Bloody vibes!

[milleplod]

Just back from a 100-odd mile run out into Lincs/north Notts, bit colder than yesterday, but my mind was taken off that by the bloody vibes through the bars and footpegs! Its definitely worse than it ever has been in the past - previously it was only longer motorway runs where it would bother me, but today I was noticing it after the first 20/30 miles, and it was really, really bugging me at twice that. My right fingers looked and felt dead on getting home, and, for the first time ever (I think), my feet feel a bit numb too!

So.....tappets checked only last week, all good. Plugs are firing fine. That leaves, I assume, throttle body sync, which was last done around 4 years ago I think. I almost bought a used Twinmax thing last year, but didn't bother, so I'm now after finding a local indy who can do it for me.

Is there anything else it could be?

Pete

[slparry]

Just back from a 100-odd mile run out into Lincs/north Notts, bit colder than yesterday, but my mind was taken off that by the bloody vibes through the bars and footpegs! Its definitely worse than it ever has been in the past - previously it was only longer motorway runs where it would bother me, but today I was noticing it after the first 20/30 miles, and it was really, really bugging me at twice that. My right fingers looked and felt dead on getting home, and, for the first time ever (I think), my feet feel a bit numb too!

So.....tappets checked only last week, all good. Plugs are firing fine. That leaves, I assume, throttle body sync, which was last done around 4 years ago I think. I almost bought a used Twinmax thing last year, but didn't bother, so I'm now after finding a local indy who can do it for me.

Is there anything else it could be?

Pete

it sounds like it will be the throttle sync Pete.

[milleplod]

Thanks Steve - I assumed (was hoping!) it was that, at least it'll be an affordable job!

Pete

[milleplod]

Just booked it in for Thursday morning at Jim Hill's down at Long Eaton, just round the corner from Pidcock's - £20, so I'm happy!

Pete

[Humbug]

Sounds very reasonable, Balderstons wanted £40 to balance mine last year! I had to have it hot when I got there too, he said he thought it would be hot enough after the run down from Bingham near Nottingham Don't know how far a 12S needs to go to warm up, surely not 45 miles?

[The Teutonic Tangerine]

Regarding vibes - I find I suffer only when riding two up - its as if the extra load on the engine causes it not sure if this is the real cause or is it because I'm riding more carefully and perhaps my hands are bit more tense - in any case its wierd

[McBoxer]

Might be worth getting the compressions checked first Pete - just to be sure there's no issues in that area.

[milleplod]

Just back from Jim Hill's. The throttle bodies were spot-on apparently, Jim commented also on how smoothly it ticks over. He gave it a thorough once over, hooked it up to look for any fault codes (none) and gave it a clean bill of health. We had a brew and a natter, then I rode home up the M1.

Now, the odd thing is, riding down the M1 (I hate riding on m'ways, I really do, so many numpties around, especially at 8am - every other driver seemed to be on their phone/glued to lane 2/wandering around/generally not paying attention...) the bike felt buzzy and my fingers were tingling when I landed at Jim's 30 miles later.......on the way back, I didn't notice the tingling anywhere near as much. Hmmmm. Jim didn't adjust anything, there was no need. I did the 30-mile m'way run, then another 30/40 miles on cross-country roads.....nowhere near as buzzy, more like it used to be, say, last year.

So, what's changed? Me?! Could it have been psychological?....no, as my fingers really were numb the other day. I'd been twiddling with the suspension settings before the 100-mile ride - had I set it up wrong? I think I might have set it too hard, as I re-twiddled yesterday, putting it back to standard-ish, so would the 'wrong' settings make the bike feel more vibey via feedback through the suspension? Tbh, I was hoping to fit new stuff from Shock Factory before my trip to Spain, at 30k miles the original stuff's well past its best, but I've heard nothing back yet.

I also wondered if tyres could contribute to the vibes. They're Pirelli Diablo Stradas (£99 a pair!) that have now done perhaps 3k miles, not squared off.....but if it was down to them, I'd have expected consistent vibes, not on/off ones! Anyway, I've just spotted M&P have Pilot Road 2s at £149 a pair, quite a lot of folk seem to rate them so I might invest in a pair.

I'll do a few more runs over the next week or so and see how it feels.

Pete

[Humbug]

Just got back from a ride over your way Pete to work in Sheffield and found that the motorway stretches where I'm on a constant throttle gives me the worst HAVS effect. When I'm on and off the throttle, the effect is much less and I can go for ages without the numbness.

[milleplod]

Just got back from a ride over your way Pete to work in Sheffield and found that the motorway stretches where I'm on a constant throttle gives me the worst HAVS effect. When I'm on and off the throttle, the effect is much less and I can go for ages without the numbness.

Yep, that's how it used to be for me - I'd expect the death-tingles after a run on a stretch of m'way, which would be once in a blue moon here in the UK, and its why I was so surprised earlier this week after a run on anything but m'ways! Strange. I suppose the other possible weak link could be me.....perhaps I'm just less tolerant of it than I was last year! My inbuilt shock absorption could be failing as previously flexible bits are starting to seize up!

Ah well, it certainly felt better coming back, like I said, so we'll have to see how it goes over the next few weeks.

As an aside, I can thoroughly recommend Jim - nice bloke, and obviously knows BMWs inside out. By coincidence, I worked with his brother-in-law for years, he was one of our vehicle examiners, both as a bobby and then as a civvy.

http://www.ifixyourbike.com/#gallery

Pete

[Paul]

Pete,

Try a pair of Grip Puppies on your handlebars. That are a foam rubber cover that gives you a bit more girth and reduces any residual vibration through the bars. I suffered an occasional numb right hand riding my RS until I fitted a pair. A modest investment of £14 to fix the problem.

Cheers,

Paul

[milleplod]

Pete,

Try a pair of Grip Puppies on your handlebars. That are a foam rubber cover that gives you a bit more girth and reduces any residual vibration through the bars. I suffered an occasional numb right hand riding my RS until I fitted a pair. A modest investment of £14 to fix the problem.

Cheers,

Paul

Hi Paul.

I've got some on! I'd wondered about fitting another pair on top tbh! Jim did suggest trying the bike without end-weights fitted, just to see if the vibes 'move' to a less intrusive part of the rev range, which might be worth a shot just to see, There are no replacement ones that I can find - I might whip them off tomorrow to see how the bike feels without them, but also to see if there's any way of adding weight to them.

Pete

[Al]

I have grip puppies on my GS and had them on my 1100s nearly all the time I had it, I have had hand and arm nerve issues for several years and find they really help. Do you get numb or tingly hands any other time Pete? I ask as I had both carpul tunnels operated on over the winter and it has cured most of my issues.

Al

[milleplod]

I have grip puppies on my GS and had them on my 1100s nearly all the time I had it, I have had hand and arm nerve issues for several years and find they really help. Do you get numb or tingly hands any other time Pete? I ask as I had both carpul tunnels operated on over the winter and it has cured most of my issues.

Al

No, Al, its definitely a bike-only thing. The last time I really noticed it was coming back from Spain last time - 350 miles on motorways on the last day...my right hand just about died! It wore off....the tingles, not my hand....fairly quickly though. Like I said, I've never really had it before here as I avoid m'ways like the plague.

Pete

[Al]

There is a guy on ukgser who has tried putting lead shot in the bars and heavier end weights from other bikes to try and sort a similar problem but to no avail, so it may not be an easy fix, although he seems to suffer with it more than you appear to.

Al.