Howling sound when backing up =

[arachnophyle]

When I back my 2012 Spyder up slowly into my garage, I hear this loud howling sound. I took it to the dealer and the guy at the desk said, "You mean like this?" and came out with a perfect replica of the sound. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing. They all do it." "What causes it?" "It's the brake pads vibrating against the calipers. They all do it." Does YOURS do it? If so, it's a design flaw and the company should be jumping through hoops to make it right.

 

[currin20fan]

Brakes

Unfortunately, it is the nature of the beast. Several vendors have tried to fix the howling. I have not seen or heard one fixed..........yet.

 

[bruiser]

Yep, it's normal. If you had been to Spyderfest you would have heard "the call" all over the place. We have two Rts and both do it. As long as it goes away when you drive the Spyder for a few miles, nothing to be worried about. It's not a design flaw. Just a quirk of the Spyder. The pads set much closer to the rotor on the Spyder than they do on a car.

 

[MrBones]

Yes my 2010 also makes a sound backing up. Was told by members that it was common, not to worry about it.

 

[Chupaca]

Interesting..!!

we have an RS 2012 and it has never howled backing up. Just the clicking of the brake pads when you reverse rotation of the discs once rolling it goes away. Then clicks going forward but goes away..:dontknow:

 

[retirednick]

Howling

That sound is me being so happy at having reverse gear

 

[yogi]

It is a design flaw!!!

Ive been fighting this since 2008 and the response you get from the dealers sure is annoying. But that's the company line.

The facts are the pads do not release properly and continue to drag forever. Just compare the temps of the rear and front disks after a short ride and one gets the picture alls not right. That drag costs about a mile per gallon but really the worst is the embarresment when reversing out of anywhere. Throw the caliper away.

 

[YumaJim]

My 2011 RT has been groaning in reverse since the day I got it 2 years ago. Dealers just shake their head.
:banghead::banghead:

 

[arachnophyle]

OK, I guess they all DO make that sound. Even more evidence that it is a design flaw. I guess I'll just have to wait at each rest stop until all the Harley jockeys have left before I back out.

 

[Cal777]

OK, I guess they all DO make that sound. Even more evidence that it is a design flaw. I guess I'll just have to wait at each rest stop until all the Harley jockeys have left before I back out.

You should back up on a Harley trike. It is powered by a starter and is so slow you feel like every one is watching and wondering if anything is wrong. I brought a Harley trike in addition to the Spyder, but it isn't in the class with the Spyder in any way except the signal light switch. Rudy

 

[missouriboy]

..."It's the brake pads vibrating against the calipers. They all do it." Does YOURS do it? If so, it's a design flaw and the company should be jumping through hoops to make it right.

Yes, mine does it too, but not offensively loud. If it's a "design flaw," it's because motorcycles are only designed to run forward, not backward. But the Spyder, fortunately, will go backward. Great tradeoff, IMHO!

The braking system on your Spyder will also stop it in about one-half the distance a car requires. Hmmmmm, is that a "design flaw" too?

 

[BajaRon]

Not necessarily a 100% cure, but at the very least will make a noticeable improvement. It's cheap and easy to do.

 

[SPYD1]

so...replacing the stock pads with Ron's EBC doesn't correct the issue?

 

[BajaRon]

so...replacing the stock pads with Ron's EBC doesn't correct the issue?

Turns out the answer is, it depends. One thing is for sure, the EBC Semi-Sintered pads stop better and will last longer (all things being equal). But they have not been a universal cure for brake noise. They are good, but it turns out, not perfect.

As already stated, it is a design flaw in the braking system that we have so much noise to begin with. Redesigning the system just isn't a reasonable solution. But there are things that can be done to reduce the problem. I've found that the CRC Brake Quiet makes a big difference.

The problem is vibration. After all, sound is simply a vibration of the air around us. Applying CRC liberally to the back of the pad absorbs and dampens vibration. It's as simple as that.

 

[spydernatic]

Reverse howl

While at Spyderfest I backed up my friends RT and had the howl I was surprised to hear the sound on questioning my friend I was told that the dealer told her not to worry it goes away when the RT warms up, I am wondering if this may have something with the amount of miles on the these howling RT's. My RT is a 2012 and I have 5200 miles on it with no howl my friend's is a 2012 with 8500 miles so maybe this howl happens if these RT have more miles on them.

 

[Sny]

Sounds like ya'll need a louder exhaust :doorag:

Just kiddin'. I'm learning to love the quiet of a stock exhaust after ~30k miles of the Hindle.

Both my wife's and my GS make the groan when you back them up cold. Makes me think the parking brake is dragging, but it's nothing to worry about.

 

[bruiser]

While at Spyderfest I backed up my friends RT and had the howl I was surprised to hear the sound on questioning my friend I was told that the dealer told her not to worry it goes away when the RT warms up, I am wondering if this may have something with the amount of miles on the these howling RT's. My RT is a 2012 and I have 5200 miles on it with no howl my friend's is a 2012 with 8500 miles so maybe this howl happens if these RT have more miles on them.

I have less than 5000 on my 2012 RTS and it still makes the noise.

 

[BajaRon]

While at Spyderfest I backed up my friends RT and had the howl I was surprised to hear the sound on questioning my friend I was told that the dealer told her not to worry it goes away when the RT warms up, I am wondering if this may have something with the amount of miles on the these howling RT's. My RT is a 2012 and I have 5200 miles on it with no howl my friend's is a 2012 with 8500 miles so maybe this howl happens if these RT have more miles on them.

No, it doesn't have anything to do with miles. Actually it has more to do with 'The Dealer Book of Bull' (or how to get a customer with a problem to go away). It has has it's roots in the fact that 'Anything is possible if you have no idea what you're talking about'.

They just keep throwing made up answers at you until you give up. Not all dealers do this, just many.

 

[Warlock]

No, it doesn't have anything to do with miles. Actually it has more to do with 'The Dealer Book of Bull' (or how to get a customer with a problem to go away). It has has it's roots in the fact that 'Anything is possible if you have no idea what you're talking about'.

They just keep throwing made up answers at you until you give up. Not all dealers do this, just many.

I noticed a while back some members installing springs. Did this not work are just lost in all the post.
David

 

[BajaRon]

I noticed a while back some members installing springs. Did this not work are just lost in all the post.
David

Are you talking about springs to move the pads away from the rotor? I didn't see that post.