i recently adjusted the belt tension on my 06 FXDWG and now i hear a sort of whining sound when i decelerate. Especially when i'm above 30MPH, i can hear it sound almost like its rubbing, but not even that loud, it just whines, sort of like a jet engine slowing down (on a much smaller scale, or course).

any ideas? i don't think the belt is too tight, might this be a sign that it is too loose?

i also check the tire and stuff around the drive train and couldn't see any visible wear on the parts.

any help would be appreciated! (i know, now i'm whining too!)

 

Sounds as if your belt is too loose and as the bike decelerates the chassis drops and the belt lift from the pulley and hit the bolt housing of the inner primary.

Look at the top of your belt to check for rub marks on the ribs. Those ribs can sound like a siren when they rub.

 

+1 what he said

 

bingo

although it might also be due to your bike being lowered if it is

mine was doing that. took me a while to figure it out. lifted the back end 1/2 turn of the shock eye and it was fixed

I'm fat, too. Me riding = lowering kit

when you adjust the belt, you definitely need to have you on it and someone do the adjusting or someone on it that weighs as much as you do.

 

They are right. It usually cause by the belt being to loose. If I remeber right my Ultra service manual says 3/8-5/8" which is pretty tight.

 

3/8-5/8 with 10lbs pressure, checked at the tightest point

manual is specific there. I'm not that precise about it, but I know my rubbing was due to being lowered

 

thanks guys, yeah the belt was loose, i tightened it up last night and its good to go now! pretty sure it was the ribs on the top of the belt, just BARELY scraping at times, so no real damage to the bike, thank god!

 

Glad you fixed your whine. However, I had the same noise and found that LESS tension cured the problem. So, I'm posting this for others with this problem who might be going too tight. Don't be afraid to experiment. I will add that I also see some drive pulley wear which may make my situation different than most.

1998 Fatboy, 36,000 mi.