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[Regen]

I have a 2016 SR and it started to make a rubbing sound that would increase in speed as I accelerate. So I took the bike into the dealer and they said that the belt tension was too tight and may have caused damaging wear on the engine internals. They loosened the belt some and the noise was reduced ever so slightly, almost by none. Still frustrated, I tipped the bike on its side so the rear wheel was off the ground and rolled on the throttle and put my ear up to different parts where the belt was moving. It seems like the sound is coming from the motor area.

I just have a hard time believing that it's inside the motor as I looked everywhere online and I could find nobody with an issue like this pertaining to the motor. It could just be the bearing that attaches to the frame or it could just be something with the belt. I'm not sure. But what I do know is that the noise IS coming from that area. I have a sound clip of me accelerating from a stop attached as an example.

I hope someone has any idea of what this can be. Really appreciate it.

[Hans2183]

Do you know what tension the belt was at before you took it to the dealer? Asking this because bearings can go bad also if tension was OK and it almost sounds like your dealer is trying to blame you for it.

It's quite a broad tension span (at least for the SRF en SRS) going from 51 to 102 kg. Overal consensus seems to be it's better to keep it at the lower side. But according to this you could still be running it at 100 kg and be within spec.

Also what mileage?

Plus be extremely careful spinning it up to have a look that nothing gets caught.

[Regen]

I never checked the tension of the belt before I brought it to the dealer.
It has 3,300 miles on it.

I'm going to give the technician a call tomorrow to see if he completely removed the belt and ran the motor without it just to see if the belt itself is the issue. Because I heard a lot of the common noise issues are caused by the belt. I guess I'm just doubting the technician's ability to narrow down the issue at this point.

[Regen]

Update:

I gave the technician a call and surely enough, he didn't take the belt off to see if that was the issue.
Also, he told me the belt tension was 100kg when it got into the shop.

[ESokoloff]

I never checked the tension of the belt before I brought it to the dealer.
It has 3,300 miles on it.

The belt is a maintenance item that has to be checked/maintained.
If the belt tension is too loose the belt can skip & become damaged.
Too tight & bearings can be damaged. 
I have a 2016 DSR with the skinnier belt & check/adjust it around the first of each month.
I average about 1k miles/month.
I adjust to the Max of the 20/30 kg span.
I would not run anywhere near max in the wider belt unless I knew that the bearings where up to the task. 

[Regen]

The belt is a maintenance item that has to be checked/maintained.
If the belt tension is too loose the belt can skip & become damaged.
Too tight & bearings can be damaged. 
I have a 2016 DSR with the skinnier belt & check/adjust it around the first of each month.
I average about 1k miles/month.
I adjust to the Max of the 20/30 kg span.
I would not run anywhere near max in the wider belt unless I knew that the bearings where up to the task.

Is it a common thing for the bearings inside the motor to become damaged? Or are you talking about bearings outside the motor?

[Auriga]

The belt is a maintenance item that has to be checked/maintained.
If the belt tension is too loose the belt can skip & become damaged.
Too tight & bearings can be damaged. 
I have a 2016 DSR with the skinnier belt & check/adjust it around the first of each month.
I average about 1k miles/month.
I adjust to the Max of the 20/30 kg span.
I would not run anywhere near max in the wider belt unless I knew that the bearings where up to the task.

Is it a common thing for the bearings inside the motor to become damaged? Or are you talking about bearings outside the motor?

It happens fairly often, but taking off the belt should be done to confirm the noise is coming from the motor. I've seen it caused by bad luck, high milage, extreme belt tension, and improper chain kit installation.

Zero would replace the whole motor under warranty if that's the cause. If out of warranty, several people have replaced the motor bearings themselves

[ESokoloff]

Is it a common thing for the bearings inside the motor to become damaged? Or are you talking about bearings outside the motor?

I don’t know enough to comment but I will say I’ve not heard of issues with wheel bearings but have heard of motor bearing issues.

