'84 gpz550 sings at high speeds!

Here's the deal. My Gpz550 is and '83 with an '84 engine in it.

I've been slowly replacing seals and dealing with small oil leaks, most notably the output shaft seal. After that was fixed, I noticed a leak coming from what seemed to be the cylinder head on the left side. I retorqued it and the leak stopped. Maybe just a bandaid, but good for now.

Before and after I tightened the bolts, I noticed there is a quiet whirring coming from what I think is somewhere on the right side, around the cylinders/carbs. It's starts at ~32 mph and above 3000 Rpm, in third gear. And higher combination of speed/rpm/gear results in the sound getting louder and faster. At 40 mph, it's singing, and at 50 it's screaming. When I release the throttle, and the speed drops, it quiets down quickly but doesn't stop until it gets back to 35ish mph. I know this isn't much info, as I'm just starting to investigate, but any preliminary thoughts as to what it might be?

As always, thanks for the input!

Joe

Does the whining happen in the same gear or is it in any gear? Does it continue to get worse after 50 mph?

The sound becomes audible in 3rd, and gets worse all the way up through 6th. I can't say if it's a dangerous condition, so I haven't taken it much above 55 mph, but it's gets louder and more shrill the faster I'm moving.

Sounds like you need to remove the clutch cover and look for signs of gear pitting on the primary gears, or a bearing going away. How many miles on the new engine and has it always had oil changes, and do you know?

kill the motor and clutch it and whilst free wheeling see if the noise remains, if not then you can think output shaft bearings, chain or wheel bearings..

Stuffing a rag over the pipe(s) allows you to listen to the motor better, apart from clutch basket rattle on idle it should whirr like an electric motor when revved up. Camchain rattle and bearing knock have their own distinctive sounds. Maybe check your camchain tensioner if it is locked on too tight?

I was thinking wheel bearings.
Steve

thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

I've never had a bearing go bad on a bike, but the sounds and symptoms are nearly identical to what I've experienced with bad bearings in cars. I'll look into it more. If that is the cause, how involved is the replacement process?

Simple, look it up in your MANUAL.
I had a ghost noise on my truck. It would come any time and drove me nuts. I had my helper ride in the back to pin point where it was coming from. Carrier bearing.
Steve

You really want to diagnose this. or narrow it down further before tearing it apart. Increasing noise and pitch increasing with speed points to a transmission issue.

Clutch and primary shaft bearings can be done with engine in-situ. Input and output shaft roller and needle bearings are an engine split job. I've had 10 550's over the years but never seen a gearbox problem.