I've noticed since I've owned the bike an occasional (forgive the onomatopoeia) RAH-RAH-RAH sound from the front end while moving, almost as if something is rubbing or vibrating.  At first I thought maybe the tire was rubbing the front fender, but when parked and choked (i.e. RPMs up there above idle), it sounds like a constant RAHHH.  It's not terribly obnoxious, and I don't think it happens 100% of the time, but then, it doesn't sound quite right.

Is this just the nature of the beast/normal, or should I look into something?

Are you hearing the brake rotor lightly rubbing the pads?  Does the noise stop if you apply the brakes?

-Jessie

If it is doing it at a stop at certain rpm only, I would say it is something loose...either a bracket or something like that...if you  have an "F" model, it could be a bracket that holds the faring on...if you don't, then it could be a headlight bracket...are your guages tight in their housing?

It could be many things...I would start by making sure all fasteners are tight...could even be a loose/broken/stripped exhaust bolt...

Good luck!!

Later.

You'd be surprised the kind of noises you'll hear from one stupid bolt being loose, or two pieces of plastic/metal being able to touch and vibrate. Does your wheel have balancing weights on it? maybe someone put dyna beads in the tires, but they put way too many or something like that, and you can actually hear them shaking around. Could even be one of of plastic plugs inside the headlight bucket hitting the metal. Sounds like you need to spend a saturday checking over everything.

Hmm...the only practical way for me to test it out/hear it out is to leave the choke on.  Is this okay to do?

I am sure it would be. The GS is usually doing around 5k rpm at highway speeds for long periods of time and the choke usually holds it at 3k. Just do not do it for to long (5 mins should be enough) as remember your bike needs air to be cooled. Also don't do it in a closed garage.

Oh and what a great way to annoy the neighbours  

Hmm.  Noise sounded like it may have been coming from the exhaust?  I dunno.  One of the fender plugs up front was missing, so replaced that with a bolt, nuts, and rubber washers temporarily.  I'll just have to feel it out and see.  PITA!

Make sure your header bolts are tightened properly. My bike was making a weird noise last spring, and eventually I noticed that that headers wasn't bolted to the cylinder anywhere near as tight as it should have been.

Best bet is to turn on the bike, put the choke on, and put your hand on everything 1 piece at a time. use a glove if you touch anything hot. If you touch whatever it is that's vibrating it should stop, and you'll know what the problem was.

Yeah.  The noise was coming from the fairings/cowling.  Looks like previous owner or the mechanic removed the two plastic plugs in the cowling and didn't replace them.

had similar noise coming from headlight area.
it drove me nuts to the point that I unconsciously started thinking about getting another bike without knowing the real reason...

I got rid of the noise, not the bike

Quote from: kml.krk on February 04, 2011, 11:51:18 AM
had similar noise coming from headlight area.
it drove me nuts to the point that I unconsciously started thinking about getting another bike without knowing the real reason...

I got rid of the noise, not the bike

What was the cause of the noise? I have a noise coming from mine too but I think mine might be the speedo cable.

Quote from: Twisted on February 04, 2011, 09:37:27 PM

Quote from: kml.krk on February 04, 2011, 11:51:18 AM
had similar noise coming from headlight area.
it drove me nuts to the point that I unconsciously started thinking about getting another bike without knowing the real reason...

I got rid of the noise, not the bike

What was the cause of the noise? I have a noise coming from mine too but I think mine might be the speedo cable.

Sure it's not the loose nut that holds the handlebar to the seat? 

Michael

LMAO- just could be.

haha good one

The REAL cause were 2 flat plastic pieces of fairing vibrating against each other. I fixed that with double sided tape - basically I glued them together.