Handle bar vibration

[palani]

I have 06 1200Rt with about 3500 miles. I noticed on my ride last night that there is more vibration felt on my right handle bar then my left. I don’t believe I have ever felt vibration like this before on the right side of the handle bar. How did I check for vibration?

I was riding on the freeway at about 70 mph in 6th gear, had the cruise control on and felt for the vibration by gently placing my right finger tips on the right handle bar while my left hand was holding securely to the left handle bar.

I did the same for the left side. Left finger tip gently placed on top of the left handle bar. By doing so I felt difference between the left and right side handle bar. The vibration on the right side is at a point of being uncomfortable.

Anyone experienced the same issue? Any insight as to what the problem is?

[RWinOH]

I have an 05 RT with a similar problem. Took it back to the dealer who checked it over and found nothing loose. The owner then talked to me about it and said that in about 7000 miles these bikes "settle in" and the vibration goes away. I installed neoprene covers on my grips and the vibration no longer causes problems. I am a bit disappointed that for such an acclaimed touring bike, the reputation of BMW and the cost of the bike, that this is a problem. When I decide to get another bike, it most likely will not be a BMW.

[Spence]

Same with my 06, right hand was numb moving up the forearm after a couple of hours. Grip was not the issue it was vibration. Mine did not have cruise control so installed a throttlemeister lock with extra heavy bar end weights with intentions of at least giving my hand a break once in a while. Guess what the bar weights were enough to take the vibration out where I now have no issues with vibration or numbing. Hardly ever use the lock. Now the question is did the bike smooth out versus miles which by coincidence which was about 7000 miles when I installed throttle lock and bar weights??

[Dave_in_TX]

Vibration was a big concern for me prior to buying my 07 RT. A day on a rental unit and an extended test ride convinced me the vibration was a common issue and both bikes had more vibration on the right side. I think the throttle mechanism allows more vibration than the more solidly mounted left grip. I was able to wrangle enough of a discount to take a chance on the RT. I installed Grip Puppies and heavier handlebar weights which reduced the vibration to a tolerable level. Now with 8500 miles on the bike, it isn't really an issue any more.

[blkvelvt]

I believe the vibration (which does exist more on the right grip) has to do with the boxer (longitudinal) set up of the drive train rather than a lateral set up of the crankshaft. I wonder if the Moto Guzzi vibrates? Anyone? I would like to know either way.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

A Guzzi will shake the hands of your watch and the fillings from your teeth. Actually, it ain't that bad. Mine is dead smooth at 5000 RPM, it loves that. Po-Po are less happy as that is about 90 mph on my '91 LeMans 1000. Guzzi has a bit more primary vibration along with the secondary from the offset crankpins. It seems to go in and out of resonance, which makes sense.

 

All that said, I have done 500 mile days on the old stove and with the exception of a little sore butt, had no issues with vibes. Same trick with all the bikes, keep your grip light and just ride.

[FrankBrown]

Take 'em off and let us know after another 7k miles. Thanx.

[Spence]

There we go we can employ a little sciencetology and get some definative answers.

[GregB]

When my 05 R1200RT was new I noticed far more vibration than I expected. It seemed to have as much or more than R1100RT and it was supposed to be smoother. I was actually to the point of rethinking my purchase and getting a GT. The only thing that really stopped me was all the complaints about other issues with the GT and a conversation with a person that had both and wasn't happy with the GT.

Getting rid of the BT020 tires got rid of my biggest complaint with the RT doing a wiggle on the freeway grooves. I then took it to a BMW track day with 5000 miles on it and after that it was dramatically smoother. I now have another 5000 miles and another track day and it is very smooth. It is now smooth enough that it is easy to forget to shift to 6th even if you are just cruising down the freeway at 70. Bear in mind that I was unhappy enough with the vibration at 5000 miles to consider selling it!

I think there IS something to just getting completely broken in. Why don't you take it out and run it hard and see if it doesn't run better.

