Whine when cold out, doesn't change with rpm

any suggestions?
I hear a whine coming from front left engine area when I go for rides in cold weather.
It is not present stopped at idle.
I don't hear it at speed due to wind noise, but hear it when slowing down / less wind noise.
A bump, rapid breaking, or quickly leaning left and right have occasionally gotten rid of it.
Always (so far) stops just before I come to a stop.
Still happens when coasting fast and clutch is in and engine is at idle.
Always stays at the same frequency. Regardless of speed and rpm, except at almost stopped.
Sounds sort of like a wind up toy.

 

Sounds like it could be front wheel bearings or speedometer drive, speedo cable also suspect. Which model XJ?
Put the bike on the center stand and lift the front wheel with a jack and give it a spin.

 

Speedo drive sounds right to me as well. Old grease doesn't lubricate very welll when it gets cold.

 

I get the same sound for a minute or two when it is cold , I think it is the speedo drive

 

Had the same on my MAxim-X a few years ago, it was the speedo.

 

I have the same sound I believe, probably the speedo it seems. What have ya'll done to fix it? I saw bigfitz's article on it, but has everyone found that disassembly is the only way?

 

regular lubracation of the cable could solve the problem, when you change your oil ,pull the cable slide it out clean and lube with cable lube, both the casing and cable.

ask your self how long have you had the bike and how many times have you serviced the cable.
all the cables should be part of the "oil change".
speedodmeter is a hard call as to when but a yearly regrease of it would extend the life of a 30 plus year old device.

 

I'm referring to the Speedo itself, my cable was cleaned lubed as part of my reassembly

 

heres the link to do the speedo/tach if it is failing you can try this or buy a new one to install

Speedo and Tach dissection with pics

and a retro fit link
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/seca-550-150mph-speedo-retrofit-details-w-pics.22823/

 

so when do you plan on relubing the cable?
as far as lubing the speedo/tach its your call, you can "if it aint broke dont fix it" or do a lube job on it as part of your reassembly and decide when to do it again yearly, every 5 years or 30 years

 

My speedo will scream/screach if I go above 50mph when the temperature is below 50...... If if it starts screaming, I have to get below 23 before it stops. As the temp drops even more, I have to get even slower til it stops. If the temp is in the low thirties, it takes til I'm down to almost 15mph before it stops. As long as I stay under 50mph on cold days, it doesn't do it. When it's mid-50's on up - it is fine.

 

I lubed my cables and then had the speedo and tach off, I put a few drops of oil into the drives of those gauges , I am sure it helped .

 

It's an 86 xj750x.
Zero symptoms when it's not happening and it only happens when the temp gets down to less than 4 C (39F).

 

Thanks everyone for all the replies.
I'm adding speedo/cable clean and lube to my list.

 

Mine is on a 1985 xj700 airhead. When it's cold and mine starts screaming, here's an observation:

When I slow down far enough for it to stop, the needle will wiggle a bit juuuust before the speed at which the noise stops. There is a slight bounce as the noise stops, too. Then it's fine until I speed up over 50. If I go any faster, it'll start doing it again...

When it starts, the needle gives a slight bounce just as the sound starts.

If input my gloved hand over the speedo like grabbing a softball, the sound gets quite muffled.

That shows me it's in the speedo unit itself.

But at least when the air temp is over 50f, it doesn't do it at all.

Dave

 

I never look at the speedo, but I will for diagnostic purposes
Next time it happens, I'll watch for bounce and grab it.

 

You make it sound like I haven't lubed it in years. The bike was reassembled about a month ago. My question specifically asked about the Speedo itself, and I even mentioned in this post that I wanted other lube ideas for the Speedo vs a complete disassembly of the unit. I was hoping someone with experience could chime in

 

Thanks for the reply! Did you take them apart, or just drip lube into them? Right now the whining is keeping me from riding the bike (plus I just did a 5 day dual sport ride which I was preparing for for the last month or so. Both riding and doing maintenance for trail worthiness).

I'm hoping to fix this asap, and I'll pull them apart if I have to, but would prefer an easier quicker fix, since I have a grip heater/led conversion to spend garage time on too.

 

I just dropped a few drops of oil into the drives, the gushes were off and upside down and I left them like that overnight, like I said I'm sure it did help.
Alan