RE/
What sort of sound does it make? Is this a click from ratchets? The
way you say that it sounds ominous. Is there a serious problem?

It gets noticibly less noisey with age - as in 700 miles or so.

Not a problem to me - and I'm fairly neurotic about stuff like that. Noise
doesn't manifest itself until gear 7 and below..and only a couple gears are
really noticible.
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PeteCresswell