet all gen 2s make this whining noise, but some folks either don't notice it (ear plugs, ambient noise, etc.) or are imagining a different noise when we say "whine". The whine is mostly noticeable at idle when other sounds like wind and exhaust noise aren't drowning out the whine.
I have owned several highly tuned sports cars before, and in one of the cars the fuel pump was located directly below the rear seat (don't worry, I'm leading to a point here). After upgrading the fuel pump to a high-flow unit to go with other modifications, I could hear a distinctive whine coming from the fuel pump that sounded just like the whine that the 2nd gen FZ1 makes.
 
Well, the funny thing is that since installing the Yoshi pipe in place of the D&D, I too have that "whine" sound and my bike is a GenI. I am assuming that because the D&D was so loud, I never noticed it before. I'm not worried about it. I've been to bike night and have personally noticed that there are a few bikes that have that "whine" sort of turbo sound to their motors. One is the Honda 919, and if I remember correctly, the Buell also had a "whine" to the motor. Just where it eminates from is beyond me but it is rather noticeable now with the quieter exhaust.
 
I hear the whine from the timing chain area on mine. I've listened to it closely with a stethoscope to be sure. It's completely normal, to the best of my knowledge, and has sounded the same with the other FZ1's I've heard running.

Talking about timing chain whine ...you should listen to it on the Honda ST1300's and even the Yamaha FJR's. Way loud with stock pipes.

-Roger
 
My guess - is that it is a battery charging device, such as an alternator doing its job. I've been told it sounds like a sewing machine. Any bike with a louder than stock muffler probably can not hear it.
 
TRM said:
I hear the whine from the timing chain area on mine. I've listened to it closely with a stethoscope to be sure.

-Roger
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Yea, I've had mine go for a CAT scan, MRI, and nerve conduction studies and everything keeps coming out normal. Could be the bike's whining to get out more. Not sure, just sayin'...
 
i would tell them that the turbo is spooling up, the hyperdrive accumulator is activating, and that the may be flames shooting from the tires.

all honesty my bike does it as well. mine is a 09 im assuming its vavletrain
 
dcrpd said:
i would tell them that the turbo is spooling up, the hyperdrive accumulator is activating, and that the may be flames shooting from the tires.

all honesty my bike does it as well. mine is a 09 im assuming its vavletrain
Click to expand...

Just so you guys are not misled, it is the buzzard ram collectors drawing in hydrogen for the impulse drive. The collectors make that noise normally, but you can only hear it in the presence of an atmosphere.
 
TRM said:
I hear the whine from the timing chain area on mine. I've listened to it closely with a stethoscope to be sure. It's completely normal, to the best of my knowledge, and has sounded the same with the other FZ1's I've heard running.

Talking about timing chain whine ...you should listen to it on the Honda ST1300's and even the Yamaha FJR's. Way loud with stock pipes.

-Roger
Click to expand...

On the ST1300 (had one before the FZ1) it is the gear driven counter balancer.
 
Whines or high-pitched whistles usually point to something spinning... fast.

I had a FZS600 with a really loud whining sound, like some kinda jet engine on idle. I attributed it to some crazed or bad bearings probably in the crank or cams. I think it's normal for bikes to have some whine.
 
So I think I understand the noise now.. Don't care about it, but I do hear it. I notice it when I have it warming up before a ride, otherwise I don't hear it.
 
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