Vibrations

I have had my 2006 for three years now and love it. Since the day I bought it there was always handlebar vibrations at highway speeds.......to the point that the hands would go numb and would have to shake the hand for a few minutes to get the feeling back. I always figured it was mostly from the worn tires....well the other week I had two new Avons put on.....I am still having the same numbing vibrations at highway speeds......assuming the shop balanced and mounted the new tires properly, I should be able to rule out the tires. The vibrations are enough that I can feel them when I put my hand on the gas tank......not enough that I am loosing control or anything.

Looking for suggestions as to what the cause is, how to diagnose it and solve the problem.

I am relatively mechanical adept, although I have never really torn into the '06 yet.....have most of the day to day tools.

Looking for answers.

Thanks

One thing I have found that produces vibes on tank and bars...

1: carb sync.

I don't put many miles on the bike in a year and do a carb sync at least once a year.......never found it to be the answer to this problem.

I don't put many miles on the bike in a year and do a carb sync at least once a year.......never found it to be the answer to this problem.

What kind of gauges do you use?

Sometimes I use my own sync tool that has the brand name PCCC on it, and sometimes it's someone else using their own device.

Had valves ajusted last year and that calmed the vibration on mine. Curious, do you have a light bar up front? If yes do you have the spacer to allow easier fairing removal? If yes , it may be your lower deflectors vibrating if they cant seat properly on the forks.

I suggest you buy a infrared type temp gauge and shoot the exhaust flanges coming out of the engine and see if they are the same temperature.

Stop by sometime.

Generally speaking, on a motorcycle, if your hands are buzzed, and you can see blur in your mirrors, that's an indication of carbs being out of synch (high frequency). Synch'ing carbs isn't a difficult task but it can be tedious depending how meticulous you want to be with it.

My 2006 Midnight (143K miles) started a heavy hand buzz (but clear mirrors) after I swapped out the contact points on my fuel pump.. and sure enough, for what ever reasons the gremlins decided, the carbs were out of synch enough to cause the buzz. Once the task was completed, the bars are smooth once again.

but as others suggested, do check everything hanging off the front of the bike for anything looser than normal..

Cheers

Hey Reiny - sup brother?? Got the buzz happening eh??

Got good advice happening thus far - out of sync can cause the buzz - may as well double check for pin holes in the diaphrams and slides for any form of stickiness if your gonna recheck your sync.. With the scoot having been a buzzer since day one I would check some other issues too. Run it to highway speed - get er buzzin and pull the clutch in and see if it quits.. Does it buzz if the bike is stationary and you rev it up?

If the buzz is motor rpm related - some things I would look closely for would be motor mounts for tightness,, exhaust pipes and muffler frame connectors to make sure they were put together properly (you wanna make sure that all rubber mounts are not captured/compressed with an out of place flat washer to the point that the flat washer is making contact with the mount area around the rubber buffer - hope I am making sense here,, I know it sounds nuts but any form of such contact will cause all kinds of buzzing). Look at the engine and connecting parts as a tuning fork that is singing away - now check all over the tuning for area , i.e. - between pipes and frame for a rock jammed in somewhere - or a clutch line bracket bent out and touching the frame, for anything that is taking the buzz from the motor.. Another vague possibility has to do with engine harmonics, things like a slightly bent rod from a former hydrolock can cause it or a crank out of spec but dont panic cause it seems like by now it would have gotten worse if that were so..

If its buzzing changes as you slightly alter your engines pull at highway speed it could be something as simple as needing grease on the drive pins or other drive line parts such as splines. Could also be a cracked yoke for the u-joint, dry u-joint bearings or even dry splines..

Here's another thought.. Few years ago Tweeks, Tip and I took a couple months and found ourselves at one of our Rallys out west called Venture West - held at The Dalles Oregon.. While partying out there with those west coaster I befriended a fellow gear head and brother VR member named @GeorgeS.. George was a blast (now that I think about it - all those lop eared Venture West varmints were a blast LOL) - I had a riot picking Georges amazing Venture gear head for probably 2 hours or so.. One of the things that George mentioned to me was a flaw from Yamaha when setting up the rear end on our bikes. We were talking about odd brake wear = apparently there needed to be a shim added at the pumpkin connection to the swing arm to correct this ailment. I later checked into this oddity and, sure enough,, on some bikes a shim was needed and, as I recall, they screwed up the alignment on some scoots so badly that GEAR WEAR could result with ODD vibrations being common..

All that said - I cant remember what bikes were affected BUT I can remember somewhat of a simple check.. First thing is to take a peek at your brake pads on the rear and see if they are wearing at an angle.. Another check is to raise the bike - remove the axle nut and slide the axle out until the larger end of the axle that the pinch bolts clamp the right side of the swing arm to the axle clears the opening it sets into.. Now look at the space around the smaller diameter of the rear axle and see if the space around the axle is equal.. If its not - there is a good chance the rear end needs to be realigned...

Ok, ALL that said - I have NO idea if any of all that writing applies directly to your 2nd Gen - never owned one, never worked on one.. I do consider you my friend though and, if someone chimes in here and says ol Puc is crazy but suggests something that may help you - then my day is made!!

Puc

Lets remember to sync our gauges before we use them on the carbs. These are out of adjustment.

God info guys, thanks. I do have the light bar so will check that first. Carl......might drop by for a visit next week one night....will let you know.

God info guys, thanks. I do have the light bar so will check that first. Carl......might drop by for a visit next week one night....will let you know.

Yep. you're on,,, haven't seen you for a while anyways, and could stand yo pick your brain a bit as well.

"could stand yo pick your brain a bit as well".......I don't know.....it's pretty slim pickin's there!! Just ask my wife.

As long as you guys don't try to pick each other's brains through the nose...

Bobby.....you need help my friend.....LOL!!

I don't put many miles on the bike in a year and do a carb sync at least once a year.......never found it to be the answer to this problem.

well..I have a different experience. With the VStar 650 Classic, the VStar 950Tourer, the 89 VR and my 05 RSV. Even fuel injection can be balanced simply. And in all cases, reduced the vibes on the bars and tank. I can usually tell when it's time....the buzzing gets annoying.

FWIW,

david

Reiny, do you still have your handle bar weights?

As long as you guys don't try to pick each other's brains through the nose...

You can pick your nose, you can pick your friend.. but you can't pick your friend's nose.. remember the code!!

Has the cause of the vibrations been found?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

There are rubber vibration dampeners on the handle bars near the mount. Are yours still there?

Unfortunately I haven't had any time to follow-up with this issue, and even sadder is no time to ride. This next month or so will be crazy for me so I'm not sure when I will get to this. My first "fix" will be a carb sync and then perhaps some rubber supports for the lower wind deflectors.

Unfortunately I haven't had any time to follow-up with this issue, and even sadder is no time to ride. This next month or so will be crazy for me so I'm not sure when I will get to this. My first "fix" will be a carb sync and then perhaps some rubber supports for the lower wind deflectors.

Hope things get better so you can ride!