Vector Squeak on Acceleration

[sparks49]

During my ride this past week on my 2006 Vector GT (1000 Mi.), I noticed that when I was accelarating slowly from a stop, I could hear a squeak that would increase in speed as the machine increased in speed. The noise would appear to go away after I would get to say 10-15 mph or so (this may be because other normal noises would cover it up, but I can't say for sure). When I got the sled back in the garage (after approx. 300 miles of riding) I couldn't reproduce the noise with the machine jacked up and just spinning the track with the motor. For what it's worth, the noise did not appear to change at all during the 300 miles of riding, so I'm stumped. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Shivesy]

Where's it coming from? The front in the engine comparment or under the seat around the rear suspension?

 

[sparks49]

Where's it coming from? The front in the engine comparment or under the seat around the rear suspension?

It seems to be coming from the front, though I can be 100% sure on that. As I said, it increases in frequency as the speed goes up. It's weird that with the sled in the air, there is no noise. That makes me wonder if it's not in a idler wheel or something, I really don't know, just looking for places to look. Thanks

 

[sparks49]

One other thing, I wonder if it could be related to the belt. The last time out, I noticed like a lot of people here that the belt was squealing at idle. That noise has since disappeared, but that's about the time this one appeared. Could be related?

 

[Shivesy]

One other thing, I wonder if it could be related to the belt. The last time out, I noticed like a lot of people here that the belt was squealing at idle. That noise has since disappeared, but that's about the time this one appeared. Could be related?

1st thing I would check would be your belt deflection in order to rule out the belt. If it isn't the same noise as before I doubt it is the belt.
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... hlight=101

2nd thing I would be looking at the idlers. Lift the sled and seperate the track from the idler and give them a good spin and see if one might be hanging up. Maybe bad bearing.

Last thing I would look into would be the speedo bearing and secondary bearing. I doubt they are short on grease though since you only have 1,000 miles but something to check.

 

[sparks49]

One other thing, I wonder if it could be related to the belt. The last time out, I noticed like a lot of people here that the belt was squealing at idle. That noise has since disappeared, but that's about the time this one appeared. Could be related?

1st thing I would check would be your belt deflection in order to rule out the belt. If it isn't the same noise as before I doubt it is the belt.
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... hlight=101

2nd thing I would be looking at the idlers. Lift the sled and seperate the track from the idler and give them a good spin and see if one might be hanging up. Maybe bad bearing.

Last thing I would look into would be the speedo bearing and secondary bearing. I doubt they are short on grease though since you only have 1,000 miles but something to check.

Thanks a lot for the idea's. I was hoping to get additional idea's besides the ones roaming in my head. I looked at the belt deflection article, very informative. I will be checking all these things the next time I get up to where my sled is parked. I'm figuring I won't be able to make it before the snow's go away, but I don't want this bugging me all summer in anticipation for next year.

 

[mmunsell@smtool.com]

Do you know if your slides are getting hot? My belt squeels at times when you take off when the slides are hot. I wonder how much horsepower we loose do to poor cooling on these Yamaha's do to poor design on their hyfax? Does your sled glide to a stop or come to a stop as though you touched the brake?

 

[sparks49]

Do you know if your slides are getting hot? My belt squeels at times when you take off when the slides are hot. I wonder how much horsepower we loose do to poor cooling on these Yamaha's do to poor design on their hyfax? Does your sled glide to a stop or come to a stop as though you touched the brake?

They weren't getting hot this last time riding, we had plenty of snow, so that wasn't an issue. As far as the stopping, it's hard to say, as I attribute most of the slowing to the "engine braking" design, which it's done from the beginning, that I've gotten used to and use it to my advantage.

 

[mmunsell@smtool.com]

Don't let the engine braking get you confused. I have ridden Ski-Doos for years and they all glide to a stop. Sitting on a down hill slope you have to hold the brake or you will coast. Not so with these sleds. Don't get me wrong this Vector is the best sled I have ever owned but Yamaha is noted for hot slides. I'll bet the snow cross sleds don't heat the hyfax! There are times in low snow conditions it's hard to get started. Heat is caused by friction and friction causes horsepower loss. My son has the same issue with his Nitro.

 

[sparks49]

Don't let the engine braking get you confused. I have ridden Ski-Doos for years and they all glide to a stop. Sitting on a down hill slope you have to hold the brake or you will coast. Not so with these sleds. Don't get me wrong this Vector is the best sled I have ever owned but Yamaha is noted for hot slides. I'll bet the snow cross sleds don't heat the hyfax! There are times in low snow conditions it's hard to get started. Heat is caused by friction and friction causes horsepower loss. My son has the same issue with his Nitro.

That very well could be, though I don't really know what we can do about it. I agree though, this is one heck of a sled, the best I've ever owned.

 

[Shivesy]

Don't let the engine braking get you confused. I have ridden Ski-Doos for years and they all glide to a stop. Sitting on a down hill slope you have to hold the brake or you will coast. Not so with these sleds. Don't get me wrong this Vector is the best sled I have ever owned but Yamaha is noted for hot slides. I'll bet the snow cross sleds don't heat the hyfax! There are times in low snow conditions it's hard to get started. Heat is caused by friction and friction causes horsepower loss. My son has the same issue with his Nitro.

That very well could be, though I don't really know what we can do about it. I agree though, this is one heck of a sled, the best I've ever owned.

The method I've used with success is to run the track with 1" of FREE sag. Then I added SLP pads to every closed window. The first set of slides on the Apex and RS Venture went at 400 miles. With the SLP pads and with the track tension set with 1" of free sag I now have alot less drag when the sleds are coming to a stop. I have logged on 1,700 miles on both sleds and the Apex slides are wore down 20% from new. The RS Venture slides are wore down 60% from new. Almost all of the wear on the RS Venture is located within 1' from the rear of the slides, the rest of the slide is like new. I also added new idler wheels this fall also. Below is a topic that I posted on my idler mods back in the fall.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=

 

[sparks49]

Don't let the engine braking get you confused. I have ridden Ski-Doos for years and they all glide to a stop. Sitting on a down hill slope you have to hold the brake or you will coast. Not so with these sleds. Don't get me wrong this Vector is the best sled I have ever owned but Yamaha is noted for hot slides. I'll bet the snow cross sleds don't heat the hyfax! There are times in low snow conditions it's hard to get started. Heat is caused by friction and friction causes horsepower loss. My son has the same issue with his Nitro.

That very well could be, though I don't really know what we can do about it. I agree though, this is one heck of a sled, the best I've ever owned.

The method I've used with success is to run the track with 1" of FREE sag. Then I added SLP pads to every closed window. The first set of slides on the Apex and RS Venture went at 400 miles. With the SLP pads and with the track tension set with 1" of free sag I now have alot less drag when the sleds are coming to a stop. I have logged on 1,700 miles on both sleds and the Apex slides are wore down 20% from new. The RS Venture slides are wore down 60% from new. Almost all of the wear on the RS Venture is located within 1' from the rear of the slides, the rest of the slide is like new. I also added new idler wheels this fall also. Below is a topic that I posted on my idler mods back in the fall.

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=

Thanks for the idea's, I'll have to give them a try.