5th gear drone?
 

I have a 2011 1200 GS with 6000k's and have a resonating drone that only comes in 5th gear, 4 & 6th seem fine so it's not tyre, road related or engine from what I can gather. Am going to report to dealer but any clues would be helpful.

Thanks in advance :wink:

If it is the same thing, mine actually does it in 6th gear :rofl
No kidding. It started halfway through my trip to Canada. It is like a "waah waah waah" at 1 second intervals. However, I dropped a couple PSI and went for a "spirited' :evil ride several weeks ago. It has gone away best I can tell. My assumption is that it actually is the tires. Combined with the engine and drive noise, it just hit that resonant frequency.

The old Maxwell Smart "too much air in the tyre trick eh!" We'll I will certainly give that a try, many thanks.

In 5th gear at 3000 RPM, mine sounds like a twin engine prop at altitude. I don't think its a problem, just a frequency of the engine letting me know how much it is enjoying being on the road :D

Yep. Same thing here. I've got 30,000 Kms on the bike and it hums and drones in 5th like a champ. It did not do it when it was new. Don't bother asking your BMW dealer as they will give you the old "they all do that" spiel. I just go to 6th gear if it starts annoying me. It's a great drivetrain otherwise.

Change transmission oil.

when the Evil Twin talks about his bike making a 'waah, waah, waah ....' noise - I can relate.

Mine does too.

Nothing that has ever alarmed me .... and not all the time - but it's interesting to hear that others have the same thing going on.

I think I'll follow Def's advice - and run some fresh tranny oil into the old pig. See if that quietens her down any.

You hear a drone? My wife is always complaining about the Drone she has to listen to. :rofl

I'll reinforce what the others say: my '10 GS does it in 5th gear but not 6th. If I have noisy tires, it makes it even worse (resonates), but still does it with quiet tires too.

Constructive Interference
 

When sound waves collide they can create a third wave. It's also called a beat note.

Me too, me too.
 

Mine does it as well, 2011 GSA. It seemed to start when my Anakee 2 rear got about half worn. I have 18K miles on it and need to replace the rear tire soon. It changes with lean angle so I chalk it up to tire noise and the rest of the drive train resonating. There was no hint of it with the Tourance EXPs that were the original tires.

Thanks guys, your input makes me feel that it's kind of normal and yes I also throw it into 4th or 6th if it gets on my goat.
I also run Anakee 2's like Kevin G so let me know if anyone else runs these & has the same issue,is it related and do they contribute to the drone???? I will still report while still under warranty just so it's noted if it develops further.

P.s. it does sound like the wife on a Sunday morning.....mow the lawn....fix the tap.....buy new kitchen.....etc. goes away when I accelerate:rofl

Both of my GS's do it. 2006 GS and 2012 GSA. Both have Anakee II's. I thought the 06 GS was developing final drive issues or something until I rode the newer GSA on a trip and heard the same thing. I do think the Anakees have something to do with it.

Mine did it in 2nd gear at about 25mph when I had a Hidenau k76 tire on rear. Never experienced it otherwise. NOwhere near as annoying as the vibration this bike makes at MOST RPMs!

First BMW I bought was my 1100GS and immeditaley noticed the drone in 5th gear. Being the paranoid type I stripped the final drive enough to examine the bearing, found no issues and put it back together. It's now been droning for another 50k with no issues. Changed a drive shaft 5k ago but drone still there so it's not that. Just some type of harmonic vibration I guess.