I've been hearing a whine that is most noticeable between 40-48mph, worst at about 45mph, decreasing above 50mph, and mostly inaudible below 30mph. It is speed related with gear and RPM's irrelevant to its tone or volume. There is a pulsating tone at times but not always.

I installed an E3 rear tire last April and noticed the whine after that, not before. Some Gold Wingers have complained about whine with this tire, but mostly in corners. My noise does not change at all in corners or any other time when the bike is off-axis, which leads me to believe it isn't the tire.

I checked the IDS bearing and it looks fine, although I've noticed that the belt rides flush against the outside of the pulley, at least when I've checked it with rear jacked up off the ground. The belt is not tight and I loosened it somewhat the other day without any effect on the noise. I've always run looser than spec, and now have it set to about 9/16" cold. The service guy at the HD shop didn't ride the bike but said it is definitely the belt, probably caused by an imperfection in the belt or sprocket and is nothing to be alarmed about.

It is mostly inaudible when the radio is blasting, but I just want to make sure it isn't something that indicates an imminent failure. Diagnosing is difficult while riding and I can't really tell where it is coming from. It is not the normal auto-primary-chain tensioner, which I can hear at idle mostly and is RPM related, but it sounds exactly like this whine.

Anyone run into this before? E3 owners?

 

Nobody?

 

Seems that if it is speed related ONLY and not gear or rpm, then anything mechanical could be ruled out. I'd revisit the possibility of the tire being the culprit or a bearing.

On a different note, it could be me whining that you hear. I've seen lovebugs already over here!!!!! Get ready!

 

Maybe you could try running without one saddlebag , then the other to see if the noise gets louder on a particular side.
If there is a large hill in the area , that you could maintain your speed while the engine is off and the clutch is disengaged , you might hear it more clearly.
Possibly check the wheel alignment just quickly with a string and see if there's a reason for the belt to run on the outside of the pulley.
My bike used to whine only on long sweeping left turns at 55 MPH and my wife on the back.
I figured it for belt deflection by way of the swingarm bushings being rubber and changing the belt tension.
Good luck and let us know what you find , the E3 tires look pretty neat and I will need a tire soon for my bike.
Mick

 

I'm leaning toward the rear tire as the culprit, actually, but I can't figure out why there is no tonal change when I lean past vertical, as in turns. This noise doesn't sound like the bad bearings I've heard before on cars, and I would think the tone would change as the wheel is loaded, as in turns. There is no change.

Don't need to get ready, as they're here already too. Killed a few dozen on our ride Saturday. BTW, apply some Rejex (www.rejex.com) on your frontal surfaces (windshield, fairing, lowers, forks, fender, etc.) and they wipe off much easier.

 

I removed the left saddlebag, raised the bike on the jack, and ran it up to 45mph in 5th gear. I know, that's dangerous, but I did it anyway. The result was inconclusive, and it wasn't as loud as it seemed while riding. That might point more to the tire or a bearing, as there is no tire contact and no load on the bearing. I had trouble positioning myself to hear while holding the throttle in place. I have no throttle lock with cruise control, and oddly the CC won't work when jacked up. I can't figure that one out. I need to get a friend over hear to hold the throttle while I put my hear down there.

No need to turn the engine off, as you can hear it clearly with only the clutch disengaged and coasting. In fact, at 45mph you can hear it with the radio blasting. It seems more prominent on the left side, which might suggest the belt.

Since I have a cammed adjustment on the wheel I don't see how it could be out of adjustment. I've thought about the IDS sprocket and its bearing, but it doesn't seem out of round or otherwise problematic.

As I said, some Wingers are complaining about the E3's being noisy, most mentioning cornering noise, but some say theirs whines even at vertical. If it's the tires, I still don't know why there would be no change in tone when I take the bike off vertical. I've had front D402's on my old RK howl in corners, but this one so far doesn't do that.

 

I had similar symptoms on my 07 SG. I went crazy trying to isolate the noise...but it was more a low-tone "whumpwhumpwhump" sound vs. a whine. FWIW, maybe this will help.

The dealer (in all their wisdom) rolled it in...pronounced it as a warped rotor...though I told them I really doubted that. Oh well, I guess the rotor was a bit warped as well (pad was almost cooked).

I hopped on...took off and voila! same noise. Turned around...not overjoyed, needless to say. Fast forward - It was the rear wheel bearing...and the third one that month on 07' baggers they had seen with less than 5000 miles.

No problem since.

SG

 

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me.

Peter

 

A too-tight drive belt will whine like that. Ride it a while then stop and touch the rear pulley. If it's really hot, then the belt's too tight.

 

I and several others had the same symptoms. It turned out to be the output shaft bearing. The dealer rebuilt the tranny with all new bearings under warranty and put in a new shaft. According to them it is a "known" issue but there is no recall on it. I guess not enough have failed. Look for excessive shavings on the tranny drain plug.