Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all,
just fitted a pair of MR H anti vibration fittings to my Desert Storm rear view mirrors
and guess what they actually work,

just wish the handle bars could be treated as well.

next in line are the brighter flashers.

cheers.

What would be nice would be a pair of heavier bar weights (and longer Allen bolts) to replace the OEM set. I've used mastic and ball bearings to add some weight to the bar tips which has definitely made a difference but even more weight would be better.
. Be nice if there was also an option for a reduced section near the grip to fit the 535gt mirrors...

Abe, unfortunately big singles vibrate. I don't know how many miles you have done but the the EFI does settle down a bit after about 1500 miles. There is one thing which you could try and that is to loosen all engine to frame fasteners (including the head steady) to finger tight, run the engine for five minutes and then retighten to specified torque values. Luckily for me (!) on my brand new 2016 B5 the supplying dealer doesn't have any spanners or 'forgot' to do the PDI so the engine was loose in the frame anyway. At the first 300 mile service as part of the overall nut and bolt check I found most of the engine bolts at 15lbs ft or less (should be 50!) and when I tightened it all up the difference in the vibration was very noticeable.

I tried that on my C5 but it wasn't a silver bullet (pun not intended). It is true that the vibes reduce as the miles mount up. I found the most effective way to reduce the vibes is to run the engine flat out in top for a short while, once the engine is reasonably loose. It is a mistake to baby the engine too much after the first few hundred miles. My engine is now relatively smooth at normal cruising speeds but without a balance shaft it'll always vibrate to some degree. I also believe that the engines vary anyway. On another forum there's a guy who's had about six of these bikes - some have been smooth and others less so. There is a belief that the cranks are not necessarily all properly balanced to perfection. Hand built they may be but they're only as good as the guy who put them together. No two engines will be the same.

The vibrations emanate from the engine (doh). It's a big single. Most of the vibes are transmitted up the front frame tube.

Places to wave the torque wrench and Loctite at the special RE self-loosening nuts, I've done all these and lessened the vibrations -

The head stay.

The front engine mount; loosen the big bolt, run the motor to reseat the engine and tighten the bolt up.

All engine mounts.

Swinging arm bolt (torque wrench!).

Frame bolts, items 7 & 8 & 13 here http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/pa ... 3481/Frame

Doing the last two seemed to take quite a bit of vibration away. The swinging arm only needed about 1/4 turn but the frame bolts took quite a bit more.



Running the engine at high revs, to 5000+rpm up through the gears, does seem to lessen the vibrations. Vibrations seem to get less from 1500 to 2000 miles on the clock anyway. I would not do the first 300 miles like that but it doesn't do to baby it too much. You should be able to feel when the engine has loosened up enough to use more revs. It would also seem that the more you use high revs, the more the engine likes using high revs and gets less buzzy.



The handlebar mounts can be overtightened and stretch the plate, I've had to replace the U-shaped plate as it ceased to grip the bars, elongated holes; use the torque wrench. I got less bar tingle after replacing the plate.



The long bar-end weights bolts are just long M8 Allens, a longer bolt may add some more weight. I have a standard weight on the left but a Halcyon mirror on the right, it seems to work well enough. I have no urge to fit a bar-snake or fill the bars with lead shot.

Thought - I've listened to a good many "Bullet videos" and because I have a tacho, I reckon that most of them only get revved up to 4000rpm through the gears. The motor takes on a different note as it gets to maximum grunt over 4000rpm. This may be because the bars tingle at high revs but the more you run it up there, the less it buzzes.



But this doesn't stop the stock martian antennae mirrors wobbling about. I found they only gave a good view of my stomach, a bar-end mirror is further outboard and gives a good rear view.