R1150R whining noise n the backgrund in third gear

the strange noise comes and goes, especially on neutral throttle, in third gear, around 2800-3000rpm.Its not a tapping type of noise. A local mechanic told me its not the engine and the noise comes from the far end or the gearbox.. the BMW mechanic in Alton could not hear anything when he took it for a spin; he thinks it might be bearings in the gearbox and even replacing them may not fix the problem. The bike is idling all ok and pulls like a train. Can't hear the noise when I change gears above 3000rpm. Grateful for any advice. Its just annoying as I keep waiting for the noise to occur when I ride the bike.

I have a louder 4th gear on my 1150. It seemed to happen on a trip round the Alps a few years back. I put it down to not really changing out of 4th going up and down the mountains. Like I say it was a few years back now and it's still the same. Never bothered me. Give the box an oil change. It's cheap enough and you'll see if there's any extra bits in there.

Thank you, I started hearing the sound after I changed oil in the driveshaft and gearbox which was a few weeks ago. I am using Halfords 75W/90 part synthetic oil; maybe I have put the wrong oil?

MarkoPolo said:

Thank you, I started hearing the sound after I changed oil in the driveshaft and gearbox which was a few weeks ago. I am using Halfords 75W/90 part synthetic oil; maybe I have put the wrong oil?

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I've just Googled your oil - it's GL-5, which is the recommended one for 11XX gearboxes, so that's unlikely to be the cause. If it was me, I'd make sure my earplugs fitted tightly and carry on...

Thank you for your advice! Will order earplugs