My 96 is vibrating

Anything over 4k, and it gets quite annoying. Can feel the vibrating pretty much over the entire bike. Foot pegs, grips, bar ends, plastics around the frame, on my ass, and even on the ends of the windshield.

Pull the clutch in at any rpm and all is smooth.

Carbs need syncing?

 

by engaging the clutch you are basically disconnecting the driveline from the power source... if you are moving, and you engage the clutch and everything smooths out.....i would have to believe that something is amiss in the final drive.........

 

is it stalling?

 

No. Runs perfectly. This has only become noticeable in the last say 1000 miles I have put on the bike. It has 23k on it right now.

 

was going to say the chain, but that can't be, it's still going around even if you pull the clutch in while coasting Hmm.

 

I did look at the chain, and adjust accordingly, which did not provide a solution.

I was on a long ride today, and was trying to convince myself that I was not making stuff up. I really don't think it is supposed to vibrate like this.

Just to clarify, its NOT the type of vibration you feel in a car, when your tires are not balanced. Also, when the clutch is pulled in, and the bike is just coasting, the vibration DOES go away and everything is smooth.

Just a constant buzz, throughout the whole bike, which has gotten worse over the last couple of months.

Could valves that are not in time, cause that?

 

Nope, carbs won't do that. sounds definitely like a drive train issue, now I'd move on to each gear diffent speeds and loads and try it just to make sure how when etc,, could be the clutch it's self too. just a thought.

 

Now that you mention that, I thought it might have been behaving differently depending what gear I was in. I couldnt quite pin it down, as it was varied.

 

Update.

Just took the bike out for a quick spin, trying to nail this down.


1. I believe the issue is based on rpm rather than ground speed. Regardless of what gear I am in, the vibration starts around 4k.

2. When I was coasting down the road, above 4k, I pulled the clutch in so I was not in gear, and everything smooths out.

3. When I was coasting down the road, I shifted the bike to neutral, rpm's drop to 1400, bike smooths out, with the bike still in neutral, i rev the engine, and vibration is there, after 4k.

4. After say 6k, the vibration is far less on the bar ends, and pretty much non-existant on the corners of the windshield, while still be present on the foot pegs.

5. With the bike parked in the garage, and engine still running in neutral, I rev the engine, and vibration is there after 4k.

The vibration or buzzing feeling, is not really that bad. I mean, its not like its so annoying, I cant ride the bike, or at anytime does any part of my body start to numb. Its just there enough to know its there, and be a little distracting.

Thats about all I have for now. Calling my local Honda service center in the morning.

 

Carb sync would not hurt and can cause engine vibrations from cylinders not firing evenly. I would also suggest to check all engine mount bolts for proper torque.....

 

Yep. check bolts and fasteners to make sure nothing is loose.
Could it be a loose fairing?

I read about a similar problem on a Ninja forum and this guy ended up
removing pieces of fairing until he found the one piece that was always
loose and caused vibration at high RPMs.

Else, have a ope2: release the demons on that bike. :biggrin:

 

If it has been a while since a tune up, I would check the valve clearances, change the spark plugs and sync the carbs. It sounds like all cylinders are not making the same amount of power. At the very least, it would remove those items as a possibility, especially if it is time to do it anyway.

Different automobiles I have worked on in the past, particularly the old MGs and Triumphs, were really sensitive to valve clearances and carb sync, and one of the indicators was "buzziness" when things were off a bit.

And as previously mentioned by SLOVFR, while the fairings are off it would be worth checking the engine mounting bolts.

 

A quick update here.

Took the bike to Honda, in Vancouver (I don't have tools, a garage or work space) and their most senior tech came out (30 years working on Honda bikes), put his foot on the foot peg, revved the engine, and said "Engine mount bolts". So I have Honda redo all the engine mount bolts. Apparently, they have to be done in a special order. Thats what they told me anyway.

Unfortunately....no difference. However fortunately, I paid Honda $$$ to find the problem, and then more $$$ to fix it, and since that didnt fix it, they now have to find and fix on their own dime.

For what its worth, the vibration is barely noticeable in 5th or 6th gear when doing 55-70mph.

More updates to come soon.

 

Did you ever get to the bottom of the problem ??

 

My estimate is gunked valves or excessive rear wheel play.

 

Did you ever find the cause?

 

The thread is revived!

I never did find the cause to the issue, and it bugged me for a long time.

I bought the bike with 13k miles, and it developed the problem at 19k all the way through to 44k when the bike was.....let's just say taken out.