[rcannon409]

Guys, I had to repair the heated grip on my c 14 yesterday, and in doing so I found a mod we all did to the c 14.

That bike is smoother than a ninja 1000, but at certain rpm ranges the bike did vibrate.

The mod is very easy. All we did is remove the bar end. At that point, find a lock washer that is close to the correct size. Slide it on the bolt, then put the bar end back on. The lock washer ends up between the bar end and the bar.

No idea how or why, but on that bike it really helped. I have not tried it on the ninja, but I will just as soon as I can.

 

[Day Trippin]

It might act as a resonance dampener. Pretty common approach in engineering.

 

[CoachP7]

Sounds interesting. Not a mech eng'r by any means but wondering, too, if a lock washer made of a 'softer' material such as copper or other material could even further help the resonance/vibration?

My point being it's amazing what a small fix like a lock washer can really do and by finding one that's even softer may even further absorb or even not transmit even more finite vibrations ??

 

[Day Trippin]

It never hurts to try. Surprisingly simple changes can have a huge effect on resonance vibrations. Think of everything as one big tuning fork (especially Yamaha motorcycles).

Just grabbing the tuning fork in a different place and change the vibrations quite a bit. Low frequency vibes tend to annoy people less than high frequency ones. Well, the fairer sex may appreciate strategically placed high frequency vibes better than men, but I digress. For me I just go numb when in contact with them. I don't have much tolerance for high frequency but can tolerate low even at high amplitude levels.

 

[CoachP7]

I also remember reading somewhere (not sure if on this site or another) about a similar vibration discussion that was coming thru the seat at certain rpm's giving that numbing sense of vibration.

Can't remember the fix exactly but had something to do with a simple installation of some rubber washers or grommets. Believe it was a 'success' and seemed to kill vibrations coming thru the frame/sub-frame.

This is basically the same premise as what rubber engine mounts do and the like.

 

[MarkOne]

Basic Physics fact

The biggest change to frequency is mass. If you don' t believe me, google Tacanoma bridge.

 

[rcannon409]

It was such an easy test, that I did it on the c14 as a "whatever". I wondered if it might have helped just because it moved that same mass further from the center of the bar?

Anyway, it was pretty dramatic difference for cheap.

 

[Day Trippin]

As I mentioned before, I had good luck filling tubular bars with sand, BB's, etc. When you put a lot of items together of different materials and mass, they almost never have the same harmonic resonances. They often do a nice job cancelling each other out. OTOH sometimes you get it wrong.

 

[Mxboost]

I've been seeing several posts about vibration with the Ninja, and can't figure out what you guys are talking about. I've had my Ninja for a year and a half, and it is one of the smoothest bikes I have ever owned. I moved to the Ninja from a Vulcan 900 custom, because of handle bar vibration. I also just purchased a 09 Concours 14, and again, it IS the smoothest bike I have ever owned. Ride a 900, you'll see vibration. Haha.

My two cents, it's the distance, of adding the washer that changed the vibration.

 

[Day Trippin]

Every bike is different but can share similar traits. Mine is pretty smooth until about 5,500. It starts to buzz a bit (before it was significant with the stock bar end weights). It fades out at about 6k and then comes back at 8k and continues getting stronger all the way to redline.

It is a not a shake your hands like a cement mixer vibe like a big single does. It is the Braun electric toothbrush on steroids vibe. It isn't the worst bike I've had for vibration but it is far from the best.

The good thing about the vibes is for the most part I am not in that RPM range at cruise. At the same time as I've mentioned elsewhere, is I try to avoid the upper rev range to just avoid this area and that takes away a some of the fun of the bike.

It has a great motor and the vibes get in the way. It isn't like I'll be on the bike for a few minutes. In the past I would be on the bike for 6-10 hours. So a few minutes of discomfort is different than hours. Hours of discomfort cause fatigue. Fatigue often causes mistakes. If just rode around the block for 20-40 minutes, it wouldn't be as big of an issue. YMMV of course.

 

[luciano136]

It probably varies from bike to bike. For me personally, I don't have any vibration under 6k and the vibration in high rpm is mainly through the seat rather than the handlebars.

 

[jtaliani]

Little things do seem to make a big difference too. I didn't have any noteworthy vibes on my Ninja. Installed the Murph's risers and my first ride resulted in a completely numb right hand. Could have just been a coincidence as the vibes were more noticeable but didn't seem that bad. Hopefully it smooths back out or I can get comfortable through seat and other changes without the risers.

 

[Day Trippin]

I have no vibes in the seat at all, minimal through the pegs. It is all in the bars. As a side note,

I am running the Ninja 636 pegs which give me a bit more leg room but aren't rubber covered. So I would be more likely to feel any buzzing there. Through the pegs it is a very mild tingling and quite transient.

I plan to try some Murph's risers to see if it makes any difference.

 

[luciano136]

Not sure if this makes sense at all but I also feel like Ivan's flash made it less buzzy in the higher rpm than it was before.

 

[Mxboost]

The first mod to mine was the Murph's risers. Maybe that's why I never noticed anything.

 

[Mxboost]

Ok, I finally felt the vibration you guy's are talking about, in the bars, but more in the seat. It won't be a problem for me though, cause I won't be cruising at those speeds for long periods of time. Haha.

 

[Day Trippin]

Ok MX, you need to twist the throttle more than just off idle. ;-) When I did my seat mod, it got rid of my making the family jewels go numb. All that was left was the bars.

 

[Cazes7]

I just took a trip couple days ago for 3 hours straight ride. I had murphy risers put on. My hands were numb after 1 hour. Bike now has 1100 miles on it. It's a new 15 model. I noticed vibrations from 4k up during trip. I felt vibes in bars most, but also in seat and pegs. I'm considering selling the bike because of it. Does anyone know of beefier rubber motor mounts?

 

[Mark59]

How tight are you gripping the grips, sometimes i have to watch myself because i get a death grip on them and then my hands will get numb, try loosening your grip.

 

[Day Trippin]

I can understand you quite well. At the end of the day, this was the primary reason I bailed on the N1k. I can't stand numb hands on long rides. Go through my past posts, I did what I could to try and quell the vibrations. Of course there will be some people here tell you that you are imagining things here or otherwise try to impugn your character.

Mine got better but it never went away. Do the vibes get progressively stronger as the RPMs go up for you? You can try the workaround I did by going to the 16T countershaft to lower the revs at my most common cruising speed. The taller 190/55 rear tire also drops the revs a bit at cruise. The motor is counter-balanced so that should have helped it some. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without it.

Maybe the heavier handlebar weights will help enough that you can tolerate it. It helped a lot at cruise on my bike but over 7k they were very intense. You can try different gloves, I tried that route as well. Maybe by the time you hit 20k miles they'll die down.