I had the same faint humming noise, and thought it was my front wheel bearing also, exactly like you said. I jacked the bike up and took a good look. Front tire was cupped, and back tire was squared-off and bald. I put WAY too many miles on them, and should have changed the tires about 2500 miles sooner! Woops, my bad. Put new tires on, and the noise went away.

Cannon

 

The metalic clank you hear from front end is most likely the fork springs slapping against the inside of the fork tubes when you hit a bump.....Yep, mine does it too, and trust me there is NOTHING loose anywhere on the front end of my bike.

The hum you hear from the rear end is most likely the belt. It will always hum to a certain extent, but will be louder if too tight and/or misaligned.
The belt's cogs fit very tightly into the slots on the pulleys and will complain if not perfecly aligned and tensioned.....Jack up rear wheel and have someone spin it while you listen and you will hear it.

You will also experience a sorta "hum" noise from your stock Dunlop tires but only in slow sweeper curves where you lean over and the tires run more on their side walls....The noise is caused by the tread pattern on that portion of the tire....At higher speeds it makes that noise but the wind noise is louder so you don't hear it.

 

I thought about the tires and had 2 techs look them over and both said they are still OK which surprised me cause they have 12K+ on them. The front looks good but the back is so-so.

I looked at the belt the best I could and while I didn't lift it the belt didn't have any *****s, rubs or abrasions that I could see. I will check again.

The fork oil should still be good but someone mentioned the nacelle/light trim which I will have to take a closer look at. It wasn't loose to the touch but there could be something loose inside.

 

I wouldn't let Harley touch my bike. Find yourself a good harley mechanic, lots out there working at small bike shops. I do 90% of everything on my bike myself, but I know that when I'm over my head I can trust the work that is being done.

 

I have the same issue with my 09 Ultra. I'm not sure what it is. I have to take the bike in for the 1K mile service so hopefully they can find it then and fix it...

 

That is a good piece of info on the front end, my bike makes that noise and I couldn't figure it out, now I get it.

 

Yep,....It truely is a case were in fact "they all do it"(fork springs)....Same with the tire noise and a little belt noise.

The secret is to learn which noises are normal, then to listen and react properly when a noise is new or different.

I too heard all the same noises and only relaxed once I had completely investigated each.

 

That sux, I fought a cold start issue for 8 months, finally said F it and took the bike in this past April, along with dropping off the bike I had a one page letter wrote up with everything I had done to the bike and ALL the symptoms, they had no excuses not to know what the dealio was. I hope you ind and correct all the issues you are having.

 

Noises are tough to find...just like intermittent electrical issues. I had a whine from the rear on my 06 EG for over a year. Bearing?? Tire?? Motor?? Belt?? Just couldn't find it. Dealer couldn't find it.

The noise was described to this list. A rotating whine that got faster with the bike, was more apparent when coasting,louder in a wide left curve and steady at cruise.

Verdict......The belt. Solution.....A dab of synthetic grease on the belt edges. Result..............HASN"T WHINED SINCE!!!!!

No dealer!!!! All because this list usually has the answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I hear noises all the time, whine, of some sort...after 35k i ignore cuz the dealer told me there was nothing wrong 3 different times so i crank up the tunes on the radio and the throttle and ignore cuz i have a extended 2 year warranty and will ride the crap out of it for another 2 years....Trade it and start all ofer again....Noise shmoise....I don't care about no stinking noise unless it's something out of the norm and apparently what i have been hearing and seeing here ....it may be the norm... Hey Norm.