[jsaoomian]

Ladies/Gents,

I have a small topic going on over at ADV looking for some maintenance advice. While the folks there are always helpful, and as I told a friend of mine today, I am running out of things to check that, if I found the culprit, I'd be able to fix on my own.

You can view the thread here:
Strange noise on speeds over 45mph - ADVrider

Or, the crux of the problem is listed below:

I have a 2005 DL650 with roughly 9K miles, and while riding home on a short 200 mile trip, I heard a strange noise which seemed to come from the front end of the bike. Meaning I can hear it best when leaning into the space under the fairing. I'm not completely disallowing for the noise to be generated any where else, but, I can seem to hear it best coming up through the fairing.

The noise does not emanate while under 45 mph, but, as soon as I start to approach highway speeds, the noise returns. I have a friend ride it the other day just to make sure I wasn't hearing things - he heard the noise, but, also could not rule out it's just some weird noise caused by the fairing and the wee's awesome airflow. I too first thought it was some odd correlation between a particularly windy day and I had just bought a new helmet. But, after riding the bike over the weekend, with a different helmet, no ear plugs and calm wind, the sound returned.

The sound, at least to me, sounds mechanical. To my untrained ears, it sounds very similar to what a failed bearing would sound like, but, the sound is not constant, it's intermittent. It 'chirps' in and out, whether or not the throttle is engaged, but, stays fairly consistent with the caveat that the bike is traveling faster than 40-45mph.

Things I have looked at to try and pinpoint the problem:

• Front Wheel (all bolts secure)
• Fairing and dash area (nothing loose)
• Chain (was a bit slack, but, adjusted to spec)
• Windscreen - all screws are tight
• Rear Wheel (Axel bolt and nut)
• Front Fender (firm and secure)
• Front Forks (no leaks detected)

I've checked the suspension as much as I can and from a preliminary check, it all seems to be in working condition. But, while adjusting the suspension is certainly within my wheelhouse, tearing it apart to diagnose problems is not.

So, I am running out of things to check that don't involve a major mechanical under taking or (evil of all evils) an expensive trip to someone who could do such an under taking.

Has anyone ever experienced the aforementioned issues, or, even have an idea of what I should check next? I fully admit to not being the most mechanically inclined person in the world, but, I'm not completely inept. So, there is, hopefully, something quite simple that I am missing and just haven't thought of to look at it yest. At least I hope it's simple.

Any help greatly appreciated. Much thanks.

JB

 

[Yak]

Do you have crash bars installed? Check for play in front wheel bearings and steering head.

 

[cbrxxcess]

What tires do you have on your bike? I have installed Fullbore tires (think shinko 705 with a v rating). At 45 my tires really howl. If you have either tire that would be my guess to your noise that your hearing.

 

[matt290477]

Might be your speedo sensor that need some grease. If it's dry, it will make some kind of chirping noise.

 

[jsaoomian]

Thanks to all who chimed in with some advice. I finally got around to tearing apart the front end of the bike and giving the front wheel, bearings, and speedometer housing a good once over. Everything looked good, except for -- the speedometer housing was dry as a bone. I packed it full of grease, re-assembled the front end, took it for a quick test drive, and -- quiet as a mouse. +1 to matt290477 for correctly guessing the speedometer housing/sensor.

Thanks again.

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

my 2007 DL650 with 20,00 miles

is making an odd front sound at speed - there may be a front end inspection in my near future - thanks for sharing

 

[DougInKY]

I picked up a sound that kind of sounded like a loose heat shield baffle on my way home from Nashville yesterday. Started trying to eliminate things this morning, turned out that it was a bolt holding my bash plate on that was a little loose (not enough to discover without removing the bash plate). A washer on the bolt was vibrating when the engine was above about 4000 RPM. Not what I expected at all as all the hardware seemed tight visually and I was unable to move anything by hand when the bike was off. Goes to show...