"The Whine" - What's Yamaha's response?

[CaptainJoe]

I can live with my wine:whistling:

 

Seriously... it only occurs between 55 and 60 and I rarely travel at those speeds.

 

like Buddyrich stated... it's the rear shock that BLOWS!

[Drkngas]

I live with the whine. This bike is such a pleasure to drive on long drives that it out-weighs any whining. I notice it the most when I'm driving 30-40 in 2nd gear. My Khromewerks pipes drown it out at highway speeds.

[farm1810]

Is the 5 year warranty valided for second owners or just the original owner?

[gibvel]

You should be able to transfer the warranty at a Yamaha dealer. It's good for 5 years regardless who owns the bike.

[M61A1MECH]

Warrenty follows the bike not the owner, but you should get the bike to a dealer to have them transfer the warrenty over, sometimes they balk if you are the second owner and have not transferred the warrenty and any length of time has passed since you purchased it. With a good dealer it should not be an issue.

[Sylvester]

I guess I am of the minority since I have had my 02 RSMV for ten + years and many miles but have never heard the whine. I did have a clicking in the differential and it was replaced in the first 1000 miles. I ride with seven other Royal Star guys at different times and none of them have the whine or chirp. Is the whine in more than 50% of the machines, or is the whine from the owners of bikes with the problem louder than the praise from owners without the problem.

 

I am not trying to start a verbal argument. I just feel that there may be more satisfied owners of the beasts than those with a problem. I grant all who have the problem the right to complain. I also feel Yamaha has/had obligations to their purchasers.

 

I for one have had a love affair with my bike. Never a problem on the road. I am confident that this bike will carry me through to the end. I have 150+k miles and I still have the same monoshock. Next summer I am planning a ride to Alaska and then down the west coast and back home. I do not anticipate or worry about any problems.

 

One happy Venture owner!

 

[Galapagos]

I accept it as part of the machine. I have owned Yamahas, Hondas, Husqvarnas, Pentons and Harleys. They all have issues.

I love my RSTD 06. I can take the whine because this is such a nice bike to ride. Next one will be a Venture.

[TDunc]

I had it on the Tour Deluxe and had it replaced under warranty about two months ago. What a difference. The whine is not in the power band anymore, it is only heard on deceleration.

Now, on the RSV I just got.. It is right in the power band too.. I will let you ride it Sylvester if you would like before I have it changed. It is loud enough that I can hear it through the intercom.

[Sylvester]

I may take you up on that, Tom. I would like to know what it sounds like. Let me know and we can hook up.

 

[Globewalker]

And note..

The level of annoyance of the Yamaha whine is directly proportional to the quality of your hearing in that frequency range

 

I have a certain level of it but not sure just how bad it really is due to the unofficial law of physics stated above.

[MikeWa]

Whine, chirp. I can live with those. It's the scream and howl that get to me.

Mike

[speakerfritz]

any updates on this or is the new poll now have you sold your bike becuase of the whine, kept it, whine went away, whine got worse?

 

just got a venture and after reading thru this need to check my drive shaft lube...folks are indicating they checked theirs and found no grease.

[Sylvester]

I have never had a whine and don't have a problem. Mine is an 02 RSMV and I have 180,000 miles on it.

 

[IronMike]

08. 18k miles no Whine, no Beer no nothing.

History of rear end noise, no lube either.

 

Knowledgeable dealer told me Ventures known for lack of lube from factory. Told me to get busy and lube the swing arm points. I hope I make it to winter.

[uncledj]

06 Royal Star......38,000 miles,....no whine here...

[Stache]

09 RSTD - no whine

12 RSV - no whine

 

only whining I've herd is my son whining bc I won't give him the TD.

[DarkHorse9825]

Just resurrecting this threat. Sorry

 

I have a 2013 RSV. I did not have a whine for the a hear and a half, then this year the whine is very noticeable and loud. I have 8,000km on the bike. Just wondering if the bike has just broken in now and the whine is the result?

[XV1100SE]

Ian (DarkHorse)...what oil are you using? I started using the Mobil 1 oil initially but then oil changes started costing $70+. I've been using the Rotella T6 for the past couple years on my '09 and I don't have the whine. Try the T6 for the next couple oil changes and see if that helps or eliminates the whine.

 

By any chance....are you still running the original tires? There were posts that a misalignment of the drive shaft/gears might cause the noise. Some people have added shims. Could be a slight misalignment if you had work done on your rear end.

[MILES MACK]

Vehicles do the same thing when the rear end is "not right"... they WHINE. ESPECIALLY noticeable in a van or SUV with little soundproofing. it sounds like running MUD TIRES in the back and REALLY fills the cavern of a van or SUV with poor sound deadening and or little or no carpet (don't ask how I know). Poor folks, just change the gear oil to a thicker oil 90w-140 and STP oil treatment and run it... that will work to a point in a 4 wheeled vehicle...if the rear end locks up cuz the ring and pinion are in a bad way... well that is pretty bad, but not CATASTROPHIC... as it would be on a bike. rear end oil should be changed every 2 years or ...10,000 miles on ANY VEHICLE as... oil is cheap, new differentials are NOT CHEAP. the first thing I do when I get a "new" (to me) used vehicle is change ALL THE FLUIDS!!!! including the differentials, transfer case, transmission, power steering, brake fluid (if I can get the bleeders out if someone was smart enough to put grease/Teflon tape on the threads when they put them in last time). Semi synthetic gear oil at WM, if they have it, it goes pretty fast, is $5.50/qt (or so). takes... 45 mins to change it, get tarp to lay on, little thing to catch the 4.4 (or so) oz of old gear oil in a cup that fits in there. make SURE U CAN GET TO THE FILL PLUG AND GET IT OUT BEFORE U START AS NO GOOD IN DRAINING OUT THE OLD IF U CANNOT GET THE NEW IN.. .might have to jack the bike up a little bit to get to the fill plug. I OVERFILL mine just a little bit... just because... it overflows out the vent when it is cold (below 60) but that is ok. I KNOW IT IS FULL!!! Royal Purple 85-90 gear oil $10/qt???? just don't know if I can do that on an OLD BIKE?

[djh3]

When my dunlap E-3 got worn down it made the bike howl. The way the tread wears it "feathers" and for whatever reason it creates that noise. Even my Michelin Commander 2 when it got to the end of its life got noisy. So check the tire depth and make sure you have enough air in it. I run mine in the 40 psi range.