Potential whine from rear wheel

[Grumpy Goat]

That is interesting. I would not think that it is the tire since a whine suggests a higher pitch than even a noisy tire would make, and the Michelins should be very quiet given the mission profile. To me a whine would be maybe due to the final drive gears ...? Was the final drive oil changed recently and are you sure there is oil in there? Only way to know would be to drain it and then refill I suppose.

Also, did you put the bike on the centre stand, put it in gear, and drive the rear wheel and listen for the whine? If it is loud enough to hear past earplugs you should definitely be able to hear something even at low speeds and under light loads. Just be careful doing this operation.