I've been hearing a Woosh Woosh sound when I'm riding...  It varies with my speed.

I'm thinking the rear wheel got misaligned the last time I adjusted my chain tension...  And the rear break is rubbing... Or something...

Anything else it might be?   

either the rear or the front wheel are out of alignment is my guess.

FRONT?!?     Crap, I hope not...  I wouldn't put it passed the vandals from my ghetto though...   

 

Well, I can't figure it out...  I realigned the rear wheel...  Still happening...  Brakes?  Bearing? Chain? Sprocket? Other crap?

Ah screw it...  I should just take it to someone that knows what they're doing.   

No! Don't bo that!
Can you isolate it? Like front or rear? Do the brakes drag? It prob a bearing or a hanging brake.

I'm gonna vote for


the....


"Other Crap" option.


and up my post count by 1

Is it only in a specific gear, do a search on the whoosh sound and sixth gear and see what you come up with.

Asking someone to diagnose a fault by saying it goes "Woosh woosh" is like asking someone if they can tell what you had for lunch after you have just farted.

Put the bike on the center stand, start her up, pop her in gear and rev it to highway speed.  If the noise is there then it's engine/drivetrain/wheel stuff.

~if the above is true, stop bike and carefully feel the rear rotor.  It should be cool.  If it's hot, it's a caliper rotor problem (be very careful as the rotor can be VERY hot).  Next carefully inspect every inch of the tire tread to make sure there are no obvious wear issues.  Next inspect chain tension and every link.  It's a periodic noise so you need to address "periodic" sources first...like the tire, chain, and rotor.

~if there is no noise while the bike runs suspended, stop the bike and put it back on the ground.  Stand the bike up with you on it and have a friend help you "bounce" the hell out of it.  The second most likely source of "periodic" noises is the rear suspension.  If you have a third set of eyes, it would be helpful to have them look under your fender and what not while you are excersizing the shock and swingarm to make sure the tire isn't invading any other parts' personal bubble.

~if excercising the rear suspension reveals nothing, attack the front.  Roll the bike slowly and lock the front.  Make sure you don't hear any noises while the forks compress.

~if not the forks, carefully inspect the front wheel and tire for any defects.

I'm going to lean most toward something suspension related, but you're not very clear about how often your "woosh woosh" sound is happening.  I'm assuming it's something you're only hearing occasionally.  If it's going "woosh woosh woosh woosh" from as soon as you start moving to when you stop, varying in frequency according to your speed, I'd tell you it was a problem with the tire and/or chain.

I will share an experience of mine:  Two or three years ago my friend brought me his Seca saying "it's making a funny noise".  I road it and found there to be an off/on light grinding or "chewing" sound.  It turned out that he had adjusted the chain with the bike on the side stand, saddlebags full of crap, and the shocks set on soft.  This made the chain extremely tight once the bags were emptied and when the shocks expanding over bumps, which ground it against the sprockets.

A lot of times if your chain is too loose, when the suspension compresses the chain will loosen even more which will allow it to slop arount the sprockets, guides, and covers.  This can make all kinds of creepy noises.

I guess I could have handed out a little more info huh?


So...  I went back and re-adjusted my rear wheel alignment and it still happens, but it seems like it's not as loud...  Now... What I didn't say in my first post:

- I can only really hear it when the engine is idling, 'cause it's not that loud.
- It doesn't happen when I'm not moving...
- I tried to reproduce the issue by putting it up on the centerstand, dropping it into first, spinning up the wheel, and pulling in the clutch...  But, I couldn't hear it.
- It doesn't seem to be riding funny (although, it's totally running like crap right now due to lack of scheduled maintenance)
- Applying the brakes don't change the sound, other than slowing it down as I slow down.
- The brakes don't pulse.
- The front and rear brakes are usually warm, not hot, after a ride.  (Although, come to think of it, a few weeks back the front was hot enough that I burned myself when I put my disc lock on.)



Things I think it could be:

- Rear or Front brake slightly warped and/or dragging:  I keep forgetting to check the front and I'm totally obsessing about the rear...  The rear brake has always dragged some and doesn't seem any different that usual.

- Chain warn/rusty/screwed up:  I seemed to forget to lube the chain for about 3 months...  So, I'm kinda thinking part of my problem is a screwed chain.  It has less than 7,000 miles on it and should be fine, but water + salt + dirt + bad owner == short chain life.

- Sprocket warn/rusty/screwed up:  Loose/bad chains can screw up your sprockets very quickly

- Front or rear wheel bearing:  The front wheel is cold (and no funny smells) after 30 minutes of freeway riding.  The rear is slightly warm, but that could be from the chain or exhaust...  Well, assuming that a bad bearing would heat up and cook the grease (like it did on my old Nissan)......

- Breaks warn and need to be changed:  I just thought of this one...  My fronts were changed about 4,000 miles ago, but the rotor wasn't...  Maybe the rotor is too thin... Or maybe the rears are bad now...   I'll have to check.


You know...  I'm really starting to think it's the brakes...  But, it's really odd that it didn't seem to make noise when it was on the centerstand...     Unless it IS the front brake...   



All that and I don't really have a way to check half of this crap and no way to fix most of it...     That's why I'm thinking that I should just take it in.

To check to see if it's the brakes, try prying the brake pads away from the disk as far as they go, there should be enough clearance so that the disk won't hit them even if they're warped, then only use the other brake while you ride it. obviously you can only check one wheel at a time. Just be carefull when you go to use the brake again, it may take a few pumps before it becomes fully effective again.

You got a floor jack?  Put the side stand down and put the jack as far forward under the engine as you can and lift the front wheel just enough that you can spin it.  Spin it very slowly, keeping your hand on the tire or wheel itself through out it's rotation.  Make sure that you do not here or feel any changes in the rotation.

If it were the brakes, though, the sound would alter noticeably with pressure applied.  My TL has a warped front rotor and it makes a slight rubbing sound when not engaged.  With pressure, though, it's silent.

I don't have a floor jack, but I can dump weights into my top case...

Now, I just need to make time to check it...  Hopefully before the problem kills me.   

if all it is is a slight audible noise, with no physical evidence through normal riding, it's most likely nothing to be overly concerned with.  If you got your front rotor hot enough to burn your skin on contact, it's probably a little warped.  Those little dinky cast rotors aren't up to high temps.

Yeah...  Front...   I need to remember to check it.

I was too busy being obsessed with the rear.     Although, my rear wheel was out of alignment.

when I got my bike it made a funky sound something like that, it was the chain, it was worn really bad and when i would dwon shift it would jerk it sucked but new chain and sprockets fixed it.

hope it helps

Quote from: sledge on February 12, 2007, 11:37:11 PM
Asking someone to diagnose a fault by saying it goes "Woosh woosh" is like asking someone if they can tell what you had for lunch after you have just farted.

not really... because farts are sound, PLUS smell. thats like an extra indicator..

I still haven't figured it out...  But, I'm leaning towards a bad chain...  I'm a bad owner and I let it rust a little...   

That's really the most likely culprit.  If you were local I'd tell you for sure...I'd kick you in the nuts, too, but at least you'd know why your bike was making a funny sound.

Thats an interesting comment Mak, first you said it was suspension related, then it was the brakes, now you are saying the chain is the most likely culprit. Not much else left is there? Do us all a favour and make your mind up eh?