I haven't taken the front of my GS apart to look for it yet but I have a dash, windshield, or beak rattle at low RPM's. It's been down a few time and I'm on my second windshield so something defiantly could be tweaked. Where would you look first?
Don't know the first thing about GS's but find your self a big rubber mallet and start (carefully) thumping your front tire and the ends of your bars. Could be something pushed into another thing making the rattle. Keep tapping/thumping things 'til you find and eliminate the source. Good luck.
Bob, There is a pretty good chance your speedo cluster is loose. You might have lost one of the jesus clips, or a rubber isolator is worn out. Also, check your windshield lower mounts. One of them could have sheared, but you can't tell by looking. Jim PS Rattles are hard to diagnose on the internet.
The internal springs have a rattle in them. Most refer to it as a "clack". Bestrest products sell a $7.00 set of rubber stoppers clack "clack stoppers". This might be what you hear. You will only hear it in rougher terrain. I fkn hate the sound. Bought the Bestrest stuff a while ago just no time to install.
Your being nice, rattles are impossible to diagnose over the internet. I will look into the mounts and clips, I'm only sure that the lower windshield mounts are tight. I can't find those "clack stoppers" on the Bestrest site? And yes I hate the sound also! It only occurs at the lower lugging rpm. My first thought was the adventure windshield winglets were hitting the windshield but that's not it. It sure sounds like something inside or under the dash. It's not a heavy suspension type clunk just a fiberglass kind of rattle.
OK So I banged on it, shook it wiggled it and I can't get it to make any noise except when I lug the engine in first or second gear.
Looked at the spacing on the beak? You said it had been down and maybe tweaked. I had taken the beak off to install a oil cooler guard and apparently didn't get it quite right when I re installed it., Close, but not quite right even though everything looked OK and I got the same sort of sound. This was especially true when it was cold and I first started out for the day. Pulled the beak back off and put it back on and the sound was gone. Mine is a 2011 so not sure if my experience applies here so take it with a grain of salt. And maybe some Tequila...
I fixed it in a ghetto way. I placed two hard rubber wedges between the dash/windshield mounting tube and the beak plastics to the outside. Now its quiet as a pin drop.