The belt transmits power from the motor to the rear wheel & exerts its tension equity to both the motor & rear axle shafts.
I don’t know the specs of the motor bearing but I think that the axle bearings (3 of on my DSR) can handle more load then the motors & thus likely the motor bearings will suffer the most from excessive belt tension.

I’m wondering if the higher tension rating of the wider belt reflects the belts abilities & not the bearings. ??

Did the motor bearings change between models with narrow vs wide belt?

[Regen]

I don’t know enough to comment but I will say I’ve not heard of issues with wheel bearings but have heard of motor bearing issues.

The belt transmits power from the motor to the rear wheel & exerts its tension equity to both the motor & rear axle shafts.
I don’t know the specs of the motor bearing but I think that the axle bearings (3 of on my DSR) can handle more load then the motors & thus likely the motor bearings will suffer the most from excessive belt tension.

I’m wondering if the higher tension rating of the wider belt reflects the belts abilities & not the bearings. ??

Did the motor bearings change between models with narrow vs wide belt?

I know the type of motor changed a bit between Zero SR model years so I would assume the motor bearings did as well.

Are there any well-documented instances of replacing the bearings in a 2016 Zero SR motor? Like a how-to guide or something? I would assume it's quite a big process probably requiring a hydraulic press.

[ESokoloff]

Oppps, I got confused when reading Hans2183’s response.
You have a 2016 model & therefore the skinny belt with a tension range of 20-30kg.

Sounds like the motor bearings bad (likely just the left side).


These machines are nearly maintenance free but not totally. 
The belt, tires,  electrical connections, brakes, & what ever else I missed still need routine attention.

[Regen]

UPDATE! - Problem solved!
After exactly a year of frustration with the "rubbing sound" on my bike, I realized that it is SUSPOSED to make that sound. Here's how I found out:
Me being dissatisfied with the "repair" that my first dealer did, I ended up taking the bike to another dealer regarding the issue. He took a took a listen and he told me it sounded normal! I however begged to differ. That was until he had me to test ride a brand new 2021 SR that had 10 miles on it. It sounded EXACTLY the same as my bike, same rubbing noise and everything. In fact, it sounded louder than mine.
I bought this bike used thinking it had an issue with the motor, turns out I was completely wrong. Having ridden on that brand new bike saved me over 2000$ in repairs.

[Moto7575]

I had this problem and it ended beinf the wheel bearing (100€ to replace). For the engine the difficulty is that youe dealer wont take the responsability but it seems to be doable with the right tools.

You can also change the part - see af1racing for the cost or look for a used/damaged bike.

The belt is a maintenance item that has to be checked/maintained.
If the belt tension is too loose the belt can skip & become damaged.
Too tight & bearings can be damaged. 
I have a 2016 DSR with the skinnier belt & check/adjust it around the first of each month.
I average about 1k miles/month.
I adjust to the Max of the 20/30 kg span.
I would not run anywhere near max in the wider belt unless I knew that the bearings where up to the task.

Is it a common thing for the bearings inside the motor to become damaged? Or are you talking about bearings outside the motor?

It happens fairly often, but taking off the belt should be done to confirm the noise is coming from the motor. I've seen it caused by bad luck, high milage, extreme belt tension, and improper chain kit installation.

Zero would replace the whole motor under warranty if that's the cause. If out of warranty, several people have replaced the motor bearings themselves

[Yamanatc]

Just a comment: My newish 2021 Zero S makes almost the same sound (has from day one), and the dealer said it was normal too. It's too fast to be a wheel bearing, and seems to basically go away over 30mph - probably wind and motor whine masks it.

I tried loosening the belt to the lower tension range, and it made little difference. It seems to be louder in Eco mode, but it could just be the difference in the Regen from Performance mode. I just tell people that the sound is to help pedestrians hear me coming, but I wish it would go away. 

Warren