Bought my first bike!

[poormillionaire2]

Hey everyone, new to this section, but not new to AF. Anyways, I just bought myself a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 500R, diablo black. Sorry, no pics yet. Its a present to myself for (hopefully) graduating college this year. First bike and first time riding, its a blast by the way.

Anyways, here's my question, I noticed that when I get done riding and I turn everything off and even take the key out, the bike makes an odd, high-pitched whining noise, similar to a fuel pump priming. It sounds like its coming from the front, maybe right under the gas tank, or a little forward of that. It even does it when its been off for awhile. I was leaving a friend's house about a half hour after riding and it started making the noise again. Haven't noticed any affects during riding or anything like that. What is it? And should I be concerned about it? Thanks for the help.

[aussieidiot]

drop your helmet and run. ITS GUNNA BLOW UP!



seriously though. it could be the thermo fans still running or the metal cooling.

Normally sounds from motors cooling are dampened by the bodywork of a car, but you hear them in bikes.

Jeffco will probably know exactly what the noise is. (He bloody well knows everything!)

[richtazz]

Congratulations on your purchase. Ride within your abilities and have fun!! Since it's your first bike, I would strongly suggest you take an MSF safety course.

I agree with Aussie that it's probably the cooling fans cycling. Since it's brand new, I would call the dealer and make sure this is normal, especially since you're hearing it well after shutting off the bike.

[FNA]

"the bike makes an odd, high-pitched whining noise, similar to a fuel pump priming"

"it could be ... the metal cooling."

The metal cooling? A high pitched whine? That has not been my experience.

poormilletc. 'leaving a friend's house about a half hour after riding and it started making the noise again."

Do you mean when you started it up?

[poormillionaire2]

Originally Posted by FNA

poormilletc. 'leaving a friend's house about a half hour after riding and it started making the noise again."

Do you mean when you started it up?

No, its still off, just randomly started making the noise again.

And I don't think its the fans cause I know what the fans sound like and they aren't as high-pitched as this. It almost sounds like something is leaking, like letting air out, but it stops and starts again. If something was leaking air, wouldn't it be continuous and something noticeable over time?

[poormillionaire2]

Originally Posted by richtazz

Congratulations on your purchase. Ride within your abilities and have fun!! Since it's your first bike, I would strongly suggest you take an MSF safety course.

Yeah, my friend and I are planning on taking the safety course this summer once school is out.

And I know its usually advised not to get a brand new bike when learning to ride, but one of the advantages is having to break in the new motor. I have to keep it under 4K rpm's for the first 500 miles, so this forces me to take back roads and get used to the bike. It also eliminates the temptation to go too fast before I am ready and able. Plus I got a 4-year warranty and a hell of a price on a new bike!

[BP2K2Max]

it's just fumes and pressure escaping from the vents in the gas tank lid. my kawi does it too. next time it does it just open the lid and it'll stop.

congrats on the bike, be careful with it.

[poormillionaire2]

Originally Posted by BP2K2Max

it's just fumes and pressure escaping from the vents in the gas tank lid. my kawi does it too. next time it does it just open the lid and it'll stop.

congrats on the bike, be careful with it.

That makes sense, I'll definitely try that.

And another thing, my friend (who just bought a new bike too!) heard something called a "hard break-in" for new motors. Apparently, its a controversial topic, but I've never heard about it. Any opinions on it? I only know what I have read on the internet recently. Any of you guys try it? Good, bad, ugly, failure? Just curious I guess.

[BP2K2Max]

i say take it easy for the first couple hundred miles, change the oil and filter to get all the metal shavings out, and then ride the bike as you normally would thereafter. just change the oil more frequently for the first few thousand miles until you don't see any metal flakes in the oil drain pan. i wouldn't beat the hell outta the bike right off the bat but i wouldn't pussy foot it either. hard break in makes some good points about getting the piston rings and valve seals to seat properly.

[richtazz]

Another thing that helps accelerate break-in is using engine braking. Downshift to stop and use the brakes as little as safely possible. This ensures that the rings get broke in properly, and is easier on the crank and rod bearings. The only reason to avoid a brand new bike for your first is the risk of damaging it. I applaud the fact that your first bike isn't a liter class Uber sportbike, that 500 should serve you well and will go faster than you need to be going at this point. Again congrats, and get us some pics!!

[aussieidiot]

My Honda was apparently already broken in from the dealer. The log book mentioned a little about the break in period but Honda Australia told me it is done prior to shipment.
I have heard that some dealers say don't rev to high during the break in period.
I was advised to use the rev range fully but not to leave it at one rev area for too long, e.g. sit on 3000RPM for 5 minutes.
I actually rev'd mine out to redline a few times and used the full range but was never hard on the throttle. I rolled the throttle on and let it build up to max rev's.

Here's a personal experience. As an apprentice, our company had two Ford Courier utes. One was driven hard from day one and was thrashed by the main driver and the apprentices. The other was driven like an old lady. The thrashed one was always quicker and produced more torque than the other.

I was wondering why the threads had been disjointed lately. Now I know once I checked my ignore list:
I see Fuckin kNow-it All is back so he'll probably tell you the exact opposite and even debate my personal experience just coz he knows better than everyone else.

[richtazz]

Blayne, you're full of doo-doo. Your bike didn't come broke in, your story about the work vehicles is a load of crap, and blah, blah, blah....

Oh wait, I'm not the argumentative know-it-all you were talking about...my bad,

Just having a little fun. Seriously, I've had similar experiences myself, break it in like you're going to drive/ride it (especially with 2-stroke engines, although that doesn't apply here). Change the oil frequently in the first 3000k miles, and keep the high-revs to a minimum.

[poormillionaire2]

The dealership told my friend and I (we bought the bikes at the same time) to bring them back in at about 600 miles to get the fluids changed...all of them. Does this sound right? Well, maybe not all of them, but he was told that the cost is around $200, mainly for the time it takes, not the parts.

Side note - I wasn't there when the bikes were picked up. I was at work that day. My friend's sister's boyfriend and his freind own bikes, so they rode them to the house for us. Hence, why I don't know the details of this '600 mile' refresher.

Oh, and I called the dealership about the odd noise coming from the bike, and BP2K2Max was correct, its just the gas ventilation. Good call.

[aussieidiot]

I guess thats the same as my 1000k's service where they just check everything and change the fluids. It gets rid of all the crap thats worked loose and the oil used in the first 600miles is sometimes a different oil so as to help the break in period. normally a full mineral oil is used from memory.
Its weird that its not free.

[BP2K2Max]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

Oh, and I called the dealership about the odd noise coming from the bike, and BP2K2Max was correct, its just the gas ventilation. Good call.

no doubt. at the 600 mile service all they do is tighten the chain, lube it, change the oil and filter and charge you $150. i'd say do it yourself if your able, unless they have to do it for warranty purposes.