Spinning Noise When Cold Not RPM Dependent

[bs175dths]

Have you tried the stethoscope (or screw driver to the ear) trick to try and locate where in the engine the noise is coming from? Or does it only happen at road speed?

BTW, put the HANDLE of the screw driver in your ear NOT the blade! :d

~O)

[edbikerii]

So far, my noise has only happened a few minutes after startup, after I got the bike moving. By the time I was able to stop safely, the noise had disappeared.

Have you tried the stethoscope (or screw driver to the ear) trick to try and locate where in the engine the noise is coming from? Or does it only happen at road speed?

BTW, put the HANDLE of the screw driver in your ear NOT the blade! :d

~O)

[Scanjo]

I had this problem at one time. The starter switch on the handlebar was sticking. The colder the weather, the more likely it would stick. To verify, when you hear the noise try turning off the bike with the kill switch (leaving the key ON). If it immediately starts cranking on it's own then either the switch or the solenoid is sticking. If the headlight is on then my bet is the solenoid (the starter switch cuts out the headlight for cranking). If the headlight is off then the switch is probably sticking. Solenoid must be replaced, but switch can be cleaned by spraying liberally with silicone spay and working the switch.

I know this is an old thread but hoping it will help the next guy...

[edbikerii]

Happened again tonight.

I took her out for a quick ride tonight, and it happened again while cold (it was maybe 28F out tonight). So, the noise doesn't happen after I start the engine. The engine starts normally, and runs fine, but once I get her out on the road, at some point the noise kicks in, seemingly after I have revved the bike up past some RPM level where I don't notice the noise so much because of the engine noise.

Then while I was riding I noticed the noise, but when I brought the RPM down lower, the noise stopped. Strange. Seemed like it could be the starter getting re-engaged by the engine spinning to a certain rpm. However, I just cleaned out the starter and changed the brushes just a couple thousand miles ago.

While it was happening, I tried goosing the throttle, which made no difference. Also, I tried pressing the starter button, which only disabled the headlight momentarily, otherwise did nothing.

Seems to me that if the starter button were sticking, the headlight would be disabled all the while, as that is one of the functions of that circuit, right?

Any additional ideas?

[edbikerii]

Thanks Scanjo,

I re-reading your post, I am starting to suspect it is the solenoid. I will pull everything apart there and look at that soon.

Thanks,

Ed

[bs175dths]

In cold weather like yours don't disregard wheel bearings. Also might look at the sending unit for the speedometer, and if you have analog speedometer, check the cable. Although the tachometer is electronically triggered, it does have nylon gearing. I was getting an intermittant squealing and various ground and engine speeds. I traced it to the tachometer gauge. Since my water temp gauge also stopped working (verified it was the gauge and not the sender) I replaced the gauge cluster. Squealing is now gone, water temp gauge works fine.
It is hard to trace a noise with a helmet on and may take some time to find given engine and wind noise.
Good Luck.