M8 Whine
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,307
Likes: 195
From: Ohio
M8 Whine
I've always heard the M8 whine from my 2018 Softail. In fact it seems that Softail M8's whine louder than touring M8's and that may be due to the fact that the Softail has dual balancers as compared to the single balancer on the touring models. My understanding is that the whine comes from the gears that drive the balancers. But lately it seems that the whine coming from my bike seems to be getting louder. I hear the whine mostly at idle. The resent changes I have made are a Wood 22X cam, Wood Alpha lifters and the 2020 oil pump. The bike runs strong and since I performed the stage 2 but the darn whine beings it is getting louder is driving me crazy. Does anybody have any ideas as to what could be causing the whine to increase? Actually the valve train is quieter than before the stage 2. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 193
Likes: 28
From: Northern Virginia
I've always heard the M8 whine from my 2018 Softail. In fact it seems that Softail M8's whine louder than touring M8's and that may be due to the fact that the Softail has dual balancers as compared to the single balancer on the touring models. My understanding is that the whine comes from the gears that drive the balancers. But lately it seems that the whine coming from my bike seems to be getting louder. I hear the whine mostly at idle. The resent changes I have made are a Wood 22X cam, Wood Alpha lifters and the 2020 oil pump. The bike runs strong and since I performed the stage 2 but the darn whine beings it is getting louder is driving me crazy. Does anybody have any ideas as to what could be causing the whine to increase? Actually the valve train is quieter than before the stage 2. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 733
Likes: 909
From: Concrete jungle
I prefer to think of the balancers gear whine as supercharger gear whine. This way I like it.
Now if only I could get my brain to accept that this is not indicative of engine RPM so I stop lugging the motor....
Now if only I could get my brain to accept that this is not indicative of engine RPM so I stop lugging the motor....
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 433
From: Menifee, CA
My M8 RGU makes a lot of noises at idle, a couple of them could be considered "whine" type noises, I suppose. But, I certainly cannot hear any of that when riding at highway speeds, what with all the general noise of the highway masking it.
Could it be that the OP is hearing tire whine? Apart from something terribly wrong inside the motor, tire whine is about the only thing that could be heard above the din of the highway. Another possibility may be belt/pulley whine. When I got my RGU 2.5 years and nearly 40k miles ago, the drive belt was WAY too tight, and it was making a distinct whine at highway speeds that went away once I got the belt adjusted into its sweet spot range.
Could it be that the OP is hearing tire whine? Apart from something terribly wrong inside the motor, tire whine is about the only thing that could be heard above the din of the highway. Another possibility may be belt/pulley whine. When I got my RGU 2.5 years and nearly 40k miles ago, the drive belt was WAY too tight, and it was making a distinct whine at highway speeds that went away once I got the belt adjusted into its sweet spot range.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,307
Likes: 195
From: Ohio
My M8 RGU makes a lot of noises at idle, a couple of them could be considered "whine" type noises, I suppose. But, I certainly cannot hear any of that when riding at highway speeds, what with all the general noise of the highway masking it.
Could it be that the OP is hearing tire whine? Apart from something terribly wrong inside the motor, tire whine is about the only thing that could be heard above the din of the highway. Another possibility may be belt/pulley whine. When I got my RGU 2.5 years and nearly 40k miles ago, the drive belt was WAY too tight, and it was making a distinct whine at highway speeds that went away once I got the belt adjusted into its sweet spot range.
Could it be that the OP is hearing tire whine? Apart from something terribly wrong inside the motor, tire whine is about the only thing that could be heard above the din of the highway. Another possibility may be belt/pulley whine. When I got my RGU 2.5 years and nearly 40k miles ago, the drive belt was WAY too tight, and it was making a distinct whine at highway speeds that went away once I got the belt adjusted into its sweet spot range.
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Supporter
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 1,009
Likes: 598
From: Northeast Louisiana
Engine for sure
[QUOTE=P51Driver;19392912]The whine I am hearing is coming from the engine and is most noticable when idling. Like I said previously it is common to hear the whine from the M8 but it seems to be getting louder after doing the stage 2.[/QUO
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,307
Likes: 195
From: Ohio
I agree that the Softails are louder than the touring bikes. But like I said mine seems to have become louder since the stage 2.