Forum

[dottyone]

After 3 or 4 years with a 2002 500 Classic I swopped to a 500 Honda. Two years on and I am back with R.E. but this time EFI mounted. It seems to me that the EFI vibrates more than my old Classic. Has anyone else experienced this. By the way, I do know what vibration is having run British bikes in the '60s and 70's including a BSA Spitfire (gosh that was awful over 70 mph!) but have I been spoiled by 2 years of Honda ownership?
P.S. I still have not managed to start the thing using the kick-start.

[papasmurf]

Vibration? I had to look after a friends Hardly Dangerous 1200 Sportster whilst they were in hospital for a long time.
It nearly vibrated my fillings out at any speed from standing still with the engine running all the way up to 100 mph.
It might as well have not had any mirrors because you could not see anything in them.
The longest trip I managed to do on it was 54 miles, after that I had to spend a day laid down on the sofa to recover.
My Enfield Electra X (ish) shod with 19"x4" knobbly tyres is a smooth ride compared with that.

[Paul M H]

Check & make sure all enging fastenings are tight including head steady stay if any are slightly loose it can have an affect like this also an over tight drive chain when sat on bike especilly if it has a tight spot at one point. I know its obvious but worth checking if you have not already.

[dottyone]

Thanks both. Had a good run this p.m. to Otley, Ilkley, Bolton Abbey and back to Bingley. Vibes seem O.K. to 50mph - then a bit harsh. The bike is new to me, and definitely needs checking over. This may have to wait as I am preparing my Dot for the upcoming Bradford to Morecambe run, and I've got pickles and veg. to sort out for our village horticultural show. Retirement is living up to anticipation!

[MartinB]

I have a 2009 EFI but have had loads of Jap bikes and i don't consider my EFI to particularly suffer from vibration although i tend to use it for pottering around the local country lanes. I also own a Honda XBR500 single and IMHO there's not that more more vibration from the EFI.Is your bike new or low mileage?And as Paul says check the engine mountings.

[Jack the Lad]

I don't generally consider my 2010 EFI to be too bad, and can ride 400 mile days without vibration being a problem. It does get a bit more frantic over 65 (unlike us humans), enough to want to avoid maintaining that speed for very long. Higher gearing might help, but there's a pay-off to that and I think there would be a bigger downside in the heavy city traffic on my regular commute. It does get better with time and once the bike was properly run it at about 15,000 miles it smoothed out considerably. Even though from a riding perspective it feels like a gentle thrum that reminds you the machine is working, it does seem to be quite destructive. I have broken two head steadies, followed in each case by damage to the exhaust system. The original silencer cracked around the inlet and the exhaust pipe has just gone too (the outer has split and the inner pipe has become detached). It doesn't however, seem to loosen off any bolts except for the front fuel tank mount. It would be a better bike if it vibrated less than it does but, for me, it's not a deal breaker.

[apparently lucky eddie]

I wonder if it was the Enfield vibrations that have made my new metal knee joint come loose? Worse bikes I ever had for vibes were a T140 Bonnie once it got to about 90mph and a GT500 Suzuki twin that had such appalling high frequency vibes I found myself chewing on tooth fillings and with wax dribbling from the ears!