| Author | Message | ||
     Longdog_cymru |
Went for a ride yesterday, but on the way back, about 2 miles from home, there was a severe vibration. It appeared to come from the front end when travelling at between 25 - 35mph. It felt like riding over corrugated roofing sheets and appeared to smooth out over 35mph. I have had a quick look, but can't see anything untoward. Any suggestions??? | ||
| Conchop |
Good luck - I'm always fighting vibrations. Yours sounds like an elastomer failure - depends on rpms - or a tire/wheel/ drivetrain problem - depends on speed. | ||
| Etennuly |
Check wheel bearings front and rear first. | ||
| Djm |
Previous posts have mentioned the horn rattling...mine does it at about 2000rpm at about that speed too. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Check your front motor mount. If there is no shaft showing between the head of the large hex bolt and the triangular bracket, the front mount is shot. The bolt should look like it isn't tightened all the way. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
So far, I've checked everything mentioned, EXCEPT the horn!!! I've taken her on a 30mile run without it happening again, so now I'll check the horn. Cheers guys!! | ||
| Bearly |
Easy things first: Were you off road? Maybe picked up some mud on one of your wheels then it feel off when you stopped? humor: If it's not the horn try preparing that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads. :-) | ||
| Johnboy777 |
This most likely won't be your case, but I was working on the headlights one night and the next day I drove off with the headlight fixture slightly loose - vibration was right at that 2,500 to 3,500 rpm - I thought the front end was falling apart. Crazy stuff. Good luck. | ||
| Michael1 |
Did your wheel loose a wheel weight? Could be as simple as that? | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Update, I wasn't off-road and the wheel hasn't lost a weight, BUT...... I took the front cowling off this morning and the horn bracket was bent backwards and was touching the bracket it is mounted on. I haven't had chance to go for a run yet so watch this space......! | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Hmmm......... it's not the horn bracket! But.... I took her for a run today and it vibrates around 2k rpm Also, when I am running at around 4k rpm on the motorway, it is lovely and smooth, but when I shut the throttle and decellerate, there is quite strong vibration present. | ||
| Buellinabq |
Did you just shut the throttle or did you shut the throttle and pull in the clutch while it was at a high RPM? If you do that and it shudders between say 2000 and 2500, and like hangs there for a second, then you have your idle adjusted a little too high. If you back off the idle a little, then it should smoothly float down from the high RPM down to your 1000 idle. I know that I always have a slight vibration about 2500. It's always at 2500 for me. I little higher or a little lower, it goes away. It's like always been there. I can adjust the primary chain a little looser or tighter and the vibration will get stronger or weaker. One time it was horrible, I thought the bike was going to vibrate apart and explode. But, by adjusting the primary chain, I've got the vibration to the lowest point. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
At 4 - 4.5k rpm, I simply shut the throttle. It idles nicely around 1050 - 1100 rpm I haven't tried the primary chain route yet as the bike is going in for a service in 2 weeks. Watch this space for any further developments! | ||
| Chadhargis |
Mine has shaken like a dog passing a peach seed from day one. I have to spin it over 3500rpm before it really smooths out. Let it drop below that, and I get a cacophony of buzzes and rattles from the aforementioned horn, to the mirrors, to the windshield, etc. Oh...well, it is better since I installed the Race ECU. Hopefully the "square idle" mod will help as well. The severe vibes are the only thing I don't like about the bike, and most of the time I just ride around them, so it's not that big of an issue. Come on 1125 Ulysses!! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Mine picked up an odd vibration that I noticed most on my last ride. Got home and noticed that the bolt that attaches the front tie bar to the "W" frame was completely missing. What was weird was that I hardly noticed it. I did notice it, but it wasn't drastic. I don't know how long it's been missing. I do notice additional vibrations when the temperature changes (gets colder). The rubber in the mounts hardens and transfers more vibrations into the bike. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Thanks guys. It has been cold here, but the thing that bugs me is that it was smooth from about 2800 - 3000 upwards. Now it takes until 4000 and it is so smooth then, that it is quite an eye opener when the revs drop. The extra vibration also began quite suddenly. It's going into the stealer for a service on the 28th of this month, so we'll see what the ride home brings unless I find something before that! | ||
| Jflaig |
Take a look at the isolators, both front and rear. Mine was cracked/torn, and replaced - no questions asked by the dealer. Took it in for a quick look, to confirm, and they agreed, had one on hand, and replaced w/in 2 hrs of arrival. Good luck with its' determination. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Jflaig, How did you know the front and rear isolators were torn? | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Here's a couple of pics of my front motor mounts.....  | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
And another........  | ||
| Crusty |
Yup, that's bad. The isolator needs to be replaced. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Thanks Crusty  | ||
| Teeps |
While you're there replace the clutch cable wire form with the updated part too. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Cheers Teeps | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Update here...... The front motor mount is shot. I have to wait a week or two for the dealer to get a new one in. Just a question here: How common a fault is this? I noticed quite a few of you have written about the front mount failing at various mileages, but mine failed at around 600 miles. I've ridden a further 850 on it since it failed, and apart from the jackhammer impersonation, the dealer says "not to worry, but do it as soon as the part comes in". | ||
| Tipsymcstagger |
Stupid question...but without my bike in front of me for comparison, what does a good mount look like? Tipsy | ||
| Bigkuri |
Well it happens on the 2008 Uly too - Maz spotted that my mount had a very small split at 3,600 miles. I've been keeping an eye on it, and it seems no worse, however it'll go one of these days. | ||
| Ratbuell |
A "good" mount looks like the large washer-looking bolt head on the bottom isn't tight enough. There should be a good bit of space between it, and the frame. If you look at the pics above, all the space that's filled with rubber? Should be empty space. | ||
| Dick_stilton |
Thats bad news Longdog, and, If I may say so, a little bit disappointing. I say disappointing because if this a common fault and it seems to be, surely Buell should have rectified it by the time they released the 2008 models and re-called those bikes effected. Allied to the fact that you have so little mileage on board before this failiure makes for depressing reading. I am now wondering how this could have slipped past QC. I hope you are back on the road soon. Cheers! Dick.    | ||
| Tipsymcstagger |
A "good" mount looks like the large washer-looking bolt head on the bottom isn't tight enough. There should be a good bit of space between it, and the frame. If you look at the pics above, all the space that's filled with rubber? Should be empty space. Got it. Thanks Rat. Tipsy |