[palani]

Thanks for all the info. Actually my bike was running smooth to the point that I did not feel the vibration as an issue. In fact it was much smoother at 3000 miles than it was at 600 miles. I just started noticing over the weekend that the vibration was rough, more sore on the right side of the handle bar. Someone had suggested that my throttle body could be out of sync. Is that possible?

[Don_Eilenberger]

Thanks for all the info. Actually my bike was running smooth to the point that I did not feel the vibration as an issue. In fact it was much smoother at 3000 miles than it was at 600 miles. I just started noticing over the weekend that the vibration was rough, more sore on the right side of the handle bar. Someone had suggested that my throttle body could be out of sync. Is that possible?

Throttle body sync is certainly a possibility. Easy to check if you have a TwinMax. So far - the R1200R hasn't drifted off at all, but I only have 3,400 miles on it so far (1.5 months of ownership.) Given the improvements I've seen in the rest of the bike's design over the older oilheads, I don't expect TB sync is going to be a real problem.

 

When you had the 600 mile service the valves should have been adjusted (ALWAYS do this before touching the TBs) and the throttle bodies sync'd. If it was rougher coming out of the service than it was going in - it wasn't done right (which isn't a big surprise considering what I've seen on some friends bikes shortly after being serviced by a dealer.)

[dzervit]

My RT is approaching the mysterious 5K smooth-out that people talk about. Handle vibration has gotten much better over time. I also found pressing the bike hard smooths it out for the rest of the ride. The RT doesn't like to put-put around town... slow cruising makes it worse.

 

I'm curious about these weights people speak of. Anyone have a link, more info?

[RedMac]

I just ordered a set from HVM

 

http://www.hvmparts.com/bmw.htm

 

The weigh almost a pound a piece (14.6 oz). I should have them in later this week. Sue over there assured me they would fit on the R1200RT and offered me free return shipping and a 100% refund if they did not fit.

 

I'll let you know the results when I get them in. The vibration bothers me and my bike is at 8K...

[Dick_at_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

I just ordered a set from HVM

 

http://www.hvmparts.com/bmw.htm

 

The weigh almost a pound a piece (14.6 oz). I should have them in later this week. Sue over there assured me they would fit on the R1200RT and offered me free return shipping and a 100% refund if they did not fit.

 

I'll let you know the results when I get them in. The vibration bothers me and my bike is at 8K...

 

I'll be very interested on how much reduction in vibration you feel. Look forward to your report.

[dzervit]

I just ordered a set from HVM

 

http://www.hvmparts.com/bmw.htm

 

The weigh almost a pound a piece (14.6 oz). I should have them in later this week. Sue over there assured me they would fit on the R1200RT and offered me free return shipping and a 100% refund if they did not fit.

 

I'll let you know the results when I get them in. The vibration bothers me and my bike is at 8K...

Great! Looking forward to your post-install thoughts on them!

[RFW]

If you have bariend weights, try loosening them slightly. Enough that there is a little flexibility and they can move on their internal rubber mounts a little when "wiggled". They function as antiresonators, not just as "dumb weights". If they are too tight, they cannot resonate out of phase with the bar vibration (in order to cancel the vibration).

[nbooth]

I've installed these on my 05 R12RT and I did notice a reduction in the vibration. It's not huge, but it's noticeable. I can't see how I could ride with them "slightly loose" as they would vibrate off the bike

[jwurbel]

I had, and still have to some degree, the vibration problem. I installed the bar ends from HVC and the barbacks from Suburban. Both helped. I also had the TB's resynched as they were off. All of this helped to some degree, including learning to hold the bars with fingers and no further back than the pads on the front of my hand. What seems to really help is running the Hell out of it. I read on another forum about redlining it once a week and that's what I started to do. Every 250 to 400 miles I nail it. And I'll tell you that since I started doing that I have noticed a definite improvement. One thing is certain. The more miles, the smoother the boxer gets. It's working for me, maybe for you?

