Why does TBS help with engine vibs?

[RadioHowie]

Dude, I KNOW you're not happy with your new multi-thousand dollar vibrator, but providing a link would be a whole lot more effective than quoting an entire 8 year old post, especially considering there's a definitive post about 7 years newer by FredW, complete with photos, documenting the entire procedure RIGHT HERE.

 

[Auron]

Dude, I KNOW you're not happy with your new multi-thousand dollar vibrator, but providing a link would be a whole lot more effective than quoting an entire 8 year old post, especially considering there's a definitive post about 7 years newer by FredW, complete with photos, documenting the entire procedure RIGHT HERE.

Actually, I love my new $11,500 + tax and farkles new vibrator otherwise I'd be at the dealer right now trading it in. This is a big place with a sucky search engine IMO and the FJR has probably had more tinkering done to it over it's unusually long production cycle than most bikes ever made so excuse me for not seeing the extremely welcome and useful link you posted ahead of time.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Dude, I KNOW you're not happy with your new multi-thousand dollar vibrator, but providing a link would be a whole lot more effective than quoting an entire 8 year old post, especially considering there's a definitive post about 7 years newer by FredW, complete with photos, documenting the entire procedure RIGHT HERE.

Actually, I love my new $11,500 + tax and farkles new vibrator otherwise I'd be at the dealer right now trading it in. This is a big place with a sucky search engine IMO and the FJR has probably had more tinkering done to it over it's unusually long production cycle than most bikes ever made so excuse me for not seeing the extremely welcome and useful link you posted ahead of time.

Haha...I loved that sarcasm. Nice job.

However...don't forget to check the torque on the motor mounts. You may also want to make sure your sleek plugs are right. I know you spent money on that Vibranator, but you likely got hosed. Others have tried it ans I've never heard anything positive.

I got a Throttlemeister because I basically had to if I wanted a throttle lock. They are way heavier than the standard barends, and I don't notice any difference; although, I'm one of the ones the vibes don't bother.

FWIW, my brother rides a BMW GS-A and my buddy used to ride an RT. The vibes from those engines are more pronounced, but feel different. Maybe its the I4 frequency that's messing with you.

Good luck.

 

[azitlies]

Timely and interesting thread.

I bought my fjr used, about 3500 miles on the odo.

Didn't like the vibes at 4k.

Read here where someone said riding the bike in the 4k range often, a lot, over and over and over, might help.

where ever I went for the next 2k miles, kept it in a gear that had me at 4k rpm.

That, and a throttle body sync (at dealership) really did seem to help. I could actually be riding and many times not even realize I was at 4k rpm, the buzz had about disappeared.

But here's my theory: I think the "buzz" comes from engine harmonics / vibrations. And I think the "harmonic" vibrations can be lessened if you break the bike in differently, as opposed to babying the snot out of it.

I really believe that. It's the babying the snot out of it that's causing the engine to break-in in such a way that causes these odd harmonics.

I have a Kawa Versys now. I broke it in. I rode it like I stole it for the first 20 miles, then changed the oil ("moto man" break in). Now the rings are set, now all the other bearings etc are set. Now with 4500k on the odo, virtually no engine harmonics / vibrations at all. Okay, every once in a while a slight buzz at 5k rpm. Hey it's a 2 banger! but you can barely notice the buzz.

I know this isn't scientific evidence, obviously. But between the feej and now the versys, I really believe it's the babying crap we do that causes this... the parts just aren't getting worn in as they should, so now when you get to certain rpm's, it's telling you "we're not broken in as we should have been".

I'd suggest reading carefully what MotoMan has to say, and look carefully at this part: once you've gotten past a certain early mileage (something like 20 miles)... it's done, break in is over. If you've babied it, you have glazed over piston walls and un seated rings, and the one and only way you can reverse that is to tear down the engine and re do the rings and piston walls.

No science here, just my opinion. Keep in mind, those old "baby it" procedures were written decades ago, when bearing and ring etc tolerances were no where near what they are with modern technology. The newer tighter tolerances don't require the old break in "baby it" stuff, that's my experience anyway.

 

[bluesdog]

Timely and interesting thread.

I bought my fjr used, about 3500 miles on the odo.

Didn't like the vibes at 4k.

Read here where someone said riding the bike in the 4k range often, a lot, over and over and over, might help.

where ever I went for the next 2k miles, kept it in a gear that had me at 4k rpm.

That, and a throttle body sync (at dealership) really did seem to help. I could actually be riding and many times not even realize I was at 4k rpm, the buzz had about disappeared.

But here's my theory: I think the "buzz" comes from engine harmonics / vibrations. And I think the "harmonic" vibrations can be lessened if you break the bike in differently, as opposed to babying the snot out of it.

I really believe that. It's the babying the snot out of it that's causing the engine to break-in in such a way that causes these odd harmonics.

