[bbach]

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I find the gear box whine on my Goldwing annoying. I have listened to other GL1800's and they seem to all have that whine. Too bad since the sound from the pipes is very pleasing.
So I'm cruising around the other night and heard this familiar whine coming up from behind me. My first thought, here comes a Honda. Sure enough, it was a nice new Honda crotch rocket.
What a nice bike this Goldwing is. I intend on riding it for at least three more years and then trading up to something, not sure what. That whine, however, might be enough to make me switch bikes a little sooner. Must be right in the annoying pitch range for my ears.

 

[SETHAN12]

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I used to drive truck so the whine is quite pleasing to me, but I also like the smell of oil, gas, and grease in my garage. So I'd probably be classified as kind of weird.

 

[fenry]

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bbach wrote:

I intend on riding it... and then trading up to something.

Not possible to trade up when you're already at the top....

Love the whine on my 1500; reminds me of an Allison T-56 turbine winding up...

 

[Mike Toon]

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Might try a squirt of Lucas to quiet the whine. Even straight cut gears can be helped a little.

 

[bbach]

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Lucas oil treatment? Seems like I've heard of that but never tried it.

 

[redeyes88]

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bbach wrote:

I find the gear box whine on my Goldwing annoying. I have listened to other GL1800's and they seem to all have that whine. Too bad since the sound from the pipes is very pleasing.
So I'm cruising around the other night and heard this familiar whine coming up from behind me. My first thought, here comes a Honda. Sure enough, it was a nice new Honda crotch rocket.
What a nice bike this Goldwing is. I intend on riding it for at least three more years and then trading up to something, not sure what. That whine, however, might be enough to make me switch bikes a little sooner. Must be right in the annoying pitch range for my ears.

Trading up to something????? What could be above an 1800 goldwing? ....:gunhead:

 

[bbach]

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fenry wrote:

Not possible to trade up when you're already at the top....

There are definitely some things about the Goldwing that would be hard to beat. They have some downsides as well. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Goldwing design over the next few years, if anything.

 

[wda-83wing]

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do i see a belt replaceing a chain ? ? ?

 

[da_bull]

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lol, I left for work this morning, poking down the street because a kid on a bike. I slowly passed him and I waved to him, he told me my bike sounds like a car.

 

[JIMBO83]

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wda-83wing wrote:

do i see a belt replaceing a chain ?

No question in my mind that the belt drive system is a step beyond the shaft drive system. There is no annoying whine, no maintainence, and no front end rising up on acceleration. Harley set the mark with belt drive and Honda should follow suit. I own a shaft drive and a belt drive. There is no comparison.

 

[AZgl1800]

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Oil War....

Try changing the oil over to Chevron's Delo 400 15w40 and see what effect that has on the tranny whine.

On my bike, it was very noticable in how much quieter it was with Delo in it.

 

[bbach]

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JIMBO83 wrote:

wda-83wing wrote:

do i see a belt replaceing a chain ?

No question in my mind that the belt drive system is a step beyond the shaft drive system. There is no annoying whine, no maintainence, and no front end rising up on acceleration. Harley set the mark with belt drive and Honda should follow suit. I own a shaft drive and a belt drive. There is no comparison.

I'm with you on that one. I'd like to see a change there.

 

[norton]

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In my mind, shaft drive is the only way to go! Getting rid of it for a belt (or chain) would be a huge step backwards!

Why do you guys think a belt is better?

 

[JIMBO83]

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norton wrote:

In my mind, shaft drive is the only way to go! Getting rid of it for a belt (or chain) would be a huge step backwards!

Why do you guys think a belt is better?

Have you ridden a bike with belt drive? If you have, you probably didn't notice because its so quiet and doesn't affect the overall rideabilty of the bike. It just makes the bike move forward as it should be. Shaft drive always makes you aware of its presence. It diminishes the riding experience, requires maintenance, and makes an annoying sound.

 

[norton]

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You a Harley salesman Jimbo83?

Please explain your comments:
"diminishes the riding experience"
"affect the overall rideability of the bike"

I've owned (and ridden) them all. I have been thinking about a hotrod sport tourer and the hayabusa would be a serious contender - except it has a chain.

My shaft doesn't make any annoying sounds or require any extreme amount of maintenance (totally less than keeping a chain adjusted), or is it a source for any concern when riding in the dirt. It's set it and forget it.

 

[Rudy]

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No whining on my 1500.

 

[cycledude]

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JIMBO83 i'm glad u love belt drive but i sure don't want a beltdrive on my wing
talk to someone that has had the unfortunate experience of breaking a belt (its it more common than u mite think) the $$$, time and trouble getting it fixed
my driveshaft went bad at 198,000 but it was still rideable, took the dealer less than 2 hours to replace it and warranty covered everything, never heard of anyone getting warranty from Harley on a belt

 

[JIMBO83]

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norton wrote:

You a Harley salesman Jimbo83?

Please explain your comments:
"diminishes the riding experience"
"affect the overall rideability of the bike"

I've owned (and ridden) them all. I have been thinking about a hotrod sport tourer and the hayabusa would be a serious contender - except it has a chain.

My shaft doesn't make any annoying sounds or require any extreme amount of maintenance (totally less than keeping a chain adjusted), or is it a source for any concern when riding in the dirt. It's set it and forget it.

No, not a Harley salesman. I just don't like shaft drive. I also have an old Goldwing and I am pretty sure the shaft drive system must have improved over the last 26 years. I am not knocking the Goldwing. I just think it may be even better with belt drive. When I ride my belt driven bike, I am not aware of its existence. When i ride shaft, I can feel the shaft drive doing its job. There is a distinct whine, there is a change in the posture of the bike during acceleration and deceleration. Belt drive eliminates moving parts which is almost always a forward step in engineering. From the feedback I get from fellow Harley riders and conversations with motorcycle mechanics, drive belt failure is very rare and is usually caused by a foreign object being lodged in the teeth if it happens at all.

 

[wda-83wing]

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OK__OK_OK- on the chain thing i said--a belt replaceing a chain ,,right ???? the chain i was referring to was the cam chain on the 1800 . thats all. must be the heat getting to you guys.

 

[SETHAN12]

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When you said going from a chain to a belt I totally understood your comment. That is why I sat back and enjoyed the other comments sooooo much. Gave me a good laugh!!!