[DonaldLL]

So quiet but is that alternator noise I hear?

Sometimes I ride along at just the right rpm in just the right gear and I find myself in the Goldwing trance. It's like a smooth, quiet zone just moving along so silently it is almost like I am on a magic carpet.... Then I hear this constant high pitched whine/squeal. It's always there it's just that sometimes it seems louder depending on the moment but it is ever present.

Is that the alternator making that sound? More importantly, can it be silenced, diminished, or terminated??!!!

 

[tfdeputydawg]

In the order you asked:
1. Probably-would really have to hear yours to be sure.
2. No
Some do, few don't, some louder than others. My 06 "quiets" above 57mph indicated.
Bet Honda didn't "fix" on the 2012's either!

 

[Chopin]

Because you mentioned it, I'm going to be listening for it. Thanks.

 

[LarryinSeattle]

That might be the whine of the tires. Mine did it until I took off the E3 s and put on my car tire. Now, the only thing I hear is the wind. It is almost like riding an electric bike, although I have never ridden one.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Because you mentioned it, I'm going to be listening for it. Thanks.

The alternator noise is a contagious disease. The only way to avoid it is to never get your bike close to another Wing.
Wait-to late-they were already to close to each other at the assembly plant weren't they

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

Sometimes the noise is from the fuel injectors. They occasionaly make a whining sound. Hard to tell without actually hearing your bike..

 

[joe in calif]

How many miles are on your tires? Dunflops are known to make a whine noise and they louder in the corners.
If you can hear a whine noise at highway speeds, wearing a helmet I would say it's not normal. I could hear a whine through my headset speakers when my cruise control was set on my 08 but there is an easy fix for that. Some alternators will whine my 02 or 08 never did.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I would almost guarantee (98%) that its the alternator. My 07 does the same thing. If you raise the hood of your car, fire it up and listen, most likely you will hear the same whine coming from the alternator. My 2000-Cavalier and 96 Monte Carlo have that whine when the hood is up. The difference is that the alternator on a car is so far away from the drivers compartment that you normally don't hear it. On the bike, your sitting on top of the darn thing. And, no, I don't think you can silence it. I kind of find it soothing myself. The only fix I know if is the volume control lever. And you are right, there are resonant frequencies that it will reach that quieten it down. 95mph seems to do it.

 

[LarryinSeattle]

I would almost guarantee (98%) that its the alternator. My 07 does the same thing. If you raise the hood of your car, fire it up and listen, most likely you will hear the same whine coming from the alternator. My 2000-Cavalier and 96 Monte Carlo have that whine when the hood is up. The difference is that the alternator on a car is so far away from the drivers compartment that you normally don't hear it. On the bike, your sitting on top of the darn thing. And, no, I don't think you can silence it. I kind of find it soothing myself. The only fix I know if is the volume control lever. And you are right, there are resonant frequencies that it will reach that quieten it down. 95mph seems to do it.

95 gets rid of the wind noise too..... or maybe I just quit paying attention to it!

 

[budoka]

95 mph gets rid of a lot of things (Harleys come to mind), but it also attracts a lot of things too, like squids and fuzz

 

[57GWRider]

I bought my 2010 a couple of months back and heard the 'whine'. I brought it by the dealer and had to point out the sound as to them it was normal. There is also a thread over on the GL1800 forum where there is a how-to video on an oil change. He starts the bike at the end and there it was the infamous whine. I think any bike you get has its own peculiar sounds, my Nomad sounded like a tea kettle when parked in the sun on a hot day, (gas cap vent)

 

[willmax]

I'm voting for tinnitus.

 

[DonaldLL]

Chopin if you have trouble discerning it, it is not a screech but close and more like a whistle but on the squeaky side of a whistle.. kind of a whistling whiney squeek not as harsh as a screech

Been there since day one, not so loud as to hear it above all else and definitely in sync with engine RPM... blip throttle = blip whistle. It also does it when standing at a standstill. It is constant not intermittant. It's not tires... I asked the dealer and I am sure you can guess what he said....



"They all do that"

 

[DonaldLL]

willmax... you got me laughing on that one!!!!!