I have a Kawa Versys now. I broke it in. I rode it like I stole it for the first 20 miles, then changed the oil ("moto man" break in). Now the rings are set, now all the other bearings etc are set. Now with 4500k on the odo, virtually no engine harmonics / vibrations at all. Okay, every once in a while a slight buzz at 5k rpm. Hey it's a 2 banger! but you can barely notice the buzz.

I know this isn't scientific evidence, obviously. But between the feej and now the versys, I really believe it's the babying crap we do that causes this... the parts just aren't getting worn in as they should, so now when you get to certain rpm's, it's telling you "we're not broken in as we should have been".

I'd suggest reading carefully what MotoMan has to say, and look carefully at this part: once you've gotten past a certain early mileage (something like 20 miles)... it's done, break in is over. If you've babied it, you have glazed over piston walls and un seated rings, and the one and only way you can reverse that is to tear down the engine and re do the rings and piston walls.

No science here, just my opinion. Keep in mind, those old "baby it" procedures were written decades ago, when bearing and ring etc tolerances were no where near what they are with modern technology. The newer tighter tolerances don't require the old break in "baby it" stuff, that's my experience anyway.

There may be something in this theory.

I bought my feej new with 0k on the odo, and proceeded to break it in with a modified version of the motoman method. I varied the engine RPM frequently, and took it to redline at least once every ride for the owner's manual recommended break in period -- first 1600 Km, (1000 Mi). I warmed the engine up before riding off, (and still do!). I was too chicken to WOT in 1st, or 2nd. Hell, WOT in 3rd scared the crap out of me! However, I did work the engine thoroughly. I never, then and now, with over 30K on the bike, found the 4K RPM vibes noticeable, let alone annoying. The RH mirror 'blurs out' a little at that RPM, and I feel a slight buzz in the pegs and seat at @ 6000 - 7000, but overall this is the smoothest motorcycle I've ever ridden, at any engine speed. I regularly cruise @ 4K RPM, which in 5th translates to about 120 KPH. (At that speed the local LEOs tend to ignore me! )

I tend to shift @ 5 - 6000 RPM. I redline it occasionally. WOT in 3rd is, 'YEAH, BABY! I'm still afraid to WOT in 1st

One thing, I'm not sure I agree the one and only way to de-glaze/re-seat the rings requires an engine break down. I'd suggest copious use of seafoam, in the oil as well as the fuel, and re-do the break in procedure, might achieve similar results.

 

[Auron]

The vibranator comes withe money back guarantee I will use if it doesn't work as advertised.

Searching this site, there's no way I would have bothered but googling motorcycle forums and eespecially advrider.com there are many many happy riders out there so I figured it was wworth a shot. I am pretty desperate, after all.

 

[LAF]

As far as I am concerned, a TBS does NOT help with engine vibes felt through the bars.

Lovely... one person says it makes all the difference and another says it does nothing. Gotta love the internet

I have been riding a blackbird for the past 10 years. Possibly the smoothest I-4 ever made and even then I felt it was buzzy at times. I'm screwed. I'd say it's all in my head but after riding a silky smooth ST1300, I just don't see how anyone could ride a FJR (my FJR at least) at sustained speeds of 85+ without going nuts from the vibration.

I just road at steady 75-85 mph for hours and days on end. No such issues on my 2010 A.

I would look to finding the issue rather then chucking the bike.

I has to be suspension settings, or you are out of the range the bike is set up for, tuning issue, wires plugs, or maybe even just re torquing the engine in it's mount. Tires? I also thought there is a clutch assist bracket that may be an issue in the AE, but pulling it from a very feeble memory.

No the FJR is not as smooth as my 07 BMW K1200 LT was, but it lost 300 lbs or so, is not as top heavy.

Hope you get squared away as the FJR is not that bad and the vibes should be good, not annoying.

 

[Auron]

Thank you, it will take a lot for me to get rid of this thing. I'll be doing all the usual checks over the next week, I'm waiting for a better torque wrench to arrive.

By no means do I need it to be as smooth as my XX or anything like that, but it DOES have to be smooth enough to ride all day. I was pretty concerned, but considering the amount of fixes I can throw at it, I'm sure everything will be fine.

This is really kind of embarrasing, but I took the 410g HMV bar weights off my XX and mated them to my FJR, a shoddy job to say the least. They were snug but not made for the bike. Any chance they are causing a problem? I mean, I did have a vibration problem with stock weighs too, but I also didn't ride it at 75 for en extended period of time until I had the HMV's on there.

 

[Top_Speed1]

The only ST bike that's left is the ST1300 and that bike does very little for me. In fact I can't stand that thumpy gear whiny motor. Guess I'll do what I can with my FJR and learn to live with it. Hopefully it will get better with time and mods. If a year goes by, and I still can't stand it I'll have to get something else.

