[Guest]

could this be the reason I ride the 02 LT have had no problem as of yet. As we all know if you ride on the Metzler ME880 tire after about 4,000 miles you get the tire humm when you lean one way or the other even on a slight curve. I have posted an article on sanding your tire to keep this noise from happening. now think about this I travel 2 up most of the time loaded heavy on a trip most of us do. so you get the tire noise which is a vibration set up by the tire what bearing takes all the suffering and pain from this??? ok so you go threw a few sets of tires and get 50,000 or more miles on your bike and keep using the ME880 to get the better mileage with the hard rubber and put up with the humming noise when you lean the bike so could this be our REAR drive failure problem in a nut shell ?
I don't know if you get this with the bridgestone or other brands of tires because they are softer rubber and don't last as long I do know when you put a new set of tires on for the first 3 or 4,000 the bike is quiet and smooth like it is supposed to be. so it would be interesting to see how many ridders who had rear drive problems were using the ME880 or had used them if they came with the bike.
John

 

[jkersh1]

...As we all know if you ride on the Metzler ME880 tire after about 4,000 miles you get the tire humm when you lean one way or the other even on a slight curve. ...

I've never noticed any rear tire hum in nearly 80k miles. I do wear earplugs and a full face helmet, and usually have the stereo on, and the wind screen at its lowest. I do hear the front whine but only close to the end of its useful life, like 18k.

 

[rglassma]

You get the hum on the bridgestones as well. The cupping hum is even worse !!! I don't get a hum from the rear tire. I get a hum from the metzler in the front.

 

[zippy_gg]

I used to get the whining sound with the rear Metz when they were partially used, but never the front.

Never had the noise with the BT020.
Maybe road condition is a big factor...

 

[CalLT]

I think its a function of the back shock. It is generally toast by 12k miles, and if you don't swap it out for Ohlins (or equivalent) the back end starts to take a serious beating.

 

[messenger13]

The fact is, the LT is not the only model plagued with these failures. My GT failed at just under 19K, with Michelins mounted and not one iota of vibration. It's not the tires. It's not the lube. It's not the mileage or maintenace schedule. Nor is the position of the moon or stars. It's simply the luck of the draw. Either you get a "good one" or you don't. After all...life is like a box of chocolates.