Are their any good vibrations?

[buddy]

Yes, but they are not on a xs650! Last year I took the old girl on a 1000,km tour and shook my old bones and wrecked a gps unit with the vibrations. The cure I know is a bmw but I can't let go of my old 650. I plan another trip next summer and am doing what I can to reduce vibrations.
Here is what I have done so far:
dyna beans in tires,
cement in handlebars,
locktite on engine mount bolts
new shocks, (done before trip)
minton mods on front shocks,(done before trip)

Anyone with more ideas to minimize vibrations please let me know. I looked at past posts.
For the gps unit; I mounted it with a stock gps suction cup to the face of the tack, it lasted about 500km. So anyone with ideas how to mount a gps let me know.

 

[willis]

I am not sure about cement in the bars. i wouldn't think the cement would absorb vibration. You would need something more like a "bar snake". This is a piece of rubber garden hose or vinyl tube filled with lead shot and sealed and inserted to the bars. The lead shot would absorb those vibrations and isolate them from your hands. Do a search for "bar snake" and you should find several postings about this.

 

[fredintoon]

Yes, but they are not on a xs650! Last year I took the old girl on a 1000,km tour and shook my old bones and wrecked a gps unit with the vibrations. The cure I know is a bmw but I can't let go of my old 650. I plan another trip next summer and am doing what I can to reduce vibrations.
Here is what I have done so far:
dyna beans in tires,
cement in handlebars,
locktite on engine mount bolts
new shocks, (done before trip)
minton mods on front shocks,(done before trip)
Anyone with more ideas to minimize vibrations please let me know. I looked at past posts.
For the gps unit; I mounted it with a stock gps suction cup to the face of the tack, it lasted about 500km. So anyone with ideas how to mount a gps let me know.

Hi buddy,
I filled my bars with a mix of 2-part cold setting liquid rubber and #7 lead shot.
That reduced the vibrations transmitted to my hands but did nothing to reduce the engine's paint-shaker vibes.
The list's consensus is that some XS650 engines shake worse than others and the best way to reduce vibration
is to meticulously balance the carbs.
And keep your GPS in your jacket pocket to save it from the vibes.
You should be watching the road when you are riding, not gawping at your GPS.
Pull off the road before you check your location, eh?

 

[mrtwowheel]

Yeah, I don't think cement in the bars was any help, maybe acrylic caulking. I love my Gel Grips.

Scott

 

[5twins]

I don't have my bars completely filled, just weights inserted into the ends, and I think it helps some. My weights are 5" or 6" long lengths of solid steel bar. A buddy machined some grooves for o-rings on each end of them so they are wedged in there, sort of "floating" on the o-rings. The bars themselves aren't a tight fit inside the handlebar. The new 650 I'm working on seems to vibrate more through the bars than my old one and it just dawned on me, maybe this is why. There's no weights in those bars (yet).

 

[MaxPete]

Buddy: Its a big vertical twin and ....they shake. Its sort of like "Husky sled dogs always seem to have blue eyes" - thats just how it is.

Yamaha tried to make two other vertical twins with rotating counter-balancers to try to quell the vibrations (the TX500 and the TX750). Neither bike was a commercial success and the 750 had very serious durability problems.

 

[gggGary]

http://siligrips.com/ergonomic-hand-grips/, easily 10,000 miles on various MC's with siligrips. Get the soft compound, a serious buzz killer.

I've only destroyed one phone so far (out of several that have been mounted) using the Rokform phone mount.
I also like the virago bar clamps though the mounting studs are a bit short.

 

[Paul Sutton]

I have been trying to find the source of grey powder that regularly marks my right hand glove. While riding this evening the answer came to me! My handlebars have Lead inserted in the ends to dampen vibration. What happens is the vibrations result in the Lead rubbing against the steel bars producing a very fine Lead powder. Below is the Lead roll I removed to check:

Notice the shiny non-contact area to the left and the dull contact area covered in grey powder on the right. The Lead powder leaks out the holes on the end of the grips where some people fit tassels?? The Lead needs to be removed (Health and Safety ) and then I will find out if they actually dampened the vibrations.....

 

[buddy]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I will try to address some.
About the cement in the bars: mine are clubmans and could not use the steel bolts and silicone I used in my drag bars. I think it is mass you want to deaden vibration.
Balance engine: just finished that, bench sycro followed by vacuum balance, made a real difference.
Will look into gel grips.
GPS: With clubman bars and café fairing the Mageline that I ruined was great, the screen had km to turn and arrow along top with large text and in my line of sight.

 

[5twins]

I think what I might try on the new bike, if I can find the right diameter, is some vinyl tubing maybe 5/8" O.D. with 1/2" all-thread rod inserted into it, long enough to fill to the 1st bend in the bars.

