Squeaky cvt belt Yamaha T Max 560

[tmaxrobbo]

Hi guys . I have bought a 300 mile 22 plate T Max Tech Max 560. It’s a mint thing full billet levers , akrapovic ohlins suspension every extra in the catalogue. The guy who specked it only did 300 miles on it in 16 months so it’s sat a while . Today I picked it up and there is a kind of squeak from the cvt area . It rides great , no slip from the belt , just you can hear it a mild squeak . Not heard it on any t max I have had in the past and I have had 10 of them !! Any ideas ? I think it’s just sat a while and maybe the belt or variator have gone shines or the belt has been in the same position for a while . I told the dealer and he said monitor it it may be bedding in with only 300 miles on it . Of note it’s a beauty and the Ohlins feel nice but ? £1800 worth ? Thanks

[John A]

Sounds like a great bike with a few thousand pounds of extras on it.

I'm no CVT expert, but is the squeak constant, or not?

[Andym]

Is there an oil level plug on the final drive? No friction when pushed as you might get from brake pads stuck on the pins?

Other than checking all the fluid levels and having a good look round, I'm with the dealer, Italian tune-up to remove any cobwebs and it'll probably sort itself out. If not, get inside to take a look.

Andy

[Pukmeister]

Put some miles on it Robbo, it does vehicles no good to be sitting around too long. Hopefully its a bit of belt squeak or something.

If the CVT is the same as the rest of the Tmax range its easy enough to whip the belt off if you have the sheave holding tools, a new OE belt from Yamaha is about £170 and its also a good opportunity to fit a set of Dr Pulleys variator weights whilst apart.

[tmaxrobbo]

Thanks chaps . Will put some miles on it and if it doesn’t settle the dealer will investigate . It’s a lovely bike

[tmaxrobbo]

So it turns out the original owner put a full Malossi drive train /variator in the bike ! It seems to rev up very fast and has lost a bit of top end it seems . I got all the original stuff today , the exhaust the levers the other billet bits grab rails but no original variator . My dealer is going to source one as I prefer it standard . Anyway that answers why the belt is a bit squeaky . It seems a very rapid accelerating scoot but I prefer it stock . The Ohlins actually make quite a big difference to the handling . The previous owner spent in excess of £18000 on the bike fully pimped

[MrGrumpy]

Its not unknown for squeaks and squeals to occur with alternative variator setups - I guess you are pushing things to angles and distances it wasn't designed for! I've fitted DrPulley sliders to my mk6, and I can hear a very slight squeak from the transmission sometimes, usually when I accelerate hard, even though its a pretty standard setup.
The first Tmaxs with belt drive (mk4) could suffer from nasty squealing noises as well, though this was from the front belt drive bearing (not CVT).

btw a Malossi variator is in principle a good thing. It sounds like the previous clown has put a 'full race' set up on it, but you can customise the variator setup, with higher weights, and I you can also put different springs in, though this is somewhat beyond my area of expertise! When I bought a Malossi variator (yonks ago), it came with 2 sets of weights - a light set for high acceleration, a heavy set for 'touring', and you could mix the two sets to get something in between. So I'd investigate what weights are in it now, and its possible that putting some heavier weights in will give you back the top end, but still maybe give you improved performance - though to be fair, recent Tmax variators are actually pretty good in standard form.

Ohlins suspension on a Tmax? Sounds fun, albeit expensive! After the rear shocker on my mk6 failed, I have a Bitubo one on, which is OK - better on really bumpy roads, but not quite such a smooth ride in town. I understand the front forks on recent Tmaxs aren't such a great design (apparently they bottom out far too easily), though they feel OK in general use to me. On my old mk1, I fitted Hyperpro fork inserts and they seriously changed the feel of the front end - a bit firmer, but they were so much more communicative and give a really precise feel (and eliminated the bounciness of the OE forks completely!).

[Andym]

Is there a good book/website on CVT tuning/set up?

The Old Boy has had two and I'm now on my first. No real intention of tuning it, but it would be nice to understand.

Cheers

Andy

[Pukmeister]

I fitted a Dayco belt to my Tmax Mk3 at its last service and I wish I had bought the more expensive Yamaha belt. Its quite noisy at idle which is odd as the last Dayco belt I used was just as quiet as the OE Yamaha belt. I may just replace it with a new Yamaha belt anyway. I had cleaned the variator at 47k and secondary sheave as I snapped the last belt on the motorway, I replaced the slipping clutch with a Malossi clutch pack whilst I had it all apart.

My Tmax has just turned 50k so I am planning on a mid-life refit soon with suspension rebuilds and a full going over, maybe throw a grand at it in parts.

I might just get a new rear shock to replace the OE item and fit Hyperpro internals to the front forks, one stanchion needs a rechrome due to a corrosion pit. The radiator is choked up but may wash out, if not I'll replace it. The head races could do with regreasing and adjusting. The rear axle seals have just started weeping gear oil from the chain casing but I have new seals waiting.

[MrGrumpy]

My Tmax has just turned 50k so I am planning on a mid-life refit soon with suspension rebuilds and a full going over, maybe throw a grand at it in parts.

I might just get a new rear shock to replace the OE item and fit Hyperpro internals to the front forks, one stanchion needs a rechrome due to a corrosion pit. The radiator is choked up but may wash out, if not I'll replace it.

I always found the mk3's OE suspension setup rather good - well much better than the mk1 and mk2 anyway! But after 50k, the shockers etc must be getting tired, though I've never heard of anyone ever having any problems with the underslung rear shocker on early Tmaxs! There again, being such an unusual design, there were few alternatives around for a long time. As I mentioned, I was really impressed with Hyperpro fork inserts when fitted to the mk1, but there may be less improvement on the mk3 as the original setup was rather better.