Help! Whining type noise that stops between 5 & 10mph

[seaking]

--looking back through the haze of getting mine back on the road, I think a belt cover exhaust mount bolt was rubbing. Sounds like I pointed ya down the wrong path but your ride's fresh!

[goofyfoot2001]

I saw that last night and I apparently don't have that on my 95. The only bracket I have like that is an oil line.

[Cree]

Had this on my 97 Buell. Pulley nut loose.

[seaking]

Oh, shit that's right I put in bolts that were a hair too long on the top primary inspection cover. Highly doubt that's the problem though. This is one for xlforum.

[some1else]

check youre front brake system,while youre checking shit

[goofyfoot2001]

I'm going to re-adjust the belt tonight and the front pully is abut a millimeter loose but the way the front pulley is put on, there really is no room for it to become unadjusted and this is a new sound so gotta be the belt making the front pulley jiggle slightly.

Front pulley (not mine but you can see there is no way for the nut to loosen).

[Lordmerciless]

I had a similar problem on my '01 Dyna Low Rider.
I put shorty shocks on which caused the whiny, winding noise on accel/decel.
I put the stock shocks back on, noise gone.
So, lowering the bike did something to my bike that made that noise.

[goofyfoot2001]

I adjusted the belt ever so slightly and the sound went away for a few blocks then came back. So I'm going to take teh slack up a bit more and see if that changes things tonight. I don't see any pulleys lose.

[hadleesdad0823]

I've also checked bearings and my belt and mine still makes the noise. I'm getting wear marks on the top of the belt, like it's hitting something, so I'm going to buy a motorcycle jack or lift and see if I can find out what's causing the knicks in the top of the belt.

[goofyfoot2001]

I'll check mine for that. The only place that could happen is maybe the guard at the top of the rear pulley.

[hadleesdad0823]

I don't have a guard at my rear pulley. I took the bottom plastic guard off because it was rubbing the back tire. I'll take some pics and post them shortly.

[JetBlackII]

No vibration in the clutch at all (hell on a frame mount how can you tell!). Here is the sound again. At 10 mph it stops. I'm leaning more toward the belt doing something.

Sounds like the starter clutch not disengaging; and the motor is still spinning the starter to me.

[hadleesdad0823]

JetBlack, that's exactly what my Dad told me to check out. He said his '77 FLH made the same noise and it was the starter NOT disengaging.

[JetBlackII]

JetBlack, that's exactly what my Dad told me to check out. He said his '77 FLH made the same noise and it was the starter NOT disengaging.

Well, noises are a great diagnostic that many have yet to even begin to grasp properly, and well location, location, location can deal with more than real estate... pitch of the sound, type of sound etc. save a lot of hassle when chasing out such issues.

[goofyfoot2001]

JetBlack, that's exactly what my Dad told me to check out. He said his '77 FLH made the same noise and it was the starter NOT disengaging.

I checked the starter when I had the primary off and it seemed fine, not engaged to that big gear behind the clutch. I'm not sure how I would say for sure while it was running though. any ideas?

Also when you think about it, the gear has to have some power to get it to engage, the default is if there is no power for magnet to retract it I believe right?

[JetBlackII]

I checked the starter when I had the primary off and it seemed fine. I thought about that too. I'm not sure how I would say for sure though. any ideas?

Well, on start up many starter shafts push out to meet a chain to turn the crank til it fires over... the starter can obviously still work fine til that whine from spinning it's lil bearings ass off causes it to lock up. The starter clutch mechanism/plate is the typical issue when a starter doesn't disengage once the bike has fired and under it's own power... this isn't the first time I have heard this exact noise and that has always been the issue... see the case cover and the starter behind it? if you had a diagnostic stethoscope, you could move it to that starter bump out in the case... and hear that the location of this awful cacophony is right there.

Riding of course can bounce the mechanism back where it belongs, I am not familiar with this particular models design of the mechanism... but they all operate to achieve the same thing and make the same fucking horrid noise when that mechanism fails.

[seaking]

HD's starter engage design sucks, Victory had a video up bragging about their design and they're right, HD needs to step their game up. However if the starter gear remains engaged on the primary, it's likely that the solenoid has also locked and would drain the battery pretty quick and deaden a cell while it was at it. Usually when the bike is in motion the starter gear disengages and pulls off the clutch primary gear.

[goofyfoot2001]

The noise definitely doesn't affect the bike in any way that I can tell. The engine runs great, starts great, excellent acceleration, cruises great. Other that this fucking sound, it's great. Fuck.

[JetBlackII]

The noise definitely doesn't affect the bike in any way that I can tell. The engine runs great, starts great, excellent acceleration, cruises great. Other that this fucking sound, it's great. Fuck.

Well man you can let it go as is... but you better be near a hill or in shape enough to bump start that fucking beast (I suggest bump starting in 2nd) when the starter finally gives out from being ran at engine speeds instead of hanging in wait like it's supposed too. It might be something as simple as a flipped spring facing the wrong way... when the starter gives out? You'll not only have to open the shit again anyway... but the repair just got more expensive to then fix two problems.

[goofyfoot2001]

So I tightened the belt and that did change the sound slightly. But here's my beef with the starter sticking idea.

The starter gear engages and hits that gear behind the clutch basket which is attached to the primary chain that turns the engine right? That's how it starts the engine. So when the engine is off, that gear attached to the primary chain which is attached to the engine, doesn't turn. So when you're in neutral going down a hill with the engine off, that gear which would be turning the stuck starter gear, isn't turning, so the sound should go away when the engine is totally turned off going down a hill. Right? It sounds the same whether the bike is on or off at speeds above 10 mph.