Do all bikes whine or am I just riding at too low a RPM?

Just got my first big bike, a CBF500 (OK small to middle weight bike).
When I'm pottering around at 2,700-3,300 rpm the engine doesn't half
whine. It only gets tolerable beyond 3,500 rpm. Plenty of YouTube
videos of CBF500/600s starting up and making the same whining noise,
which continues through the ride. Had a listen to some CBF600s (sounds
similar to the 500) SV650s and ER6. But I'd never noticed that constant
engine whine before. I don't remember the CG125 whining, just clunking,
clattering, tapping & puttering away reliably (push rods, I know).

The only time I didn't notice it in other videos is when the bike had a
modified can (which seems to mask the engine sound), or they were
accelerating well beyond 4,000rpm (which seemed to be the case in all
videos). Or in Honda's promotional videos, where all you hear is a deep
exhaust.

Hmmmm...

Tim B

 

Ahem *Holy* Push Rods.

 

What's up with Nissan Micra's? (err, no need to answer that one) I
used to have an old E reg one, bloody brilliant if you're either 92 or
too young to afford a real car. Cost £250, got 30,000 miles out of it
for only £70 maintenance. Fair enough anything over 50 and it felt like
you were sat on a washing machine on full spin. Anything over 70 and it
felt like you were in the washing machine. From a safety point of view
it was only considered a crumple zone between the the car in front and
the one behind. Fond memories, but never, never again.

Yeah I know what you mean. Anything from 5k up sounds nice but probably
not too fuel efficient for the morning commute.

Tim B

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Tim B

More fuel-efficient than making the engine operate much lower than the
rev range it was designed to operate in. You'll be in too high a gear
and will have a larger throttle opening to try to compensate.

 

Found a YouTube video of somebody riding slow on one (at points).
Listen to this:



Except all I hear is the bloody whine at 3,000 rpm, no exhaust or other
engine noise, just loud engine whine. Bloody annoying, better get used
to it I guess.

Tim B

 

So what do you potter at? I remember my instructor saying experienced
car drivers take a while to get use to riding a bike correctly. But at
3,000 rpm it's nice and smooth. Anything less and it starts to complain
a little.

Tim B

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Tim B

What is this "potter" of which you speak?

Listen to the engine. It'll tell you if it's not happy.

My one mild criticism of Mrs WUN's driving is that she's too fast in 30
limits (a quick glance at her soiled licence confirms this). The problem
is that she was taught to get into fourth ASAP. The result is that she's
doing high thirties, because that's what her engine wants to do. Leave
it in third, and she "naturally" sits at 30-ish.

Your engine is whining. Listen to it. Run a gear lower and maintain your
speed, or speed up.

 

Nothing, my 108,000 mile 1995 M regd one does exactly what it says on
the tin. Cheap reliable transport with a lid - can be screamed through
the gears up to a heady 90mph with a tailwind, and has a boot that will
accomodate two Suzuki TS50Xs in a state of partial dismantlement. When
the front seat is removed and a long piece of MDF board slid inside for
my airbed, it makes a comfortable Micrabago for weekends at the race
track.

Fucking brilliant car for 200 quid.

 

Change down then in town to keep the engine running just under the
power band and wind it up on the open road. One of the delights of
riding a bike is to hearing the engine howl a bit as you give it a
harder time.

 

Solution? Don't bloody ride slow. Rev the fucker.

 

You've obviously not driven a K11 Micra, then... they love having the tits
caned off them.

 

....should do more than that. The ones I've had did, anyway.

I used one of mine to transport a central heating system including immersion
tank around, no problem at all.

That's cheap for one of those.

 

FFS! 3,500 rpm is way too few revs to riding around at.

 

Mine is only a 1 litre. Tbh, I don't want or need to go any faster
anyway.

 

Nah, that's fair enough.

They drink fuel by economy car standards anyway, when you keep booting them.

 

It gives well over 40mpg when treated nicely, but steam down a motorway
at 75 - 80 and the fuel consumption plummets. Mine does need a new
throttle body, as the revs stay a little high for a second or so after
you've lifted off the pedal, then settle down to normal tickover. I'm
told this is a common fault and a 1.3 throttle body is exactly the same
if I can find one. It's done this since I got it in January, and all
I've had to do repairs wise is put a centre section in the exhaust -
cost 30 quid.

 

Doesn't sound completely fecked then - they start to kangaroo when they're
on their last legs, and then eventually won't want to run at all.

....yup, the main 'Achelles Heel' of the K11, so to speak.

They are.

However... all it is, is dry solder joints normally. Given you're quite
mechanically minded, you can probably fix it yourself, which is what one of
my mates did for the K11 we ended up using for a banger session (1) over my
other mates farm.

(1) Bought as salvage with a dent up one side, I quickly discovered that
spraying the side of a car finished in metallic paint is likely to end in
tears if you're using rattly cans... even ones mixed by the local paint shop
rather than the shite Halfords sell... so we got our monies worth out of it
over the farm instead, hence why I know they're actually quite tough. :-D

 

Dry solder joints where, in the throttle body itself or in the control
unit?

 

From memory, there is a black box on the side of the throttle body - get the
lid off of this, and it's pretty obvious where the problem lies on the
circuit board within.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/129510050_703c96c4bd.jpg?v=0

 

Excellent, thanks. I'll pull it apart tomorrow.