Dear Members,

Have a noise coming from front wheel which I only hear when coming to a stop from 50km down. Its not the wheel bearings or brake pads, both are new and ok, I believe it may be coming from the Speedo Gear Assembly. When I head out for a ride, I hear nothing for the first couple of hours, and then begins towards the end of my rides. Its not a squeeling noise, more of a rubbing noise. I use a Trailtech Vapor for my speedo and so I have no cable running into the gear housing, there is also a heap of grease in there too. After I've taken my front wheel on and off I always make sure the speedo housing is seated correctly to align with the notch in the fork. Anyone else experienced this before? Can the gear speedo assembly gears wear?

 

That's a large font you have... As far as the sound is it constant until you come to a stop and consistent? does it happen when you're just decelerating with throttle off, or only when braking?

1. Have you checked for heat anywhere when you're hearing this rubbing noise? Something that starts a while after riding could well be something that starts to act up after it's warmed up, where there's abnormal heat the abnormal problem is likely to be too

2. As for speedos, anything that moves can and will eventually wear and fail, has any moisture or other contaminant's possibly gotten in with the grease, even with grease, water will rust things if it gets in, it really doesn't take much.

3. Are you sure it's only when you're stopping and not just that the bike is only quiet enough to hear it when you're stopping?

4. I wouldn't rule out wheel bearings even if there are new. Once in a while you get a bad one, or seals fail (or we mess them up during assembly) and when they do, water gets in, and rust begins, etc. Just saying

4. Are you assuming it's not brakes just because the pads are thick enough? Also did you inspect the entire pads for debris and look at how they are aligned when you're hearing the noise? Is there any rust on your rotors or anywhere else mentionable?

5. Have you free spun the tire by hand to feel it once it starts acting up and checked for play, wobble, etc?

 

hmmm...Ohhhkay?

 

Check the front brake line. It may be rubbing on the wheel if it's not able to rise and fall without obstruction. GPS mount on my bike had this effect for about 10 km until I worked it out. Still rubbed a small hole through the plastic brake line protector.

 

You could check that the brake caliper is not partially seized and therefore not releasing fully. Check for excessive heat and free rotation after your ride.

 

Just wondering if you ever got this sorted out or not? A run down of what it was might help someone down the line

 

With the Vapor kit you should have got a plug to seal off the speedo opening. That would be better than grease alone.

 

To my amazement I have discovered the noise wasnt coming from the front wheel at all, after riding without my helmet to locate the problem, with my head low to the engine the noise was coming from my Front Engine Sprocket........3 teeth were missing! Hope this helps someone else in future!! Thanks to all the posts offering assistance!

Regards
Pierre

 

Many have experienced this but nobody has yet found the root cause. My experiences with my 2012:

-Noise appears after every bike washing.
-If I remove the front wheel and apply silicone grease on the contact surfaces of the speedo housing the noise will go away.
- The last time I lubed the housing I paid particular attention to the procedure used when attaching the wheel and tightening the axle. The procedure in the owner's manual could result in excessive load being placed on the speedo housing when the axle nut is tightened. Google this and you will see many different techniques offered.
- The noise did not return after one washing.