00RT Noise & Vibration when leaning at low speeds

[spotmando]

I've been scratching my head about this for some time. Need to reach-out to the community for suggestions. I own a 2000 R100RT with 23K miles. Recently, I replaced tires, front & rear brake pads (Organic on the front, Ceramic on the rear), refreshed brake fluid, and replaced the rear drive fluid. Since then I've noticed a faint rear vibration +/or rubbing noise when leaning the bike to the left at low speeds (less than 25 MPH). You can really notice it if you pull-in the clutch when leaning or if you are in neutral while leaning. The affect goes away when the bike is upright or even leaning right. I do not notice it at speeds above 25MPH, but this is may be due to speed masking it? Both wheels rotate freely, with expected brake-pad resistance. Additionally, I did check for bearing play in both wheels, but neither moved a mm when pushed left to right. The transmission operates as expected and no shavings were observed in the final drive fluid. The only thought I have is that I did not lubricate the front-wheel spline when reinstalled? However the problem is observed at the rear of the bike. Another thought is that the mud flap is rubbing when leaning left, but upon observation this does not "appear" to be the case. Could it have anything to do with suspension adjustments? Thanks for any suggestions.

[philbytx]

Did you do the both the 3 and 9 and 12 and 6 o'clock wheel play/movement tests on the rear wheel??

[T__]

I've been scratching my head about this for some time. Need to reach-out to the community for suggestions. I own a 2000 R100RT with 23K miles. Recently, I replaced tires, front & rear brake pads (Organic on the front, Ceramic on the rear), refreshed brake fluid, and replaced the rear drive fluid. Since then I've noticed a faint rear vibration +/or rubbing noise when leaning the bike to the left at low speeds (less than 25 MPH). You can really notice it if you pull-in the clutch when leaning or if you are in neutral while leaning. The affect goes away when the bike is upright or even leaning right. I do not notice it at speeds above 25MPH, but this is may be due to speed masking it? Both wheels rotate freely, with expected brake-pad resistance. Additionally, I did check for bearing play in both wheels, but neither moved a mm when pushed left to right. The transmission operates as expected and no shavings were observed in the final drive fluid. The only thought I have is that I did not lubricate the front-wheel spline when reinstalled? However the problem is observed at the rear of the bike. Another thought is that the mud flap is rubbing when leaning left, but upon observation this does not "appear" to be the case. Could it have anything to do with suspension adjustments? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

 

 

spotmando, real difficult to give you anything firm from the limited info you have given us..

 

My guess is it is just some tire tread noise when laid over (some tires do that)..

 

First off,, make darn sure the new rear tire isn’t contacting the aluminum rear swing arm,, or muffler body,, or muffler attaching bolt..

 

If all OK there try letting some air out of the rear tire (maybe run 15-20 lbs) then riding it SLOWLY a short distance to see if the noise changes as you lay it over.. If so suspect tire tread noise on the new tire.. Don’t ride far or fast on a low tire though..

 

Have you verified that the rear brakes are assembled correctly & nothing rubbing there?

 

Twisty

 

[AndyS]

Thanks for any suggestions.

Have you remembered to fit the rear wheel shim?

Have you altered the ABS sensor and if so have you missed shims off this and is this rubbing.

Are there any tale-tale rumming marks around any parts of either of the tyres?

 

Andy

[spotmando]

Yikes - Those words are foreign to me, so I guess that I need to check at differing degrees around the tire?

 

Good input!

[spotmando]

This remedy seems to be the easiest to test, so I will give this a go! Although, I do not get the same sensation when I tilt to the right? I've checked for clearance and the tire does not impact the swing-arm or muffler.

 

Thanks!

[spotmando]

Hi AndyS -

 

Shim was re-installed and the ABS appears to work properly as I locked-up the brakes when attempting to remedy this problem. Brakes seem to work as intended, however I have never shimmed the ABS sensors on front or back. Simply re-installed the unit upon replacing tires or pads.

 

Thanks

[spotmando]

Hello Twisty1 -

 

This seems to have verified the tread wear issue. I lowered the pressure to 15 lbs and did not seem to notice the problem. So, this points to tread wear on one side of the tire rather than mechanical issues

 

However, why is the same event not happening with right-hand leans?

 

I had replaced Bridgestone Battlax with Mich. Pilot Sports 160/60/18 Z in the rear.

 

THanks

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

dunlops

[boatzo]

Hello Twisty1 -

 

This seems to have verified the tread wear issue. I lowered the pressure to 15 lbs and did not seem to notice the problem. So, this points to tread wear on one side of the tire rather than mechanical issues

 

However, why is the same event not happening with right-hand leans?

 

I had replaced Bridgestone Battlax with Mich. Pilot Sports 160/60/18 Z in the rear.

 

THanks

 

I have Pilot Roads front and back. They make a lot of noise when leaning in either direction. Had Battlax previously with no noise. I don't know why you are only getting the noise when leaning left if everything else mentioned above checks out???

[Linz]

I reckon it's probably the new tires. I had Bridgestones on before and no noise. The ME880's I have on now are noisy. I like them a lot but they make a definite noise.

 

The Pilot Powers I have on my Triumph squeal when cornering at speed. The front does anyway. The pressure is correct. A lot can be attributed to tires.

 

Linz

[WaywardSon]

I have a '96 R1100RT with Pilot Roads on the front and ME 880 on the rear. FWIW I have the same noise on mine when leaning. Nature of the beast I guess.