[RFW]

I've installed these on my 05 R12RT and I did notice a reduction in the vibration. It's not huge, but it's noticeable. I can't see how I could ride with them "slightly loose" as they would vibrate off the bike

NOT THAT LOOSE!! Just not so tight there is no flexibility! I.E. not rock solid.

[Dave_in_TX]

If you have bariend weights, try loosening them slightly. Enough that there is a little flexibility and they can move on their internal rubber mounts a little when "wiggled". They function as antiresonators, not just as "dumb weights". If they are too tight, they cannot resonate out of phase with the bar vibration (in order to cancel the vibration).

 

What internal rubber mounts? My RT appears to have solid mounts.

[Dick_at_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

I just ordered a set from HVM

 

http://www.hvmparts.com/bmw.htm

 

The weigh almost a pound a piece (14.6 oz). I should have them in later this week. Sue over there assured me they would fit on the R1200RT and offered me free return shipping and a 100% refund if they did not fit.

 

I'll let you know the results when I get them in. The vibration bothers me and my bike is at 8K...

 

Just wanted to find out if your handlebar vibration was reduced?

[RedMac]

I just ordered a set from HVM

 

http://www.hvmparts.com/bmw.htm

 

The weigh almost a pound a piece (14.6 oz). I should have them in later this week. Sue over there assured me they would fit on the R1200RT and offered me free return shipping and a 100% refund if they did not fit.

 

I'll let you know the results when I get them in. The vibration bothers me and my bike is at 8K...

 

Just wanted to find out if your handlebar vibration was reduced?

 

Sorry! Thought I had posted a response. I'm obviously losing it.

 

They did help *slightly* It wasn't a night and day change kinda thing, but there was some improvement. I was actually really surprised at how heavy the STOCK weights are. The ones from HVM are quite a bit longer but not all that much heavier. They are nicely made and look great. Some people might think they look better with them, some people might prefer the stock look. (Your choice here, not everyone would agree). If I had to do it all over again, I'm not sure it was $61.50 worth of improvement.

 

I'm coming off a K bike (K1200RS) which is very smooth, so I'm not sure how much vibration I should expect. I picked up an 06 R1200RT so maybe the break in vibration issue was already done... With a big twin, maybe you can't get rid of all vibration nor should I expect to be able to?

[JMR]

I bought a '05 12RT with 8700 miles on it, rode it 530 miles home, noticed right away the exact same vibration issues, (70-80 mph, very noticable on the right side, thru the grip, buzzy right mirror, etc.)... it was very noticable. Was also very noticable that after 10,000 miles on the bike the vibration no longer there. It's not that I've gotten used to it either... the right mirror buzz bothered the daylights out of me. It's just not there anymore.

[Dick_at_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

Was also very noticable that after 10,000 miles on the bike the vibration no longer there. It's not that I've gotten used to it either... the right mirror buzz bothered the daylights out of me. It's just not there anymore.

 

That's interesting. I have over 24,000 miles on my bike and the right mirror buzzes a lot, especially when I'm accelerating. Almost useless a lot of the time. But left mirror is quite OK.

[RedMac]

Huh.. and here I thought the mirror was just loose. My left mirror is rock solid, right mirror vibrates considerably..

[motorbob]

Also had vibrations. Got that resolved. Bought an 07 GT. No vibrations but the fix was expensive.

Now my butt hurts ! More money required.

That 1200 RT was he greatest handling and comfortable of all. I couldn't stand that engine however.

RT witha 4 cyl. would be the greatest bike.

[RedMac]

I agree with you Bob. I absolutely LOVE the LOOK, the ergos and handling of the R1200RT. But I miss my K1200RS engine (I even had the older on, a 99)...

 

I looked at the new K12GT and just could warm up to the look of the bike at all. And yes.. to me looks DO matter!