Solution for Cutting Way Down Handlebar Vibration

[pablohoney]

Well I recently redid my 650 and I put some flattracker type bars on it and wrapped them with this http://www.sportchalet.com/product/301773_3021162.do and I gotta tell you, before when I would ride, after 30min my hands would be so tingly and funky. Now I just rode an hour on the bike and it felt better than my cbr600. They absorb all the vibration. Just thought I would let you guys know.

P.S. they also have black if you don't like the white.

 

[Hombre Verde]

What about filling the inside of bars with cork? Same effect? Just wondering.

 

[Grinder]

Was it the bars or the tape that helped? What did it feel like with just the new bars? I never thought about putting something on the outside of the bars for vibration. Are you a cyclist? Lots of different types of tape out there if you look.

 

[retiredgentleman]

I can't understand how the tape prevents vibration from reaching your hands. However, if its works for you, then enjoy.

I've found a couple of things to stop the tinkling in the hands. One is to use gloves that have some padding (insulation) in them, and the other is to not hold the grips tightly.
My last trip I rode about 6 hours per day for 5 days in a row, and no tinkling whatsoever.

 

[oldbiker]

hi guys,,, i met a guy in maffra victoria australia,,, who put solid blocks in place of the rubber items yamaha made ,,,and there was no vibration at all and non on his mirrors either regards oldbiker

 

[Hombre Verde]

On another forum there had been talk of filling your bars with shot to dampen vibration. Never tried that either.

 

[meanstreakmark]

Awwww.... just get a big ole fat girl to sit on the bars, sorta like when you were a kid ridin' your 'spyder' bicycle.... that'll stop those vibrations!

 

[aldo5468]

When I had the original buckhorn bars on my '82, I filled them with grout and let it harden up. I got the idea from a guy who installed a steel pole for a basketball backboard in our yard - he filled the pole with cement, and when it hardened, there was no vibration in the pole at all when the ball hit the backboard. Same concept worked in the handlebars.

 

[retiredgentleman]

When I had the original buckhorn bars on my '82, I filled them with grout and let it harden up. I got the idea from a guy who installed a steel pole for a basketball backboard in our yard - he filled the pole with cement, and when it hardened, there was no vibration in the pole at all when the ball hit the backboard. Same concept worked in the handlebars.

Do you mean tile grout? How are the images in your mirrors?

 

[pablohoney]

I reckon that filling the bars with shot are grout would help a lot but seems like it would make them aweful heavy, guess if you are not trying to lighten the bike it wouldnt matter though. Rubber seams like a good trade off.

The bars themselves were still pretty bad, didn't get better until after the wrap. Not a cyclist just wanted to wrap my bars with something and I just saw a bicycle on the street with it so I went with it.

I guess you could fill them with cork, seems tricky doing it though.

 

[AussieHard]

You can get a thing called something like a bar snake…….don't quote me on the name,but it is a rubber rod that slides down the inside of the bars. As rubber it flexes around the bends. Is designed to dampen the vibrations….

 

[aldo5468]

It wasn't specifically tile grout - it came as powder in a bag, I mixed it into a thick slurry, tilted the bars so ends were upright, and slowly poured it in, rodding it a bit with coat hanger wire. It set up overnight. Doesn't add that much weight to the bars. My mirrors were pretty clear up to mid-50's (my normal cruising speed), started fuzzing slightly around 60 and more noticeably in mid-60's. I now have Standard bars on my bike; I haven't done anything to them - they stay pretty clear into the mid-to-upper 50's.

Probably the best single thing anyone can do to minimize vibration (short of re-phasing the engine) is to synch the carbs very, very closely - anything done to the handlebars after that is really a band-aid. These bikes were born to shake a bit.