I have a 2004.5 sportsman 500 and I started to hear a "pecking" sound coming from the rear right wheel. After removing the wheel, I discovered a hole in the boot. I replaced the boot and re-packed the cv joint with fresh grease. After reassembly, I still have the same noise. My local service tech. said that my cv joist is probably damaged from dirt getting inside the boot. He told me as long as the bike rode smooth to ignore the noise and keep ridin'. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

if you cleaned and re packed the joint already, all of the damage has already happened, so you might as well just use the joint until it breaks completely. i had a similar problem with my rear left outer boot, the noise went away after a while after i cleaned/repacked the joint, i'm still using that joint after about 1500 miles since the change.

so you could get lucky and not have any problems, but the worst that will happen is you might need to replace the cv cup, at a later date.

 

Thanks for the input mechanic. Yousaid exactly what the local service center told me. I feel better hearing it from someone who has experinced it though. Have fun, ride hard and be safe.