Triumphrat

03-30-2005

Hi, I'm new to the group. I've been reading and learning for a while. It is great to have this group as a source of info. I've owned my 2001 legend since October. My question relates to the sound the bike makes. Its a sort of chirping/whistling noise. Its more obvious at certain engine speeds and seems to vary with engine speed. The bike runs fine and I'm very happy with it but is this noise typical of the legend. Should I just ignore it and keep on riding. Any ideas ?

Thanks,
P2me

rigby · 03-31-2005

Howdy P2me. Welcome aboard. Where is the chirping noise coming from specifically? And are you sure it's not more of a high pitch whine coming from the engine's topend? In my experience, chirping sounds usually indicate a leak in the intake gasket/rubbers. This is easy to check by spraying some carburetor cleaner in that area while the bike is running at idle. If you have a leak there, the RPM should change (usually go up). Some folks have actually experienced some pinhole leaks in the carb rubbers.
Otherwise, these engines do whine. Most folks equate the sound to an angry Singer sewing machine but I think mine sounded more like George Jetson's car (before I drilled out the mufflers). Either way, they are noisy engines - which is fine by me as long as it keeps running well.
Hopefully somebody else has some more ideas to contribute.

SWare · 03-31-2005

A repetative chirp or squeek could be a dry speedo cable.
Also there is a lot of valvetrain noise that is very noticable in the 3000 to 4000 rpm range.
Sounds to me like a bunch of ball bearings rolling around in a can.

stan

03-31-2005

Thanks guys, I'll try disconnecting the speedo and see if that changes things.

P2me

jimmyj900 · 03-31-2005

The speedo cable will make a chirping sound related to road speed. Add a few drops of engine oil and see if the problem clears.

Loose sparkplugs also chirp just before they pop out of the head, so you might want to check that.

Jim

MickMaguire · 04-01-2005

Another possible source of a "chirp", though you will likely only notice this as you rev at a standstill, is the exhaust joints - at the head and at the muffler clamp. The latter can sometimes be a bit hard to get rid of. Retorquing the bolts to the head and nipping those on the calps wil often do it. Otherwise removing the mufflers and adding high temp silicone arrounf the inside of the joint can often help too.

whodatpat · 04-01-2005

My bird chirps too!
On deceleration, when under a load, I hear what could be described as chirping. It seems to come from the baffles in the mufflers. I think it may be due to backpressure. We will see if a hole saw takes care of that this summer.

TBSstunta · 04-01-2005

You might have amouse in your airbox.

Slinky · 04-01-2005

Or a canary.

04-12-2005

Here's an update..one of my canaries turned out to be the windshield I added recently (plexifairing). I havent figured out exactly what part of it is chirping but taking the windshield off fixed that chirp. The other chirp mixed in is the apparently normal whine characteristic of the legend I think.

Thanks for the help and the ideas.
P2me