road noise?

[bronze]

I just bought a 2006 1800. I'm not familiar with the bike so am not sure if this is normal. There's a bothersome noise coming from the front fairing area when riding. Hard to describe; almost sounds like a fan or tire noise, but it's not the radiator fan because I can hear that. I've owned older Goldwings & can't recall anything like this. Anybody suggestions, thoughts or similar experiences?

[CMReynolds1]

Mine doesn't have the noise you describe. I would suspect it to be tire noise. But, I would put it on the center stand and then raise the front end with a jack (Resting the rear tire on the ground) and spin the tire. Listening for bearing noises or rubbing or what have you noises. See if you can somehow isolate where it is coming from. If no luck, I would send it to the shop for a check up. Sounds like something not to allow to go on for too long. Just a thought.

[RoadRogue]

What tires do you have on the bike? Are they worn? Some brands have more road noise than others, especially when they wear down. Dunlop E3s make alot of noise compared to Avon Venoms. How much air pressure are you running in them?

[bronze]

I have Metzeler Marathons on the front @ 38 psi.

[harvey01]

Is there a specific speed at which you hear this noise or does it start at a certain speed or even more precisely at a certain RPM. Do you only hear this when moving?

You can usually feel cupping on the tires if they are making a lot of noise. Is the noise greater during a turn or when going straight?

Are you sure the noise is from the front and not the engine. Can you hear it with the bike still?

[bronze]

Thanks for that I'll try it. No noise @ standstill; only while moving.

[bronze]

Just tried your idea & I think that solved the problem - the front brakes are rubbing. Can't take it on the road for a day or two to see if the noise subsides when I brake, because it's snowing right now. Can the calipers be backed off somehow?

[CMReynolds1]

No, calipers do not have that type of adjustment. However, there is info on this site about cleaning the pistons and the complete assembly, tear down and reassembly. That might be all you need. WingAdmin did a great presentation with pics. Check the technical forum for the info. It is not too hard to do.

[everready]

You can adjust calipers by moving the forks in or out on the axle then use a feeler gauge between the inner pad and rotor to obtain the proper clearance.

[Ghostman]

http://gl1800riders.com/forums/showthre ... ce-Questio

Maybe this can be of some help.

[bronze]

Thanks; I'll try that first & hopefully won't have to get into teardown.

[Jabberwokki]

No, calipers do not have that type of adjustment. However, there is info on this site about cleaning the pistons and the complete assembly, tear down and reassembly. That might be all you need. WingAdmin did a great presentation with pics. Check the technical forum for the info. It is not too hard to do.

Just finished my front brake pads using Wing Admins presentation and I have to say it was perfect for the job.
Just changed to Dunlop 4 tires and went ahead while I was in there and did the brakes.
Had a minor mishap with right side bottom caliper bolt that cost me some time to get another one-seriously shipping on some of these small parts is torture. But everything else was easy.
Only thing extra I ended up doing was removing the back of the caliper where those slide pins go in towards the outside of the caliper and cleaned and greased those.
Mishap was my own fault-I over torqued so if you are following the specs be cautious especially on that lower bolt or you end up like me at the finish line waiting on a part.
Can’t thank everyone who posts here enough for helping me with everything from calipers to oil changes-love my bike and love the confidence to tackle the work on something that’s classic