this happened twice yesterday. once when downshifting and once again shifting up between gear two and three, i heard this really wierd sounding noise. It was RPM dependent but almost like something spinning or flipping around inside the engine or transmission (not sure which.... can't seem to get it to recreate again) I have a feeling it is when I'm not getting a positive shift (not fully engaging the gear and when I clutch it and let the engine wind down the noise goes went away and didn't come back until a few hours later when I was upshifting. It hasn't happened again, yet but it's a flipping/spinning/metallic/pinging sound that oscillated with the RPM of the engine, but not perfectly like say....a stuck valve lifter. It was irregular and almost like a clothes drier with a couple of pennies flopping around in it.

When it made the noise, I immediately let off the throttle and the noise spun down and went away. Then I shifted (I had to, I was in traffic ) and the noise didn't come back. The engine itself sounds real good - no sounds that I can hear. It sounds really good and smooth. It runs smoothly through the RPMs without any hesitation.

It only happened twice so it's really hard to describe. I rode today and wasn't able to recreate it. When it happened, I thought maybe I hit a patch of rocks or something. But the noise went away so quick after backing off the throttle I couldnt really get a bearing on it.

 

My guess would be that you might be flipping the shifter too slowly and the gears start to align and go in but then get kicked out, thus the noise and then repeating on every single tooth of the gears. When you're stopped in N and you slowly drop it down into first it'll do that too. Gotsta be quick and firm on the shifter like Bam! Bam! Bam! That's just my guess though. The F4i trannies suck enormously from everything else I've ridden.

 

It also could be the CCT, if it is RPM dependent like you say. My bike has only 5k miles on it and it already makes the noise. It sounds like ball bearings spinning around really fast and hitting the inside of the engine, like metal to metal. My bike usually does this between 5,000 to 6,000 RPM's and the noise is absolutly non existant in another RPM range. It also does not matter what gear you are in, whether you are giving it throttle or letting off of the throttle, downshifting, upshifting, doesnt matter as long as the RPM's are within that certain range it will make the noise. My bike is no longer under warranty, but yours probably still is, so take it to the dealer and they will replace the CCT. I am new to the F4i's, but I have been reading this forum and it seems like almost everyone who has an F4i has a problem with the CCT making noise, no matter what year, or how many miles. Since the noise on my bike isnt that bad and it is not under warranty, I just live with it, but for you since it is still under warranty get it fixed! It's free! Most likely after you get it fixed it will come back a couple hundred or a couple thousand miles later, so everytime it comes back if the bike is under warranty get it fixed. If the noise really bothers you they have manuel CCT's that do not make the sound/once it starts making the sound you can adjust it so that it goes away.

 

take this for whats its worth, but the sport rider magazine compairing the the 06' yamaha r6s, the kawasaki ZZR (formerly called the zx6r), and the the F4i stated the F4i had the best tranny by far

 

the whole "sounds like ball bearings" inside the engine made me think that this is exactly what happened to me. It was very disturbing sounding and

Honda has a wierd history with me and autos and their warranty people saying certain noises are normal. I guess some mechanical engineer feels the data shows it's ok to have a moving part with banging metal around for the long term viability of the component. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but the clutch in the old 95 Accords used to clunk and I have brake calipers on a new 06 Accord that do it as well. All been replaced, all still making noise. Anyhow don't mean to get off topic and I realize they are two different companies and different R&D teams... it's just a little odd. I like the tranny and the way it feels, but I've never ridden a bike that does this...not even an old F3... so im initially a little disturbed.

I will call Honda and see if theyll do the CCT for free.

 

first they would have to diagnose it...and if you can't repeat the noise they can't fix it. it's not the cctl because the noise went away and didn't come back.

cctl noise should be a progressive noise...not just one day it's there...it'll slowly come on and get louder and louder. it just doesn't one day make the noise.

 

I really doubt that it's your cct, although it's possible that it could be. They did a redesign on it in the last few years and the new ones work fine. I had 7000 miles on mine and never had any noise from it.
You could also be getting some clutch chatter, but that noise would be consistent all the time.

 

Maybe, never ridden any of those. I know mine felt clunky all the time in gears 1-3 all throughout the rev range. Even found a false neutral between 5th and 6th a few times. That's the one and only thing I didn't like about the F4i was the tranny, otherwise it was quite tasty.

 

Yeah, I really don't particularly like the whine either. Something just doesn't sound natural about it. It's like being in a Civic in reverse gear. Bike's ive ridden before: R6, R1, YZF600, Suz GS500, Nighthawk