Freewheel Clicking

[Nickt919]

There are many threads on the freewheel subject but none that I see with focus just on the ratcheting, clickety sound the freewheel emits. Over my lifetime I've had quite a few pedal bikes with freewheel clicking action on the gear cluster of multi speed bicycles but never on a single speed bicycle or motorized bicycle.
I've been in the motorized hobby a little better than 2 years now and the whole time my rear hub has been a....silent... coaster brake hub.

So right now I'm in the middle of the process of installing a better set of wheels...and it will obviously have a freewheeling rear pedal sprocket on the hub.

This leads to a question that crossed my mind last night as I looked this rear wheel set up over while it was sitting on a trueing stand....

I pedal to get the engine started. Once the engine is running, I release the clutch, stop pedaling, and zoom off under engine power.
Once you stop pedaling with the bike rolling the freewheel begins to click...and click...and keeps on clicking as long as I'm rolling while not pedaling. As long as the tire is rolling faster than the pedal sprocket there's a whole bunch of clicking going on.

I have to assume this is normal procedure...all the clicking.

Can you hear the clicking....or does the engine and pipe drown it out?

When I return home from a ride, I get up to about 30-35 mph and kill the engine a good 2 blocks from home. Then I coast all the way into my yard.

I know I'll hear all this clicking at that point.
I really don't care to hear the clicking.... and then can it be healthy for a freewheel to be clicking for hundreds of miles?
If the engine and pipe drown the clicking out I'll be fine. If it doesn't drown the clicking out I'll have a problem with this better wheel set.

I probably should get a spare freewheel now.

 

[Chainlube]

The clicking is completely normal and the nature of it, while the engine and left side chain are rolling along you won't hear the freewheel.

 

[Nickt919]

The clicking is completely normal and the nature of it, while the engine and left side chain are rolling along you won't hear the freewheel.

I sure hope I will not hear it. This new freewheel echos the clicking very loud on the stand.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Clicking in a freewheel is an indication the pawls are sticking.

Remove the freewheel and spray some WD-40 inside the crack between the inner core and the outer core; turn until you hear no clicking sound.

Place the freewheel on some paper, cog side up and let the WD-40 drain out for 24 hours.

Put some wax-free bicycle chain oil in the crack between the inner and outer core. Turn a few times. You can also spray penetrating oil in instead of using bicycle chain oil.

Then put the freewheel back onto the hub.

 

[Axl Myk]

The clicking bothers you that much? With the motor running, how do you even hear it?

 

[ImpulseRocket]

I don't hear it. Even without the motor running, while moving at speed, I don't really notice it. It's only at slow speeds where it seems prominent to my ears

 

[Nickt919]

The clicking bothers you that much? With the motor running, how do you even hear it?

I haven’t tried it yet… was asking.
Just getting it set up.

Probably won’t hear it..
my pipe is pretty loud and even a perfectly aligned 415 chain makes a fair amount of noise.
It just crossed my mind because on the trueing stand it seemed fairly loud.
As I heard the freewheel clicking it made me think.. wow..this will happen the entire time I’m riding.

 

[Wrench]

"click click click" of your freewheel, it's happy and working fine, It's suppose to go click click click

In the garage spinning the freewheel listening to it clicking sounds louder but you hardly even notice when your riding
especially with a motor running

 

[Chainlube]

"click click click" of your freewheel, it's happy and working fine, It's suppose to go click click click

In the garage spinning the freewheel listening to it clicking sounds louder but you hardly even notice when your riding
especially with a motor running

Put a player card in your spokes.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]