 

[nj1639]

I have been trying to find the source of grey powder that regularly marks my right hand glove. While riding this evening the answer came to me! My handlebars have Lead inserted in the ends to dampen vibration. What happens is the vibrations result in the Lead rubbing against the steel bars producing a very fine Lead powder. Below is the Lead roll I removed to check:
View attachment 125075
Notice the shiny non-contact area to the left and the dull contact area covered in grey powder on the right. The Lead powder leaks out the holes on the end of the grips where some people fit tassels?? The Lead needs to be removed (Health and Safety ) and then I will find out if they actually dampened the vibrations.....

Lead dust, eh? You could put some silicone in after the inserts or a metal slug. Not sure about the tassels, they would stop most if not all of the toxic powder but they'll increase your horsepower and speed to dangerous levels!!

 

[nj1639]

The old Standard model bars appear to have steel slugs welded into the ends, at least the few that I've come across.

 

[Superjet]

Rigid mounted engine on frame so all components in contact with you need to be rubber dampened. Even my current 2004 Roadstar shakes me up after a good ride on it. Just the way these bikes are. I do love it!

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Maybe you'd like to play around with your ignition timing.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/xs650-ignition-timing-revisited-are-we-too-advanced.45197/

 

[Paul Sutton]

A while back I retarded my timing slightly and the bike was much smoother. This was based on my observation that the bike ran smoother on old petrol which becomes higher in octane. Recently I filled up with Regular and rode off and the bike was absolute crap. After a few days with the petrol cap open the bike returned to running smoother. Now I am just sticking to Super petrol and the bike is much smoother to ride. I have effectively retarded the timing further by going to Super. There is something in the timing.

 

[buddy]

Timing, hmmm. It has pamco so I may retard a tad and see.
gg gary: like your windshield, what make is it? Does it spill the wind over you at all speeds?

 

[Paul Sutton]

I suggest moving the timing by 1/8" i.e. if you have the bike idling with a strobe connected then move the timing mark 1/8" closer to the TDC mark. If that feels better you can always move a little farther (1/16 - 1/8") to test for improvements but you will know when you have gone to far because the bike will feel lethargic. If you do not want to adjust the timing then just fill-up with a higher octane fuel. This has the same effect as retarding the ignition.

I have just returned from my ride with the right hand Lead weight removed. Below 3500rpm I did not notice any difference in vibration at the hand grips. Passing 4000rpm there was a very noticeable difference in vibration comparing my weighted left hand grip to the unweighted right. My Lead weights each weigh 250gram. I shall devise a plan to ensure the weights are not vibrating free in the handlebars and leaking dust - A science project for tonight!

 

[gggGary]

just opinion I guess but the trick is weight that is just barely suspended in soft goo so that it absorbs and dissipates the vibration frequencies. ie The lead with a bit of soft silicone at each end holding it more or less centered in the handlebar. Really trick would be bars with REDUCED diameter at the grip with a fat gel filled grip. The siligrips above may not be "sport bike pretty" but the "wing" creates a wide surface for the palms that spreads out the stress and reduces pressure points. This really helps "the old man" survive long road jaunts that age should be ruling out.

 

[XS650D]

My 77 is really smooth up to approx 5000 rpm.Below 4000rpm it feels like my old 650 Maxim 4 cylinder!
Have found that its a combination of everything being tuned and tweaked ,timing, drive chain alignment, carbs (big one)
rims and tires.suspension ,bolts all torqued to spec, ect ect. It seems that every time I work on my bike I find something
else that can be set-up or adjusted better and when I think I have it running great it just gets better!!
If I had a dollar for every time I come in from the shop and my wife asks how the bikes runnin, and I tell her its even better now! The latest tweak was to pull carbs and crimp the floats down on the float pins as there was to much play,couldent get the float height to stay within spec.Wow,what a diff, amazing. Having the carbs not only clean but the jetting especially
shimming the needle was a must, time consuming but definitely worth it. Balancing the carbs is critical also for max power
and smoothness.I have ridden at least 6 different xs650,s.I have found the 77 year build to be the smoothest.
The tolerances may have been closer for certain years. All the specials I have ridden would shake my fillings out!
I know an older guy that owned 4 all purchased New from early 70,s to early 80,s and he kept the 77 as it was
as he put it a better bike, smoother and stronger running.He still has it and I have ridden it and he's rite.Its without a doubt
the best running and smoothest and strongest running xs650 I've ever ridden. Ive even offered to buy it but no go,YET!

 

[gggGary]

Timing, hmmm. It has pamco so I may retard a tad and see.
gg gary: like your windshield, what make is it? Does it spill the wind over you at all speeds?

I have two the taller one is useful the shorter ? not so much. BUT riding behind a windshield really changes what is comfortable for handle bar grip position. No wind pressure and even a slight vacuum behind the shield put much more of your weight on your arms, wrists, and palms.
first pic compares the tall n short, second is the tall, it seems to be Allison's now . She started with the short but complained the wind hit her in the face. Rode her bike about 100 miles last fall at 40F, windy, and cloudy, worked well.