Oh you forgot the badass S/T in the industry right now... Go out and test drive a Beemer K1600GT. There is zero noticeable vibration from this 6 cylinder touring rocket. From a mechanical and harmonic balance standpoint the 6 is just "naturally" way better than a 4cyl in your area of concern. Fuel mileage is still around the same as your Feejer but you will be riding "smoooooooooth!" on a K1600GT. (GTL is more Luxury Touring than sport so you may want to look at both to see which one fits your riding needs. I personally like the sportier GT.

It's defiantly a big step up from either the Connie or FJR but be prepared to Bring More Wallet as they say

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

The only ST bike that's left is the ST1300 and that bike does very little for me. In fact I can't stand that thumpy gear whiny motor. Guess I'll do what I can with my FJR and learn to live with it. Hopefully it will get better with time and mods. If a year goes by, and I still can't stand it I'll have to get something else.

Oh you forgot the badass S/T in the industry right now... Go out and test drive a Beemer K1600GT. There is zero noticeable vibration from this 6 cylinder touring rocket. From a mechanical and harmonic balance standpoint the 6 is just "naturally" way better than a 4cyl in your area of concern. Fuel mileage is still around the same as your Feejer but you will be riding "smoooooooooth!" on a K1600GT. (GTL is more Luxury Touring than sport so you may want to look at both to see which one fits your riding needs. I personally like the sportier GT.

It's defiantly a big step up from either the Connie or FJR but be prepared to Bring More Wallet as they say

I see somebody can't get a K1600GT out of his mind. Man, when you get a hankerin' for something, it's hard to forget about it isn't it?

 

[Top_Speed1]

Yeah Jeff, got the K fever. Can't get this bike out of my mind, Sucks!

 

[Auron]

No thanks, I'll pass on a $30,000 bike when it's all said and done.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Yeah Jeff, got the K fever. Can't get this bike out of my mind, Sucks!

Actually KJ, it's pretty exciting for you. You have something to look forward to or just to dream about. Nothing wrong with that. Think about it over the Winter and make a move in the Spring if you can't resist the urge. Although....you may get a better deal at the end of the riding season. That kind of screws up my advise to you now doesn't it.

I'll be interested to see if you show up at Art's Daks Ride next year or maybe NERDS with your 1600. Right after you buy it, the FJR will be totally reworked with a new model and you'll have that nagging at you. My issue with the 1600 comes down to dollars. I think I'm a little too practical to purchase a BMW. Maybe I'm just cheap.

 

[Burnspot]

As others have already mentioned, give re-torquing the left and right engine mounts a shot (do left first, then right). These would be the mounts where sliders are normally mounted. These mounts have been a factor in past vibration threads, so it's worth a shot....not to mention super easy to check.

 

[Auron]

As others have already mentioned, give re-torquing the left and right engine mounts a shot (do left first, then right). These would be the mounts where sliders are normally mounted. These mounts have been a factor in past vibration threads, so it's worth a shot....not to mention super easy to check.

Are those two the only ones that would make a difference? Or are there other that make a difference, fwiw the pegs seat and tank seem to vibrate just as much.

 

[exskibum]

As others have already mentioned, give re-torquing the left and right engine mounts a shot (do left first, then right). These would be the mounts where sliders are normally mounted. These mounts have been a factor in past vibration threads, so it's worth a shot....not to mention super easy to check.

Are those two the only ones that would make a difference? Or are there other that make a difference, fwiw the pegs seat and tank seem to vibrate just as much.

Well, check all of them, but these two have been the ones notoriously cited as having been responsible for an increase in vibes.

 

[TwilightZone]

Rode my 2007 and then FarWestFast Eddies.

Eddies bike is far (and I mean far) smoother.

He said he added the PCIII with the smoothness map.

Might be a way to go. Probably going to get one for mine.

 

[RadioHowie]

As others have already mentioned, give re-torquing the left and right engine mounts a shot (do left first, then right). These would be the mounts where sliders are normally mounted. These mounts have been a factor in past vibration threads, so it's worth a shot....not to mention super easy to check.

Are those two the only ones that would make a difference? Or are there other that make a difference, fwiw the pegs seat and tank seem to vibrate just as much.

Well, check all of them, but these two (per side) have been the ones notoriously cited as having been responsible for an increase in vibes.

Clarification emboldening.

ps: there is a specific sequence for tightening the main motor mount bolts. The procedure is outlined HERE. The procedure begins after the 4th photo.

 

[Auron]

Would checking the torque of the 2 common (frame slider bolts )ones first cause any problems? Should I loosen and re-torque or just see if they are tight?

 

[bluesdog]

Would checking the torque of the 2 common (frame slider bolts )ones first cause any problems? Should I loosen and re-torque or just see if they are tight?

Loosen and re-torque in the proper sequence.