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To preface this question, I have done a number of maintenance items on my stock 83 Venture over the last year, and just recently got it back on the road. Here is the list of what I have completed: [TABLE=width: 527] [TR] [TD=colspan: 2]Repairs/Maintenance beginning Summer 2016 thru July 2017[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1[/TD] [TD] re-solder computer module to main circuit board[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD] Replace rear wheel bearings[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3[/TD] [TD] Change final gear oil, clean and lub drive shaft[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]4[/TD] [TD] Replace spark plugs and wires[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]5[/TD] [TD] Replace all coolant hoses (7) - these were the original hoses[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]6[/TD] [TD] Rebuild water pump[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]7[/TD] [TD] Flush and refill antifreeze[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]8[/TD] [TD] Replace all brake lines and hydraulic clutch line with braided stainless steel lines[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]9[/TD] [TD] Clean calipers and replace all brake pads[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] To do all that, I had the entire faring off the bike, saddlebags and tailpiece – pretty much everything except the trunk (only the second time I have done that – the first when my brother-in-law repainted it). But anyway, I finally got it all back together in late July. The bike is largely a hobby for me, and I typically ride it to work during the good weather here in Ohio. So the first week or so went fine. Then I noticed a new sound one morning, and it has recurred on multiple occasions. It doesn’t kick in until I have been cruising about 60 or 70 mph and then suddenly I hear a significant whine coming from the front of the bike. It is a fairly high frequency but not ear piercing, and definitely loud enough you immediately hear it and know its not normal – like something is vibrating quite fast and sounds like metal. It remains at a constant pitch and intensity regardless of engine RPMs or whether I shift or disengage the transmission, or brake, or anything else I have tried to do to figure out what it is. The one consistent thing is that it doesn’t start until I have exceeded 60 MPH, and it magically quits when my speed drops to about 30 MPH. At first I suspected the cooling fan, but the noise seems to start before the point when the fan normally kicks in. The fan is working the same as it has in the past in that it starts when the needle is almost touching the red . Of course I can’t hear it when cruising, but it often comes on when sitting at a traffic light or when I pull it into the garage just before shutting it off – so it is running as it always has. I searched the forums for some clues, and did find a post about a spot weld on the fan cowling coming loose and allowing the fan blades to start rubbing. So this past weekend I pulled the radiator cover off (and the associated side panels) and took a look at the cowling – everything seemed tight and locked down, at least what I could reach with a long screwdriver to pry it a bit to see if anything seemed loose. The fan blades spun smoothly – just could not see anything that was out of place. So without putting the covers back on, I took it out for a run up the freeway about 10 miles, running around 70, with a short stretch at 80, and no noise. This was late Saturday morning with the ambient temperature in the low 80s, so it was plenty hot the whole trip. So I wondered if one of the covers was just not on properly and was vibrating at high speeds. So back home I let it sit and watched some football, then put the radiator cover and side panels back on, taking care that everything went where it belonged and fit snugly. I noticed that the turn signal module that is loosely zip tied to the frame under the faring was a little sloppy, so I tucked it back up out of the way a little further with some packing material, just in case it was doing some weird vibrating thing (though I could not imagine it making that much noise, even at 80). I then took it out again and repeated the trip – it was even warmer then, but still no mysterious noise (and I could hear the fan cycle on when I stopped at the end of the off-ramp waiting for the traffic light to change). So I got back home with no conclusive evidence that I had solved anything, but hoped I might have. So I rode it to work this morning – about 7am – reasonably cool out (mid-60’s), and I was no more than two miles on the outerbelt when the noise kicked in again (around 65 MPH). The temperature gauge was still below where the fan normally kicks in, so it really does not seem to be that, at least not when the fan is running. I encountered some traffic as I continued toward downtown, and as I slowed below 30, it quit. I did have it up to about 60 once more for a short time but the noise did not come back. On the ride home this afternoon, plenty hot, and had it moving a few times near 70 or maybe a little above – no noise. So I am out of ideas. Any thoughts or suggestions, or links to other possibly related posts would be greatly appreciated.
