eazyduzzit Posted September 2, 2008 #1 Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) I bought a V-star after 25 years of non-riding. I discovered I still love riding and surprisingly so does my wife of 2 years. I say surprisingly because she had never ridden before I bought this bike. We like it so much that I thought about buying a RSTD for more comfort on longer trips. In fact I had fallen in love with them until I found one that I thought was a good buy. It was an '05 with 4K on it. I had the money in my pocket and was ready to buy until I test drove it. It had a loud whine every time I gave it the slightest bit of throttle. I ran from it, but after reading up on it on the internet it seems to be common with this bike. My question is, if you have this whine do you get used to it, or does it finally drive you crazy? Jim Edited September 6, 2008 by eazyduzzit
heatonmt Posted September 3, 2008 #2 Posted September 3, 2008 Buy the venture if you turn the radio up the whine goes away. Hay I know where you can get a 07 for $11,000 8000 miles on it excellent shape
DkKnight Posted September 3, 2008 #3 Posted September 3, 2008 I have louder pipes and listen to music
mm482 Posted September 3, 2008 #4 Posted September 3, 2008 Some whine a lot more than others, keep looking and I am sure you can find one that the whine is only a whisper. Earl
BradT Posted September 3, 2008 #5 Posted September 3, 2008 Buy the venture if you turn the radio up the whine goes away. SAme thing here. Also change the rpm then it is not as bad. Seems to be the worst around the 3,000 RPM mark Brad
BuddyRich Posted September 3, 2008 #6 Posted September 3, 2008 There is an "I" clutch basket fix for them that usually solves the problem. Mine is an 05 and sounds like a turbine sometimes. I may have it done to mine later but you get use to it also. Its generally at a certain RPM.
Yammer Dan Posted September 3, 2008 #7 Posted September 3, 2008 I can't hear anyway. Don't bother me. Oh I got a 1st Gen. It don't whine it just BARKS!!
BulldogRSTD Posted September 3, 2008 #8 Posted September 3, 2008 I had the a v-star just like you. And like you my wife and I rode it everywhere. We too purchased a RSTD for comfort and better performance. I learned to love this bike and will tell you it is the best bike I have ever owned. I did get used to the noise. But the bike is the best.
GigaWhiskey Posted September 3, 2008 #9 Posted September 3, 2008 I can't hear anyway. Don't bother me. Oh I got a 1st Gen. It don't whine it just BARKS!! It whistles along too! I dig it!
Guest Ky Hammer Posted September 3, 2008 #10 Posted September 3, 2008 The whine on my 06 RSTD quits after I get to about 60-65mph.
bobbyduck Posted September 3, 2008 #11 Posted September 3, 2008 Mine started as an annoyance and by 4000 km was a screamer. I could hear the whine at 70 mph with windshield off and BUB slip-ons installed, over the wind and pipes. In fact I couldn't hear the pipes the whine was so loud. After 6 months of the worst factory response (outright lies, delaying tactics, trying to make me sound like the problem) I could have imagined, they finally put in an "I" basket under warranty and it fixed it by at least 85% - just a background noise for now. And yes its an awesome bike. Though I have "Venture Ultra-ized mine....."
Eugene Posted September 3, 2008 #12 Posted September 3, 2008 Ahhh - the dreaded whine - yes - it does drive you nuts -some are worsse than others. From what I've read, mine is a "medium" whine. I started wearing earplugs and that sure has helped a lot - not just the whine but wind noise etc. Cheers Eugene
FuzzyRSTD Posted September 3, 2008 #13 Posted September 3, 2008 Yamaha changed clutch basket in mine and it is now comfortable, not completely gone, but not annoying like it was before. Love the comfort and power of the ride. Most comfortable on the market.
eazyduzzit Posted September 3, 2008 Author #14 Posted September 3, 2008 I had the a v-star just like you. And like you my wife and I rode it everywhere. We too purchased a RSTD for comfort and better performance. I learned to love this bike and will tell you it is the best bike I have ever owned. I did get used to the noise. But the bike is the best. I have heard this over and over from owners. That's what made me think I wanted a Royal Star. I was really disappointed when I heard the whine. Other than that I thought it was a great bike.
Dave77459 Posted September 4, 2008 #15 Posted September 4, 2008 If my '06 RSTD has a whine, I don't recognize it. Maybe it is what I think of as front tire noise? *shrug* My bike is quiet enough that the wife and I talk regularly even when doing 50mph, and can still talk at 80mph if I turn my head. Perhaps you should try another example because we love ours.
emack Posted September 4, 2008 #16 Posted September 4, 2008 If you hate the whine, wait until you have to deal with Yamaha Customer Service about fixing it. I rode my RSTD 8 months and couldn't take the noise any longer. I traded it for a M109.. sweet 1800cc Vtwin sound... no whine.
Ky. Rider Posted September 4, 2008 #17 Posted September 4, 2008 I didn't realize at the time how much being in a combat artillery unit in Nam would help with the whine of my RSV. What whine?
thumper1 Posted September 4, 2008 #18 Posted September 4, 2008 my wife and i started back riding a few years back on an 84 venture. after a short time i realized it was just a trait of that bike and it didn't bother us at all. sold that with 98,000 miles and bought an rstd. the whine with this isn't anything compared to the venture so i am loving this bike. ride safe and be cool, thumper1
jneed53 Posted September 4, 2008 #19 Posted September 4, 2008 Yes, it is prevalent on the Venture, as it is the same as the RSTD. mine is really annoying until I get above 65 mph, then it pretty much is gone. I'm sure people in cages enjoy it as much as I when I ride near them. More of a chirp than a whine, tho.
Leland Posted September 4, 2008 #20 Posted September 4, 2008 Same engine and drivetrain. They just have a radio that they can turn up to mask the noise. But, as stated previously, they don't all do it. Mine is very quiet. This is why a test drive is very important. I think that you were wise to shy away from a screamer.
jneed53 Posted September 4, 2008 #21 Posted September 4, 2008 Frog, I bought mine with 28000 miles on it. Now it has 59000 and has not changed. I can live with it.
bikerjohn51 Posted September 5, 2008 #22 Posted September 5, 2008 was the wife on the back ??? just kidding:smile5:
Guest Ky Hammer Posted September 5, 2008 #23 Posted September 5, 2008 (edited) Quote: Thanks Jneed53 for info. Anybody found Whine from day one at 0000001 miles? Anyone? Yup, mine has whined from the time I drove it off of the lot!! Edited September 5, 2008 by Ky Hammer Quote
spyderhead Posted September 6, 2008 #24 Posted September 6, 2008 Mine has whined from day one - new. However, some Bub slip-ons and a little time seems to have made me not even notice it any more. I've had a lot of motorcycles over the past 40 years or so, and this one is the best (whine or not). Just my opinion . . . my experience.
bamico Posted September 6, 2008 #25 Posted September 6, 2008 Have the same issue with my 05 RSTD. Tends to be in a particular RPM. Shifting up or down will make it stop. Its annoying, buy is outweighed by the other benefits of the bike. As you've read form other responses its the Clutch Basket that is causing the problem. Last I talked with Yamaha, they'll replace it... but... dealer told me sometimes it works, sometimes it gets worse, sometimes it simply changes the RPM level at which you hear the sound. Oh... and they'll only do the replacement 1 time... so if it gets worse... you own it. Hope this helps. It is an amazing bike. Much like yourself, my wife has just started riding over the last year or so. We ride 2 up most of the time and it handles great.
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