whininig 08

[ridetom]

I have recently bought an 08 wing and there is a whine when the bike is started, and it doesn't go away. Any ideas what this might be.

[Sagebrush]

Alternators and their gear train have been known as a source of whining. Try to see if the sound is emanating from the left rear of the engine.

[newday777]

I have recently bought an 08 wing and there is a whine when the bike is started, and it doesn't go away. Any ideas what this might be.

Location?
How loud?
In sound systems? Systems turned off?
A bit more information is needed. We can't hear it so you need to be a bit more descriptive.

[ridetom]

Sagebrush, yes it is by the left rear.

[Sagebrush]

I would go to GL1800riders.com and do a search in their technical forum for engine whine or whining alternator. Lots of info there if you can search it correctly. If its in the alternator gear train I'm thinking its an engine pull to fix it. But I can't hear what you have so I'm just guessing.

[peppilepew]

You should have someone familiar listen to it. My 12 sounds like a washing machine and has the normal GW whine. Ride it like it's stolen.

[pauln]

ridetom, does it sound like this => http://pnplace.com/gl1800/gl1800whine.mp3 ? The audio is my 2010 1800 I bought new. Did it from day one and still does it at 16,000 miles. I have sort-of gotten used to it.

[Viking]

ridetom, does it sound like this => http://pnplace.com/gl1800/gl1800whine.mp3 ? The audio is my 2010 1800 I bought new. Did it from day one and still does it at 16,000 miles. I have sort-of gotten used to it.

My 09 has that whine as well, but not quite as noticeable. Perhaps the recording of it brought it out more and that is why it seems louder than mine. It does not sound as if it is doing any damage.

[newday777]

ridetom, does it sound like this => http://pnplace.com/gl1800/gl1800whine.mp3 ? The audio is my 2010 1800 I bought new. Did it from day one and still does it at 16,000 miles. I have sort-of gotten used to it.

That is the normal sounds of the 1800s.
My 08 sounds this way and so has every 1800 I've riden from 01-2010 that I have serviced and test rode, haven't riden any of the 2012-2014.

[pauln]

That is the normal sounds of the 1800s.
My 08 sounds this way and so has every 1800 I've riden from 01-2010 that I have serviced and test rode, haven't riden any of the 2012-2014.

It is interesting that I had a 2001 1800 that had virtually NO whine. All that came from the alternator area on it was a slight "whir." The 2010 is an improvement in most ways over the 2001, but definitely not in terms of engine whine.

It would be nice to know what actually is making this noise. From what I have read, it seems more common in the 2006+ wings where the alternator and alternator drive was changed. Some 2006+ have very little noise, while others like mine scream What would make one bike make a lot of noise yet another of the same year make little noise? You would think they would all be very similar in the noise they make.

Just thinking out loud: Could it be the alternator itself? The new alternator drive? The scissor gear that drives the alternator drive? Tolerance differences in one or more of these things ???

It is certainly not the end of the world, but it would be nice to be able to figure out how (if possible) to quiet down the 1800s for those of us with the screamers. I have never done anything with mine in terms of trying to figure it out - yet. At least the noise is consistent - makes it at the same rpm every time (2,000 rpm is worst on mine) and has not changed one bit with more miles on the bike.

[newday777]

On the 2006-2010 the alternator output is higher than the 2001-2005 and it could be an internal noise from the alternator which is could have tolerance clearance problems.

[Viking]

It may not be tolerance issues at all, but may be simply a result of the alternator having to work a bit to supply the needed power. If my batteries get down on my diesel truck, the alternator whines like that while bringing them back up. It is not something I ever worried about, and I won't be worrying about the whine on my bike. If it blows up as a result of the whining, that will be soon enough to worry. It is interesting tho.