I've only had mine for a short time, and I'm about 1/2 through the break-in. It's hard to avoid noticing the posts about the rattle - almost as hard to avoid the posts about aftermarket exhausts. Thus, I've been paying a lot of attention to the engine sounds.
The engine noises I've experienced have been, in my untrained and relatively unexperienced opinion, completely acceptable, and fall within my expectations for a little thumper...until a few days ago.
My commute home started with a few minutes at "local" speeds, say 15 to 20 mph navigating the large acreage of my employer, followed by a minute of 45 to 50 to reach the edge of town, and then four or five minutes at 55 to 60 before slowing for the next town.
As I began to slow down, the engine sound changed fairly dramatically. The character of the noise was the same, but the volume of the rattle was probably 2 or 3 times what I had come to accept as normal. This remained true for the few minutes driving through that town. This loud rattle was suffered in gears 3 through 5, whenever the rpms got to about 5000 - 6000. At the higher volume and more continuous frequency, I perceive the sound as "marbles in a blender". Eventually, I returned to highway speed to complete the trip home. My memory is fading about if or when the noise abated during the remainder of that trip.
I've commuted again since then, and the "high volume" noise hasn't recurred.
It was pretty easy to dismiss the complaints of an engine rattle before this experience, but if those posting these reports suffer from the type of noise I temporarily experienced on that trip, I completely understand their concern and frustration. I myself wondered what somebody on the sidewalk must think as I passed by - probably "something's wrong with that POS".
The engine noises I've experienced have been, in my untrained and relatively unexperienced opinion, completely acceptable, and fall within my expectations for a little thumper...until a few days ago.
My commute home started with a few minutes at "local" speeds, say 15 to 20 mph navigating the large acreage of my employer, followed by a minute of 45 to 50 to reach the edge of town, and then four or five minutes at 55 to 60 before slowing for the next town.
As I began to slow down, the engine sound changed fairly dramatically. The character of the noise was the same, but the volume of the rattle was probably 2 or 3 times what I had come to accept as normal. This remained true for the few minutes driving through that town. This loud rattle was suffered in gears 3 through 5, whenever the rpms got to about 5000 - 6000. At the higher volume and more continuous frequency, I perceive the sound as "marbles in a blender". Eventually, I returned to highway speed to complete the trip home. My memory is fading about if or when the noise abated during the remainder of that trip.
I've commuted again since then, and the "high volume" noise hasn't recurred.
It was pretty easy to dismiss the complaints of an engine rattle before this experience, but if those posting these reports suffer from the type of noise I temporarily experienced on that trip, I completely understand their concern and frustration. I myself wondered what somebody on the sidewalk must think as I passed by - probably "something's wrong with that POS".
