Picked it up from the dealer after work and made it about 400 feet before hearing the noise.

Im going to go to a different dealer.

But i did manage to get a video of the noise, is this a normal sound? Its only whne you can hear the bike slow down and when on the brakes as i live on a smooth street so couldnt hear it over bumps. But its the same sound over bumps, the one right before the end of the video is the loudest/most prominent to me.

It gets louder but hard to capture using a phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULpT...ature=youtu.be

 

Wow, that's pretty bad. I've never heard that one before. Sounds like it happens mostly when you let off the gas. And it's definitely happening in the front end, not in the rear or down by the engine?

 

Yeah there's something loose with your bike rattling around on decel. I'd almost say it'd be best to put it on a dyno machine just to isolate the noise you could have a couple techs stand nearby to figure out where it's coming from.

Chasing noises on these bikes isn't any fun. Once they're squared away it makes you want to keep it all the more.

 

yeah, you cant see it from the video. But its not so much as decel as when braking or compressing the suspension.

In order for me to make the noise happen i have to be either on the front brakes, or a bumpy road.

if i engine brake until im slowed down enough to just stop it doesnt make the noise. And if im real heavy on the front brakes it doesnt make the noise either. Theres a "sweet" spot.

I know its not because im so light that the suspension is not compressing enough. Im 260 pounds :-)

 

doesn't sound like the steering bearings to me sounds like the brake pads vibrating. Like I said.. it's a $2 mod. If it works great , if not you're out only $2. I'll take a picture and show you what i mean.

It could be a loose ANYTHING, however if you had it at the dealer.. it would be the first thing they check (loose rotor or loose caliper, etc.) Obvious things like that.. so while it's def possible it's from something being loose (or they are really incompetent) I doubt it's that.

 

I took it to another higher regarded dealer that's a little bit further from me yesterday. Showed them the video and explained that another dealer had it a week and didn't find anything wrong and couldn't hear the noise.

He said he was the one who does the test rides and would ride this one as well and then work with the tech to look at it. Showing him the video and showing him what to look for he said was very helpful.
And it was a very odd noise hes never heard.

If i get it back and it still does it ill try the spring mod to the calipers.

 

fallaway sterring stem betcha

 

I talked to my dealer about this thread and he said most like a bad "pdi" setup and most likely a fallaway adjustment with the stem.

 

Well, its still at the second dealer.

They called me yesterday to talk about it, they cant reproduce the issue.

They have checked/re-torqued just about everything on the front end of the bike.

However they were unable to hear the noise or recreate it.

After talking about it for a bit, we decided that they will keep it another couple of days and put some more miles on it. Maybe other things need to be warmed up. I told them it always happens after i get home from work, about 25 miles or so.

They did come up with an idea, and the tech has seen it before where the fork springs make some noise inside the tubes. Thicker oil can fix this. ( i read it online also)

But as of now, its still there and they havent been able to reproduce it. They did call not to tell me it was done, but to ask for more tips on reproducing it.

Needless to say i am very happy with the service dept at this dealer

 

Joined the site specifically because of this thread. I have a '14 Bob with 1500 miles and it makes the exact same noise under the same conditions. I havent started troubleshooting yet but Im glad to see I'm not the only one. Will post any findings i get.