Bearing noise up front.

[3RePete]

I have been annoyed by this bearing whine the entire 11 months I have had my 2010 ST1300, 38k miles. To the point that I replaced the front wheel bearings expecting things to quiet down. They did not.
BTW the OE bearings could be made to sing by side loading them in a turn. One side would make more sound than the other. This no longer happens with the replacement front bearings.
Now it's all the time when moving, but it seems to change with clutch engagement and release. Might be a little quieter with the clutch disengaged.
Would I be all right to pick up the rear wheel and run it in the air as an attempt to isolate the rear from the front? If no maybe I can have the local dyno shop run the rear wheel with a rider weighting the swingarm which will make it stay at it's riding attitude, where it belongs.
With the sound up front I am tempted to just get a clutch throwout bearing. And maybe just do the clutch any way since I would be in there.
I suppose I could redo the front bearing, but I'd much rather be certain. After all the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result!
What's the thinking, and do they all whine?

 

[Igofar]

Sounds like you may be looking in the wrong area....
I think I would deal with the low hanging fruit first, and adjust your counter balance adjusters (10 minute job)
I would then check/inspect your spark plugs to see if any of them are loose, as they can make some strange noises when they are.
I would also inspect both your front brake calipers, to see if perhaps the guide pins are dry, or jammed up, binding things into making noise.
I would also inspect the SMC to make sure your not hearing pads squealing on the rotors because your brake system is slowing dying.

 

[Larry Fine]

Could your tire treads be feathered? That can create noise.

 

[Sidekick]

I have been annoyed by this bearing whine the entire 11 months I have had my 2010 ST1300, 38k miles. To the point that I replaced the front wheel bearings expecting things to quiet down. They did not.
BTW the OE bearings could be made to sing by side loading them in a turn. One side would make more sound than the other. This no longer happens with the replacement front bearings.
Now it's all the time when moving, but it seems to change with clutch engagement and release. Might be a little quieter with the clutch disengaged.
Would I be all right to pick up the rear wheel and run it in the air as an attempt to isolate the rear from the front? If no maybe I can have the local dyno shop run the rear wheel with a rider weighting the swingarm which will make it stay at it's riding attitude, where it belongs.
With the sound up front I am tempted to just get a clutch throwout bearing. And maybe just do the clutch any way since I would be in there.
I suppose I could redo the front bearing, but I'd much rather be certain. After all the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result!
What's the thinking, and do they all whine?

Same bearing whine on my 05.
As you did, I have replaced the front wheel bearings and that didn't remove the singing, just tempered it a little. In my case, the whining is obviously coming from the center hub and
is more pronounced when leaning. Not to say that it is a standard noise, but your not alone and I would be curious to know if it is by design or not.

 

[jfheath]

No it is not by design.

It's an installation fault; worn or rusty parts; incorrectly fitted components.

We could do with more precise information from @3RePete . Where is the noise coming from would be a start - front, rear or cannot tell.

Pete - did you fit the bearings and reinstall the wheel, brake calipers and brake pads ?

 

[3RePete]

Yes, did them myself. And I DID use the wrong sides of the hub adapters for a hundred yards. So maybe I killed the new bearings. I don't get any sound change with direction as I did with the original ones I replaced. But it's possible I mangled the new bearings that way.
The noise is coming from the front.
The sound changes a bit with using and releasing the clutch. It's classic bearing whine. (I'm a semi retired auto service center manager now doing service advisor at a New England chain)
I hate to pull out the parts cannon so I'm wondering if any of you have some thought on how to pinpoint things. I have a bike lift, maybe I'll take off my brakes and have my brother spin my front wheel while I listen with a stethoscope.
But back to my original question. Would the rear wheel hanging be a wrong way to listen since at full droop the bike is out of it's normal attitude?
And if that's crazy it's OK for you to say so. You can't hurt my feelings, I don't have any. LOL

 

[jfheath]

Some brief rhetorical questions (ie no answer required, but think about the answer yourself) - and some sources of info.

