LOUD whirring noise

[Thumpower]

Recently installed a Pamco ignition - works great! Felt so secure, I thought I would take her for a fairly long ride - 50 miles. Only got a few miles and started hearing a loug whirring noise in the engine - related to rpm, not road speed. It seemed it was only getting louder, so headed for home.

Any ideas? I'm thinking maybe clutch or related bearings - it does slip a little and seems to engage with a clunk. Noise is hard to nail down, but it was running fine and not making any noise until today. Don't think it is at all Pamco related, though you always want to think the problem is likely with the last thing you messed with.

Engine still runs fine and pulls ok, just the noise that scares me - don't want to make an expensive repair even more expen$ive.

Thanks.

 

[gggGary]

check your stator mounting screws??

 

[TeeCat]

FWIW, my bike "whirs" too. I have checked about everything I can think of, short of opening the motor up, but she runs like a banshee, so I've just stopped worrying about it, basically. Sounds a bit like a Pete Jackson gear drive, and never seems to get any worse, so I'm not going to have an aneurism about it.

TC

 

[vr3506]

Recently installed a Pamco ignition - works great! Felt so secure, I thought I would take her for a fairly long ride - 50 miles. Only got a few miles and started hearing a loug whirring noise in the engine - related to rpm, not road speed. It seemed it was only getting louder, so headed for home.

Any ideas? I'm thinking maybe clutch or related bearings - it does slip a little and seems to engage with a clunk. Noise is hard to nail down, but it was running fine and not making any noise until today. Don't think it is at all Pamco related, though you always want to think the problem is likely with the last thing you messed with.

Engine still runs fine and pulls ok, just the noise that scares me - don't want to make an expensive repair even more expen$ive.

Thanks.

Did you use your E-start?

 

[Thumpower]

Yes, I did

 

[ippytattoo]

Could be your starter is not disengaging. I remember reading somewhere that if the drag spring gets weak it can cause the starter to grind. May be worth a check.

 

[vr3506]

Sometimes, specially with a bad battery, the engine kicks back during starting. With the e start, this is almost impossible. Now you have a big change that your cranck is out of line, wich gives this typical sound. In (very short) time this will destroy your bearings.

 

[pamcopete]

Pop open the covers for the PAMCO and the advancer. Open the PAMCO side, check to see if the rotor is contacting the mounting screw for the PC board. If the points housing gasket was ever replaced with an after market gasket that is thicker than the OEM gasket, the the housing and the PC board will be closer to the rotor and possibly cause contact.

On the advance side, check to see if the big nut that holds the advance plate on the cam has come loose.

 

[Thumpower]

Sometimes, specially with a bad battery, the engine kicks back during starting. With the e start, this is almost impossible. Now you have a big change that your cranck is out of line, wich gives this typical sound. In (very short) time this will destroy your bearings.

I would think that a kickback would likely destroy the E-start rather than damage the crankshaft, but you've got me concerned. How can I verify?

 

[vr3506]

Just by opening the cranck cases.
I repaired a XS engine just about 5 weeks ago, this engine had the same problem. By removing bolts and nuts from the cases, the torque in the crankshaft opened it!!
The e start is turning the crank over a lot of gears, giving it ernormous power!
With a kick back during operation of the e-start the bigend pins take another position in the crank. This is a common XS problem! After relining the crank, ask the technician to
weld the pins.

 

[Thumpower]

No way to verify without a full teardown? I'd hate to pull the motor and do all that and find it was something simple.

 

[vr3506]

I'm sorry, I can't find another way.
It's a gamble. You can stay using the bike and have more costs in the near future.

I found the roller bearing complete gone.