Road noise

[Pal]

As you may know I've only had my Fazer a week or so.
On the test ride when I bought it, I noticed quite a lot of road noise being directed up at me, but couldn't find anything untoward so put it down to design of the fairing. The fairing has quite a lot of space around it and thought this was amplifying the normal tyre/road noise.
A former Fazer owning friend rode it last night and confirmed it was not 'oh they all do that' kind of noise. We couldn't find anything loose or worn, so are a bit stumped.
I understand the speedo drives can be a bit of a pig to seat correctly, so I will investigate this, and it has a fender extender fitted which we thought could contribute.
Noise is speed related not rev related, so it won't be engine/exhaust problems.
After reading the scare stories of the sprocket nut, could this be the culprit?

Has anyone had this issue before?

[andybesy]

Hi Pal,

Definitely have a quick check of the front sprocket, irrespective of this issue. Quick and easy and well worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.

Check front tyre pressures correct.

Check front brakes are not binding.

Check on different road surfaces as some surfaces can be very noisy.

Probably nothing to worry about, but yes, check front sprocket.

Andy

[darrsi]

Speedo drive is reasonably easy once you see what needs doing.
The lugs MUST be in the correct holes, if they aren't you will do the wheel nut up, then they will simply snap off and you obviously won't have a working speedo.
Always worth a good dollop of grease when refitting it as well.


A new chain can cause road noise as well, or even if the wheel has been slightly adjusted and offset, the chain cuts a new path on the chain guide causing a burring noise.
It's especially noticeable if you upgrade your chain to a heavier duty one.


Have a good look under the sprocket cover and make sure there is nothing untoward going on, and also to see what sprocket nut is on there (if there is one )
The new modified nut will look totally flush with no spare threads in view at all.

[jonesthesteam]

My old FZS had a similar problem, plus when you let your hands off the bars they would start to wobble side to side, after looking on here I changed the front tyre to a Bridgestone something or other and hey presto the noise significantly reduced and the bars stopped wobbling, may be worth checking if your bars wobble with your hands off as it is a known problem on Fazers and seems to indicate a worn front tyre


Jonesy

[tweetytek]

...
A new chain can cause road noise as well, or even if the wheel has been slightly adjusted and offset, the chain cuts a new path on the chain guide causing a burring noise.
It's especially noticeable if you upgrade your chain to a heavier duty one
...

Defo concur. I fitted a DID530VX heavy duty chain and sprocket kit. Sounds awful but is only temp. It will bed in. But I would say road noise is a  different experience than bike noise.

[Pal]

Well I have ruled a couple of things out, I took the sprocket cover off and the nut and sprocket are where they should be. I noticed the fairing inner panels weren't properly secured at the forward edge, I repositioned these, and have checked things over again and can't find anything wrong.
I have ordered some front wheel bearings and will check and possibly replace these at the weekend, while I check out the speedo drive.
The tyre is a nearly new Bridgestone 021, which is why I first thought of the speedo drive as the front wheel must have been recently refitted. The chain is a fairly worn original item (just over 20k on the bike now)and will be replaced in the not too distant future.
Anyway the noise is still there, and slowly getting right on my t**s

[darrsi]

Could it be a constant fast vibrating sound?
The indicators, the fairing plastic glass and even the glass in the wing mirrors have been known to cause an annoying buzz before.
Oh, and the headlight bulbs can vibrate in the housing too.

[tweetytek]

I was going to mention the headlight bulbs. Mine suffered the housing shroud issue. I think there is an article in the hotpoop or somewhere in the forum. Anyway.. Fixed it for me

[darrsi]

I was going to mention the headlight bulbs. Mine suffered the housing shroud issue. I think there is an article in the hotpoop or somewhere in the forum. Anyway.. Fixed it for me

I wrapped self amalgamating tape around mine to get rid of the headlight bulb buzz.
It's something that does need to be tackled if you ever get it because the buzzing is actually grinding away slowly at the headlight casing, that creates a dust but is also wearing it away.
The tape worked really well.

[tweetytek]

I've got that frekin headlight buzz so will try the tape around the bulb... Can't be any bloody worse than it is. Bloody annoying metallic buzz and ive  tried a few things which haven't worked. Cheers for the tip darrsi

[darrsi]

I've got that frekin headlight buzz so will try the tape around the bulb... Can't be any bloody worse than it is. Bloody annoying metallic buzz and ive  tried a few things which haven't worked. Cheers for the tip darrsi

http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,7306.msg70926.html#msg70926

[tweetytek]

I've got that frekin headlight buzz so will try the tape around the bulb... Can't be any bloody worse than it is. Bloody annoying metallic buzz and ive  tried a few things which haven't worked. Cheers for the tip darrsi

http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,7306.msg70926.html#msg70926

good one darrsi , I tried that with PTFE and insulating tape - no good - also tried a thin rubber ring washer around the bulb stem which didnt work either so I just lived with it. I will try with amalgamating stuff and report back. Could of course be mirror glass, screen, anything up front. who knows . bloody thing 

[Pal]

I'm hoping this is the cause, will replace the bearings as there is a bit of debris in there. £20 for a new one 

[Pal]

Well, as an update.

I replaced the speedo drive with the new plastic/ceramic hybrid jobbie, and replaced the front wheel bearings as well. Took it for a spin and the road noise was still there, now accompanied by a high pitch squealing. I replaced the bearings again in case I had a bad one, and greased the inside of the new speedo drive.
The road noise is still as it was, but the squeal has gone.

So no further forward. It is a bit distracting, but as I've replaced the bits that could cause a catastrophe, I guess I'll live with it for now.
Might try a spin without the fork guards in case they are making the noise, or try a different wheel/tyre combo.

[BBROWN1664]

Check/change the front tyre. makes a huge difference to the noise thrown up via the gaps in the fairing.

[griff86]

Check/change the front tyre. makes a huge difference to the noise thrown up via the gaps in the fairing.

Isn't the BT21 known to have road noise issues? I'm sure it's on here somewhere.