OK, I’m getting a eeek, eee, EEEk, eeek, eeek noise from what sounds like my rear end. (No comments from the monkey gallery). When I apply my rear break, it stops. When I make a right turn is gets louder. It doesn’t do it all the time. My mechanic said it was the belt. He soaped it up, adjusted my head light so it stopped rattling, put the bike up on the lift and spun the rear tire; no squeak. Drove it around the parking lot; no squeak. Lubed the cables. Replaced a reflector on the license plate bracket. Rode it around a little more; no squeak. I get the bike, run it up the road a half mile and then back; no squeaking. I just pleased as can be. Pay my man $49 for his efforts and head to the donut shop for a cup of Joe and a couple of Krispy Kreame plain cake donuts. Hey, a man needs to celebrate. Pulled into the parking lot….damn….eeek,eee, EEEk, eeek, eeek. I put it up on my lift and spin the tire; no squeak. I clean the white side walls, spin the tire, no squeak. Ride to work, pull into my reserved parking space…you guessed it, eeek, eee, Eek, eeek, eeek.

So, that’s my story. Any ideas what is going on? How to fix it?

Sounds like a very big mouse

Sorry I just couldn't control myself.

I'm not totally sure but it sounds like a brake pad or brake piston not retrackting letting the pad drag

Front brake pads.

Doc

I would adjust the rear shock just a little to move it from where it is at now, (Tools are in tool bag OM has more info) and Spray DRY lube the spring contact and pivit points. Say 15 minutes job. IF ya have a bike jack or stand. MC

Yo GRAYSNAKE,

I had a problem like that in the rear break before. Had the shop fix it and replace the rotor. What can I do to fix it? What causes them to stick? What preventive measures can I take? What is the meaning of life? Oops, forget that last question, I already know the answer: "to give life meaning."

JMayton wrote:
YWhat causes them to stick?

Brake dust, dirt, etc ... take if off and clean it with brake fluid. Pay particular attention to the pistons ... make sure there is no crude or nicks on them.

Doc

If it went away when mechanic soaped your belt I would start there. A loose belt will cause a chirp sound. Misalingment of timing belts will also cause noise and show signs of wear. Check the maintenance manual for belt tension specs and confirm on the bike.
In my youger days we used to soap belts on cars to stop squeeks because we were to broke to replace them. Fact was they were scrap and should have been replaced.

Thanks Doc and Helmut,

Next time I replace the tires ('bout once a year) I'm thinking of a new belt. I've got nearly 50k on this one. I do get a chirp from the belt, but the eeek, eek, noise is most likely the break pad rubbing. I'll pull the calipers from the rear end and clean them up a bit paying close attention to the pistons.

I'm heading to Sturgis on the 30th of July. I had an "eek" sound last night after super cleaning the bike, including cleaning the belt.

I just set the bike down off the stand. I loosened the belt a smig, it might have been a little tight. I'm going for a ride now and will let you know if that helped the get rid of the "eek".

I am interested in this soaping of the belt idea. I know they used to do that with the old "V" belts on car engines. I have even used an aerosol belt dressing that you can buy from auto supplier. I am not sure something like a belt dressing would work on a tooth belt.

What kind of soap would you use, a liguid dish soap of an old bar of soap?

Denchy.

Clean your Caliper area with brake cleaner and an old tooth brush. I remove the caliper from the fork leg to get it really clean. Get all that junk out of there , then see what happens. BB