I just started hearing a new noise a few days ago; it sounds like a tapping noise coming from the rear, I think that from the clutch area but I'm not sure. Just imagine tapping on a hollow piece of wood, it is not a deep sound, it is more like in a key of Sol or La and lasts from when the wheel starts spinning up to about 10mph. If I accelerate hard from stop I don't hear it but it could just be masked by the revving engine noise.

How complicated it is to inspect the clutch, not just the drive belt?

I couldn't resist:

http://www.tuktuknorthamerica.com/

jejeje... thank you Jon...

Back to the topic, in www.silverwing.org I've found a couple of threads mentioning replacing the slides in the variator or replacing the variator witha J Costa and another talking about having the final drive disassembled and cleaned by the dealership; it says they found a glossy coating but there are no specifics about on what part.

Opinions?

Sometimes this happens when the clutch gets glazed. One quick way to get rid of this is to hold the front brake in and then rev it up to about 4,000rpms for about 5 seconds. This will un-glaze the clutch and the noise usually stops.

If you accelerate quickly you won't get this noise usually. You only need to de-glaze the clutch once in awhile if you take off slowly alot.

Hello Jeff.

You mentioned holding the front brake. Would this be with the bike on the center stand and the rear wheel spinning freely, or with the rear wheel on the ground?

Thank you

With the wheel on the ground -- it can't be turning or you won't deglaze the clutch. I have the same problem due to lots of start-and-stop traffic; I found an old thread on this site a while ago that I think JeffR wrote and it definitely works. I end up needing to deglaze about once a week.

Dammit Jon, you beat me to it,

Sometimes it is not enough to clean the belt case airfilter in the normal service intervalls. If this filter is dirty, its possible that the clutch get hot cause it gets not enough cooling air.

RJ

RatJet,

That is a great observation. Had not occured to me until I read your post. I do think that could be a contributing factor, not the sole source, but certainly a factor.

Maybe it could also a factor, that the belt had lost a little tension and hits against the case. When the clutch is nearly closing, the belt is a little swinging and the distance to the case wall is really small. On most SWs you can see the marks wich the belt has left on the case wall.

Hope, my English is good enough to let you understand the meaning.

RJ

Indeed it is very good and the meaning is very clear!

One would say the clutch is 'almost fully engaged' rather than 'nearly closing' ..... but so what?

One thing's for sure; your English is 1000 times better than my German!

Thank you to all of you for your replies; I will open the case today and look for marks, inspect the filter and then deglaze the clutch.

I will let you know what it comes to.

RatJet, dein Englisch ist sehr gut und ich habe alles verstanden.

I dont know, if its a good idea to glare the clutch with let it work against the brakes. It may get too hot and the linings may tage damage.
If they are really glared, it will be better to take them out and remove a thin part of the surface with a cheap or sandpaper.

RJ

It seems to have stopped now; I follow JeffR's instructions and rev'd up to 4000 RPM with the front brake engaged for 5 seconds.

There was a little bit of burnt rubber smell but nothing alarming; the noise is gone right after it was more evident than ever a few minutes before.

I will open the case to peek inside but maybe dust is not a factor here as I only have 4500 mi on the odometer and only ride on clean roads.

Thank you to all again.

I think dust means the dust from the clutch and belt, not from the environment. That dust normally will blown out with the cooling airflow in the vario but will boost the abrasive wear.
The clutch is like a drum brake activated by centrifugal force and have abrasion like any other brake and will produce the dust you can see for example on the rims
Also the belt will have abrasion that looks like black rubber dust
This is for examle the black dirt in the belt change pictorial on page 16

Got it, I'll take my dyson with me when I open the case...

A rag and brakecleaner will be the better choice.

But if the dyson will also do the job, i also want one! :D

Just to close this thread, JeffR's suggestion worked very well and the noise is now gone.

I try now to start a little bit more aggressively and only when the vehicle ahead has already travelled a few meters so I don't have to brake again behind it. Basically, trying to go past the engaging rpm's of the clutch instead of being overly-gentle.

There was little dust in the case, I just brushed it off