bad Bad BAD Bad Vibratioooons (think Beach Boys)

[Pat_Da_Geeeze_Donahue]

In getting to know my new GSA12 I took it out last night for about 130 miles of street riding. A large portion of it was highway miles. When I stopped halfway through for some ice cream my hands were numb from the vibrations through the bars.

 

Do the standard GSes do this too or is this a new "feature" for the Adventure? If they all do that what kinds of things have been done to reduce this?

 

It was bad enough that I couldn't get cruise control for this thing. It's worse that I can't let go of the right grip short of getting a throttle lock. Oh and I tried out just holding the throttle trapped at one spot and my speed went from 55 up a hill to 80 down the other side. Not gonna work anywhere but superslab.

 

Thanks for suggestions and experience.

Pat

[Ken H.]

Have you had the 600 done on it yet? If so, take it back! The GSA shouldn't be any different in this respect than any of the new hexheads.

[MattS]

A couple of things to consider. (1) What were you riding before? An inline 4, or nothing at all? The boxer twin is relatively vibey, some of it you'll get used to. (2) Tires have a lot to do with it. Given a tread pattern, the mix of certain wheel and engine speeds creates harmonic vibrations that can be quite alarming at first.

[GelStra]

Tires. That's what I was curious about. Doesn't the GSA have the option of knobbies? BTW, congrats on the new bike. May it get dirty quickly.

[Pat_Da_Geeeze_Donahue]

Coming from years of riding Goldwings (my '04 flare red will be on ebay very soon) on Metzeler street tires.

 

I hadn't considered the lug pattern on the tires contributing. That may explain the harmonics I get from time to time as I'm moving up and down through various speeds. Still the engine does vibrate expecially compared to the strained butter of a Goldwing.

 

When it's bad enough to numb my hands I have to think I'm not the only one.

 

Oh, and I went out of my way on day 2 of ownership to get the thing muddy. It LIKES it.

 

Pat

[DrDakar]

I put thousands of miles on 1150GSA. Yes boxers are vibey, but not terrible to numb your hands after a couple hundreds miles.

 

On the other hand, after riding the RS and the GT for a year, when I turned back to a boxer (bought the RT), I really found it vibey. Most probably, after the Goldwing, this is what you feel.

[tom collins]

welcome and congrats. nothing will ever be as smooth as that gold wing, but for a twin, these are not too bad. things will smooth out after the 600 mile service and as the miles pile up. also, you will get used to the feel. and, many people put bar-backs on the GS and feel the different position helps a lot. it's new, give it some time.

 

tom collins

[Pat_Da_Geeeze_Donahue]

Thanks for the welcome and the thoughts. I'm pretty much okay on the seating position though I might rotate the bars up and forward a tiny bit to see if I like that better.

 

I remember some grips that were tall thin ribs. Seems like those might eat up enough vibes to make this better. As it breaks in and yes, today after I got it back from its 600 mile service (at 835 miles) it was in fact improved.

 

If I could just get cruise so I can let go of the right grip for a while I'd be much better. I'll be looking at that some more for sure.

 

Pat

[Pictou]

I haven't spent a lot of time on a GS but since the motor is basically the same as the RT I am a bit surprised by your problem with vibration. I had no problems on my 1150RT doing 1000 miles days and the vibration is never an issue. The new 1200 is smoother yet than the 1150 so again no issues for me. In fact I prefer the feel of the twin over most 4 cylinder bikes. I wonder if yours may not be properly tuned (a bad state of tune will cause these things to vibrate).

[Boffin]

Boxers are VERY sensitive to throttle body synchronisation in this respect. You dealer will get the bodies 'in specification'. New throtle cables will stretch differently, leading to the vibes that improved at your 600 mile service.

 

Now, if you arm yourself with a balancing guage - I use a 'water manometer' (only I use 2-stroke oil not water) to set the balance 'spot-on'. This gets the motor as smooth as possible.

 

Do a search on +manometer to find how to make one. TBS details are in the M/C FAQ, but your bike only need the off-idle synch, which is the easy bit.

 

Andy

[Steve1962]

I remember reading somewhere that oil level can also cause vibration , by which I mean too much oil ..perhaps someone else can add to this ?

 

Steve