Vibration through bars

[Tally]

Hi, all . Can anybody tell me how to cure the vibration I get through my bars . I know the obvious solution is to fit foam grips, but is there anything else I can do to help with dampening the vibes . My bars are renthal 758's. I suffer with poor circulation as it is , so the ride to and from Cadwell pk last Saturday was bloody painful to say the least, your advice would be much appreciated.

[Daytona]

Grip puppies tally.

[Andre]

Don't know your setup but heavier bar end weights will help in general.

Also check your sitting position as to if you are leaning on your bars. A more upright position should help, particularly if you have circulation problems. Also a less wide bar helps imo (I don't know the renthal 758).

I had an LSL01 which was wide and low. Hands fell asleep. Switched to standard K3+ bars. No more sleepy hands even though I dispensed with bar end weights in favor of some very light caps (the K3+ bars have a weight fix inside the bar.

[mlivkovich]

Try to pull out bar weights cca 2 mm so they don't touch the handlebar. This way it should vibrate less.

[Daytona]

Failing these suggestions tally go and have carpal tunnel surgery,that's what I ended up doing,,

[Tally]

@Daytona, grip puppies ordered, I'll see how I get on with them. On another note I have bar end mirrors installed rather than weights that could have a bearing on things. Anyway trial and error is the way to go for now. Thanks for your replies.

[gsxbarmy]

I had the same issue with Renthal 758's and for me a set of grip puppies and a set of Oberon stainless steel bar ends went a long long way to curing the issue.

http://www.oberon-performance.co.uk/acatalog/Motorcycle_Small_Universal_Bar_End_Weights.html

You might also try filling and plugging the bars themselves, although this takes a couple of days to do. On mine, I made a 'plug' of bathroon sealant within the bar itself (just beyond where the bar end fitted internally and let it set. I then filled the bar (from the other end with some kiln dried sand (like they use to fill the gaps between a block patio) and filled the other end with sealant and let it set. Re-assembled everything and with both the grip puppies and oberon bar ends, vibration was all but gone.

[grog]

Tally, wish i could help. I use stock bars, probably only bike ive never changed on. Just suit me. I have bar end mirrors and light end caps. Pussy Grips. I like soft grips. Changing all those things from stock have never noticed any diff. with vibration, always none.

[Hooli]

My 758s only vibe if
I don't have heavy bar ends
or the front tyre is worn
or the cross brace is missing (I tried once, yuck they flex too)

[Tony Nitrous]

The 14 isn't a naturally vibrating bike.

I have Renthals on several IL4 Suzuki's without any issues.

Adding heavier bar ends may help.
I've read about folk filling bars with sand or lead shoot but it's not something I've tried.

Good gloves, grips and riding style would be a start.

I suffer from quite bad arthritis and what made a HUGE difference for me was a bike with proper cruise control. Every highway or long straight is a chance to rest and relax my hands.

[northern]

Aluminium handlebars are more stiff, so they transfer vibration more then steel bars.
heavy (200-250g each) bar end weights will made vibration much smaller.

Oberon weights, Barmy suggest, are quite good price, cause if you will start searching heavy and quality product, you will find out they are pretty pricey. Especially stainless steel one's.

[Notty]

I have Renthals and fitted these solid brass weights - no vibration 

[Mick_J]

Ay up Notty, no reference to vibrators 

[Notty]

Ay up Notty, no reference to vibrators 

oooppssss - no batteries in those !! 

[BlueDragon]

Digging up an old thread here..

But just wondering how you got on with this.

I bought Renthal ultra-low bars for the 1400.  They lasted all but 2 rides before I took them off. 

The riding position was fine, keeping in mind I am more used to my VFR800.

But a few things I didn't like..  The bars are too wide.  3cm (ok not much) wider than the standard bars - but this caused a wobble, each time I revved on gear down changes.  At times it also made the bike feel twitchy.  There appeared to be more flex in the bars than with the steel standard bars.  At least that is what it felt like to me.  The bars being that bit wider, made me feel like a wind sock at anything over 100kph - I use a headlight screen.  Plus I had to have the bars in a particular angle, if not, then the left side controls would hit the top of the fuel tank.  The bar angle was also too flat for me, the standard bars are more angled inwards towards the fuel tank (similar to the standard clip-ons on the VFR), which I like better.  For comparison purposes, I am around 5'9" tall.  Thin/Medium build with regards to leg and arm length. 

Now - back on topic with the vibration issue with the handlebars..

I also noticed more vibration - even with really heavy stainless steel bar end weights I bought - From memory over 230 grams each. 

But - here's the thing..  I had previous experience with handle bar vibration in a GSXR I owned back in the late 80's.  I had the bike serviced and mentioned this to the mechanic at Mentor Motorcycles in Sydney, and he said that the carbies might need balancing.  He let me watch as he tuned the bike and yep, the vacuum was way out.  After that - no vibration.  Same thing happened with a GSX750EF that I owned.  Bad vibration until I got the carbs re-balanced and all was good again.

So on the weekend I went through the throttle bodies and checked the TPS and STPS resistances and then proceeded to do the vacuum balance.  Got it near perfect.  Went for a ride and the vibration was gone, accept for a small bit of vibration through the bars at about 2700rpm.  But that was also balancing the vacuum at idle as per the manual.  I don't normally do this.

I have tried setting the vacuum at higher revs around 2500/3000rpm - and setting vacuum this way, does make quite a difference to how the bike performs.  Better IMHO.  So I'll be spending some more time this weekend and setting the vacuum to be as perfect as I can get it at around 2500rpm instead of at idle and see what happens then.  The engine is very slightly "rougher" sounding at idle if you do this - at least it is on my VFR, but otherwise, the engine is smoother, more lively and generally more responsive when riding.

Anyway, just thought I would mention this as sometimes if the vacuum is way out on the throttle bodies - then this can cause vibration as well.  My vacuums were not right at all, but are now quite close.  At highway speeds or any rpm above 2700rpm, the bike is super smooth. In fact it seem very smooth everywhere except around that one little patch between 2500 to around 2800 when it disappears.