Did you know that it matters which order the bearings are installed.
Did you know that the second bearing meets the spacer and never rests on the shoulder in the hub
Did you know that you can very easily drive the second bearing too far
Did you know it is possible to tighten the front axle and still leave the wheel able to move sideways.
Did you know that you can mess up your brakes if you don't know certain behaviours

You may need to read these.

Article [13] - ST1300 - Maintenance - Fitting Wheel Bearings - What the manuals don't tell. | ST1300 Articles

A PDF file to describe how to fit a pair of bearings into a wheel of the ST1300. It is straight forward, but if you don't know the correct procedure, there is a good chance of getting it wrong. This pdf explains what things could go wrong, and how to avoid them. A quick rundown and a few...

www.st-owners.com

Article [13] - ST1300 - Front wheel bearing replacement [VIDEO] | ST1300 Articles

Front Wheel Bearing Removal Note the 'official' Honda tools - but other methods work just as well. Small taps work best for me. Larger ones knock the tool straight out of the bearing. -------------------------------------------- Front Wheel Bearing Installation Note that for the second...

www.st-owners.com

Article [13] - ST1300 - Maintenance - Front & Rear Wheel Install and Front Axle Animation | ST1300 Articles

Animated sequence to show the correct procedure when installing the front wheel into the forks of a Honda ST1300. The right hand side of the bike is the side with the brake lever. Left is the clutch lever side. This is the convention used in the Honda manuals. The video and the photo below...

www.st-owners.com

Article [13] - ST1300 Maintenance - Brakes- Avoiding the Pitfalls | ST1300 Articles

A close hands-on look at the Honda ST1300 braking system. These are personal observations about the things that can go wrong, why they go wrong and what can be done to keep things working sweetly. Updated April 2020 and to address more recent observations, to include information about the SMC...

www.st-owners.com

 

[jfheath]

To answer the other question..

You can check out the rear brakes with the bike on the centre stand. The whole assembly - wheel and caliper moves with the swinging arm. In fact you need to do this to check the correct operation of the SMC and its locking of the rear wheel when applied and instantly freeing up on release.

You can also check the front brake / clearance by putting the bike on the centre stand and lifting the front wheel off the ground by supporting under the sump. Use a thick piece of wood or similar to spread the load to the edges of the sump.

 

[3RePete]

Thanks for your input. I'll review everything and let you know how it al turns out.

 

[dduelin]

I can think of nothing that would connect wheel bearing noise to engaging or disengaging the clutch.

Tires are the classic source of a “bearing” noise that changes pitch or volume when the bike leans.

This bike almost always has a little clutch basket rumble when idling and the clutch is disengaged.

You can run the engine in gear on the center stand. At idle in gear it might make startling clanking or clunking noises unless you drag a little rear brake to keep a steady load on the drive train.

 

[Larry Fine]

Tires are the classic source of a “bearing” noise that changes pitch or volume when the bike leans.

That's what I was talking about in post #3.

 

[3RePete]

Well I didn't say so before, but I had the same sound with my old Pirelli Angels and my new Michelin Road 6's. So It's less likely to be a tire sound. And tires will rise in pitch with speed unlike bearings which will normally maintain pitch while getting louder with speed. They usually sound a lot like old school airplane whine.
I'll stethoscope it tomorrow when I have my front wheel spinning brother available. I'll get the front into the air while holding the bike down at the rear.
Again, thanks to all.

 

[Larry Fine]

I'll get the front into the air while holding the bike down at the rear.

 

[3RePete]

Time to come clean. So today I replaced my front wheel bearings again, and went for a ride. The hive was as usual, correct, my front noise went away. Yay.
Still have some sound when the clutch is engaged, it's minor but its there. But the big whine has gone.
I went for a test ride and just kept going. I took a crisp 3 hour fall ride under cloudy skies with a little sun and one tiny bit of drizzle. Had on some new bke jeans. But I didn't go into the winter stuff. No heavy gloves or heated gear yet. Weather was super dry, air temperature was mid 50's Fahrenheit. When I got up past 50 MPH I hid behind the windscreen. It was a great ride.