Strange "FAN" Sound? - Comments Please

[Long Tall]

Was doing a carb sync last night getting ready for a day ride tomorrow and four day trip beginning next Thursday. Normally I can get the sync done quickly, but this time the motor ran a little bit longer than ususal and the "FAN" kicked on. I am sure it's been on before but never paid much attention. This time however there was a "Loud Rattleing' sound like something was loose or had fallen into the area of the FAN and was caught there.

 

Is there an easy way to check this without tearing down the whole front, end. Lowers, Seat, Tank, etc.

 

Of course I turned it off for about 5 minutes, Made sure oil and coolant were OK and started back up. Runs GREAT but of course this time the FAN did not cycle on?

 

Thoughts

 

Long Tall

Lynchburg, VA

[Venturous Randy]

Check the obvious first. Does the fan spin freely or is there something, like a piece of gravel or something, that has it bound up? Is the fan blade tight on the motor? On a 1st gen, if you drop your keys, they love to get behind the radiator, not sure about a 2nd gen, so could something have dropped down from the top?.

RandyA

[M61A1MECH]

I have not heard any reports of the fan brackets breaking on the Ventures, but it was pretty common on the first edition Royal Stars. You may want to make sure the support brackets are intact.

[gibvel]

Is it still under warranty, perchance?

 

Have you had the ignition switch replaced?

 

Yes, things dropped in the vicinity of the ignition switch can and love to fall right down behind the radiator. They usually hit the top of the fan and slide one way or the other.

 

The guy that replaced the ignition switch for the PO of my bike dropped an ignition switch bolt and it ended up sliding down the fan and lodging between the frame member and the radiator. After his riding and my riding from Amarillo to Loveland it had vibrated a hole in the radiator. Just bought the bike and I have to have the radiator fixed... oh joy. Doesn't bother the guy that he has a missing bolt that didn't fall through and he can't find. Guess it wasn't his bike so no big deal.

 

The only thing I can think that you might be able to do (keep in mind I'm not near my bike and can't physicalize this) is to take one of those telescopic mechanics mirrors, put it behind the fan and shine a light on it to see if you can see something through the fan that might be making the noise. Don't know if you can shine a flashlight through the radiator and see anything but that's another idea.

 

Good luck finding out what's making the noise!!

[Long Tall]

Doing an oil, filter and rear end oil change for our trip to New England area on the 18th. Just a couple of weeks ago I did a 900 mile weekend with a Bud of mine to GA. and the "rattle" in the fan area was not there. Of course the fan never came on either. Anyway...while cleaning the bike after the maintenance work I rotated the fan from the left side of the bike with my fingers and it was OK. Floated freely. What I discovered was that the "fan shroud was loose. Left side of bike looking from seat. I could actually move it with my fingers quite a bit. Not knowing how it was attached I went to look at the service manual to see if a bolt had come out? Crap!, I said, No bolts in the area where it was loose. Removed lowers, drivers seat, and gas tank. and was able to look into the fan housing area completely. A "spot" weld on the shroud near the 6 o'clock position on the shroud was broken. What I needed to do was decide if I take it to the Yamaha Dealer (entire new fan plus labor) OR figure something out.

 

All I needed to do was move the broken shroud about a 1/4" away from the fan blades should they ever come on. the rest of the fan shroud was stable. Solution: Tie-Wrap the broken shroud to the main frame tube. This pulled it "away" from the blades horizontal to the the frame and blades. Put everything back on. Started the motor and let it set till the fan came on. Guess what. Fan came on while I was setting right beside it and I did not even know it. NO Rattle, NO anything. The tie-wrap is in an area where it is out of the way of everything. That's my fix for now. See no need to spend the $$$ with cooler weather coming on.

 

Long Tall

Lynchburg, VA