On a recent trip to the mechanics shop to have some HH brake pads fitted we both noticed a clicking noise coming from the rear of the bike when we were wheeling it out of the shop, the sound is fairly loud and can be clearly heard ,but not while riding.
I am after some advice as what it could be, the sound is still there when clutch lever is pulled in. really need to get to the bottom of this so if need be can get it repaired, my mechanic thinks it might be a bearing,at some point along the drive train or wheel bearing but there is no movement in the wheel.
Any advice is most welcome, we don't want to be ripping the bike apart if we can focus on somewhere to look.
i am going on a european Road trip in July so hopefully can get an answer and sorted before then,
Thanks
Ghosty
Check the rear pads. Get the bike up on the main stand and spin the rear wheel
Thanks we did that, just to be sure, no problem with the new pads
Can you identify the specific area when the bike is lifted on a stand ? the noise could be drive shaft or wheel bearing related, do you have a rear hugger fitted and if so is it catching anywhere ?
thanks fir the advice so far. Having Spoken to Kawasaki Bolton we think it might be the needle bearings between the drive shaft and the engine, but only having done 12500 in 2 years is this a common fault, the bike is just out of warranty.
The wheel bearings are fine, the noise is not that far back, suggested I change both settings of bearings in the drive drive.
I had the rear wheel bearings go on mine at 10000m made hell off a noise ,,aa man said it was the gearbox also a mechanic mate said he thought it was the gearbox also , it was hard to pinpoint where it was , then it all went quiet ,few days later noise came back and it was the wheel bearing , had a clacking noise on the front after new pads fitted that was the warped discs catching on the new pads
It sounds very much like a dry needle bearing, a needle bearing makes a noticeable click when dry as it sticks in a single position rather than floating in grease as they should be. Stripping, cleaning then re greasing the bearing to cure it is relatively easy if you have decent tools and so long as the bearing and race is unmarked this alone would very likely cure it.
Just outside warranty period and a full service history I would have a chat with Kawasaki they might help. Nothing to lose in asking.
A similar noise appeared on my GTR (when under warranty) and I was told that the drive shaft splines needed lubricating. However upon dismantling, the dealer found the drive shaft itself was causing the problem. A new item was fitted under warranty, although we were unable to take the bike on holiday to Austria as it took three weeks to arrive.
The dealer said that Kawasaki UK had mentioned that they knew of only one previous instance of this though, so I don't think that it is a common problem!
I think Colin has hit the nail on the head. I had this issue on my 11 plate GTR and it was the driveshaft which was insufficiently lubricated.
Is this what it's doing?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OLishjQyuDo (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OLishjQyuDo)