Clutch Whine, Hit or Miss?

[luvmy40]

I've put about 7K miles on my '06 since I got her. I have never heard the infamous clutch whine. I do hear a slight murmur at some RPMs that might be considered a whine, but it's just barely audible and certainly not annoying. My wife doesn't hear it either so I can say it's not just the same frequency as my tinnitus.

Is this  phenomenon a hit or miss thing? Some RSVs whine and some don't? Is it possible that having well over 100K miles on the odometer has just mellowed the whine?

Am I just lucky?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[RDawson]

I have some at low rpms, not much. I bought it used so I have no idea which basket is in it. I could see it bothering me if I had the low speed whine at highway speed. 

[Squidley]

It is a hit and miss thing. I have heard several that scream and is definitely annoying enough that I would get rid of the bike because of it. I've had 4 2nd gens and for the most part they've been consistent in the noise level. I did have 1 that was slightly louder, but not enough for me to change out the clutch basket.

[BlueSky]

1 hour ago, luvmy40 said:

I've put about 7K miles on my '06 since I got her. I have never heard the infamous clutch whine. I do hear a slight murmur at some RPMs that might be considered a whine, but it's just barely audible and certainly not annoying. My wife doesn't hear it either so I can say it's not just the same frequency as my tinnitus.

Is this  phenomenon a hit or miss thing? Some RSVs whine and some don't? Is it possible that having well over 100K miles on the odometer has just mellowed the whine?

Am I just lucky?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I think you are lucky.  From what I've read on this forum, most of them whine.  I know my 07 with 23k miles on it does and it is annoying.  I would replace the clutch basket in a skinny minute if I knew it would get rid of the whine.  I usually try to keep the engine rpm either lower or higher than where the whine is at its worst.  

[circa1968]

My 07 w/ ~27k miles has it, but its only occasionally loud enough for me to hear it or be slightly annoyed by it, so I haven't even paid attention to what speed/rpm that it occurs.  I wear a full-face helmet, which does mute it compared to the 1/2 helmet I started with, and I also have the music blasting almost all the time.

But, I also wonder how much it has to do with each of our individual frequency sensitivities.  I'm hypersensitive to very low frequency noise.  I can hear a very low hum from my neighbor's AC compressor when it runs @ night and it prevents me from sleeping.  My wife can't even hear it at all.  I just had someone recently tell me that she can sometimes here a hum from overhead electrical lines if the conditions are right. 

On the other hand, higher frequency noises while can be annoying, are more tolerable to me.

 

 

[BlueSky]

A little whine from a motorcycle gearbox is quite understandable.  But my 07 is irritating it's so loud.  The Gen 1s might have a little while but I don't think any of them whine like the Gen 2s. My Gen 1 transmission is very quiet in comparison.  

Edited August 7, 2021 by BlueSky

[LaclaMoe]

The Zen of motorcyling has no room for a loud primary whine if you have it. HD mufflers or earplugs aren’t a solution. 
 I’d be embarrassed to sell to the deaf. 
 3 baskets later. 
Help me find the fittings.