Whining......

[Jim Chelly]

My 2001 has a high pitched whine from 30mph to 40mph. It starts at 30mph by the time it's 35mph it is at the apex then starts to quiet. It repeats this again at 70mph.

Any ideas. I've gone through all the forums and haven't seen anybody with this problem. Any suggestions would be great.

[Tom(North Alabama)]

Hi Jim,
There have been many discussions over the years about the whining....
I have owned 3 Voyager XII's the last one '02' had a terrible whine. If you haven't already
check the oil in the rear end... change to synthetic, the only way to fix some is replace the rear
drive, not really expensive, you can get them for under $100. on Ebay. Only a few of the last year XII's had the problem, so if you get an earlier one - 88 to late 90's, you should be ok.

[Jim Chelly]

That's not good! I better get the oil changed ASAP! Cross my fingers and hope for the best. I look into a new drive unit too for the shelf. Thanks.

[vxiirider]

When you change the rear oil be sure to leave the oil level 1/4" to 3/8" below the level of the threads in the plug hole. You could also refill with 180ml and forget about the measurement. Over filling will cause the rear end to leak.

[voyager55]

Because of the way the tranny gears are cut, these bikes are known for weird noises. I bet it's a normal sound and won't harm anything

[SlowRider]

My 02 Voyager XII exhibited a loud high pitched whine between 55 and 65 mph, peaking at 60 mph. Even with ear plugs, it was annoying enough for me to stay away from the 55-65 mph speed range. I recently had the following service performed:

1) Propeller shaft sliding joint (forward end) cleaned and repacked.
2) Propeller shaft-to-final drive splines cleaned and greased.
3) Vent hole drilled in final drive unit (see Voyager XII Tech Tips).
4) Final drive filled with 75W90 full synthetic oil.
5) Lash adjustment checked (mechanic said it checked out with no adjustment needed).

Result was a significant decrease in the volume of the whining noise. With ear plugs in place, I no longer notice any whining at any speed. Without ear plugs, I still hear a low volume whine at 60 mph. I cannot know if it was one action or a combination of actions which constituted the solution, but the end result was a very welcome improvement.

[Mr Jensee]

It is strange that I hear that people are using ear plugs when they ride a Voyager. I used ear plugs when I had previous bikes but the Voyager is so much quieter with the windshield and faring that I have found I don't need them. Yes the Voyager whines but realize that unlike naked bikes the noise isolation from wind allows you to hear portions of the bike you would miss on naked models. I hear tires at times, gear whine but even with the radio off which is half the time, I cannot say it is objectionable.

[landygrundy86]

It is strange that I hear that people are using ear plugs when they ride a Voyager. I used ear plugs when I had previous bikes but the Voyager is so much quieter with the windshield and faring that I have found I don't need them. Yes the Voyager whines but realize that unlike naked bikes the noise isolation from wind allows you to hear portions of the bike you would miss on naked models. I hear tires at times, gear whine but even with the radio off which is half the time, I cannot say it is objectionable.

I agree, I personally love the gear whine on these and that I hear almost zero exhaust noise, as opposed to my ZRX which is crazy loud in comparison.

[scottolds]

It is strange that I hear that people are using ear plugs when they ride a Voyager. I used ear plugs when I had previous bikes but the Voyager is so much quieter with the windshield and faring that I have found I don't need them. Yes the Voyager whines but realize that unlike naked bikes the noise isolation from wind allows you to hear portions of the bike you would miss on naked models. I hear tires at times, gear whine but even with the radio off which is half the time, I cannot say it is objectionable.

I think it depends a lot on which windshield you have and your height in relation to the windshield. For my FL to Vegas leg, I left my custom ear plugs at home. The level of quiet varied wildly depending on how much cross wind was occurring at any given time.

In Reno, I picked up some plugs called No Noise which have a hole in them and ceramic filter which allows you to hear everything without sounding muffled but cut enough decibels out of it not to damage your hearing.

Those are better than my custom ear plug. No pain even wearing all day and no ringing at the end of the day riding.

If I ran a taller windshield, it would probably made the wind noise even less but I would probably still use them. Oddly, it made it easier to hear my helmet speakers and I could keep the volume much lower than without the ear plugs in.