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Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 2:16 pm
by Rowery
R1150R with 40k miles. Replaced brake pads about 300 miles ago. I love the bike and have been a lurker on this board for several years. I was riding yesterday and started noticing a whizzing noise from the front wheel. 100 miles later and it's a tad worse. You can barely hear it when driving without braking but when front braking it is very noticeable. As speed goes down it is quieter - proportional to speed. I thought it may be the speedo unit but it doesn't make noise when using only rear brake to slow down. I disconnected speedo cable and it is slightly louder. I'm not sure if it could be the front wheel bearing or something else. The front wheel spins freely when on center stand so the calipers are not stuck. It is not a noise like pads grinding. I can't spin the wheel fast enough when on center stand to simulate whizzing noise. Has anyone else experienced this or have a suggestion? I will likely start with speedo unit first since it is cheap part. Perhaps the new firmness in the ebc pads have hurt the wheel bearing somehow? Thanks.
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:17 pm
by swamper
Probably just the pad drag on the rotors.
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:22 pm
by AZBMWRIDER
I've never heard a noise like that .
My suggestion, you just did maintenance in the area in question, go back take everything apart to see if by chance there is an issue with the pads or the reassembly work .
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:35 pm
by peels
could be something just loose. sounds like you've checked the easy stuff. not sure Id ride it until figured out.
What could pads hurt....unless you have something misaligned in one of your calipers, or something falling off?
not the bearing I wouldnt think...
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:17 pm
by sstein
I think I have the same sound you are referring to. I changed front and rear pads about 3k miles ago. I ususally wear ear plugs, but without them I can hear a whir from the front end when I apply the brakes to slow down. My bike's an 02 (non abs). If applying the front brake I hear the sound but it stops immediately if I release the brake lever. I assumed it was normal pad-on-rotor noise.
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2015 10:48 am
by P_Jensen
It could be the pad material, the only difference between before and after is the brand/material of the pads. If you still have the old pads you could try putting them back in and see if the noise goes away. If the front bearing(s) are bad/shot it would be felt/heard when spinning the wheel, you could also remove the calipers from the disk to see if there is more play in the wheel when spinning it with the calipers & pads removed they may be helping to keep the wheel in alignment. Good Luck
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:43 pm
by Rowery
Just to report back on this - So a few hundred miles later and I'm convinced the extra noise is just the different style pads. The whining is still a little present but I've gotten used to it. These pads definitely are better than stock. Just give off more noise like P Jensen said
Thanks for the replies y'all.
Re: Front Wheel Noise
Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 12:35 am
by CycleRob
Rowery, You do not specify, but if the pads were "HH" pads, they contain semi-metallic pieces (copper) and they do make a subtle, new scuffing noise. They also work dramatically better while causing slightly higher rotor surface wear. I had the EBC-HH pads on my 2002 OilHead well before the stock pads wore out and that is what I experienced.