Vibration

[ratta]

           
Had a test ride last week on s1000xr from Pidcocks bmw in   notts Uk and it suffered badly from vibration through the handle bars my hands were numb after 1 junction on
M1 at 80 mph spoke to an owner of the sit up sport model in isle of man he said his bike did not suffer from this ??.

[mediamark]

The demo bike I took out had no noticeable vibrations through the bars, although coming from an F800GS, I may be used to riding a vibe-y bike!

[Grizzly]

Yeah, I noticed some vibration through the bars on my test ride but nothing major. By contrast the Mrs told me if I bought the new Multistrada DVT she would NOT ride pillion because the vibration through her lower legs was so bad. Almost made me buy the Duke...!

[grnmtvt]

I think the vibration is something that is being brought up across all forum boards on this bike.  Haven't heard anyone say yet that it's a dealbreaker for them though.  There are some vibes that wax and wane with the rev's but I haven't felt this to be a serious problem so far.  In fact, on the highway, where I thought it would be most problematic, it's actually smoother due to the higher revs. 

[Bald Man]

Picked up my bike the other day and put 550 km on yesterday. I had vibrations on the bars at 5000 - 6000 RPM. Not sure what I can do about it, but I'd like it to not be there!!
Everything else about the bike impressed the hell out of me.

[Wookie]

The vibrations are ruining it for me! My arms end up numb, tingling with a pins and needles feeling. Its not acceptable and we ALL need to go back to our dealers on this. And maybe the heat coming from the engine - roasted nuts anyone? 

[fasttrak]

I have heard some folks walk away from the test ride and all they could focus on was the vibration through the bars between 4,500-6,500 rpm. For me, the vibrations have come down a bit since new, about 1,000 miles so far and first service completed. There is a gentleman in the US who has the hardware to do some testing for bar end weights and other tricks to tame the vibrations. He has yet to post his findings but I am sure his setup will be liked by many.

Biggest thing, is learn to ride with light hands, awesome for lowering fatigue in general and lowers the impact on the soft tissues of the hand for vibration numbness. I do not even notice the vibrations and have had a couple three hour hard riding sessions and only had the ever slight tingle in the finger tips. If you are getting shoulder and whole hand numbness, I would seriously look into your technique for grip holding, knee usage (gripping the bike and control in sweepers) and arm hold angles. Good technique will afford longer ride times and less fatigue, for some no amount of vibration can be tolerated and maybe this isn't the bike for them.

[PlanktonPete]

I tried to fit some heavier bar end weights I had in the garage but they left the hand protectors flapping so put the OE ones back.  Hopefully someone will come up with a properly fitting heavy items as the BMW ones are not very heavy.  Interestingly my buzzing vibration between 4500 and 5500 revs is far worse on the throttle side than the clutch side.

Hopefully it'll sort itself out as the mileage goes up.

Pete

[Wookie]

4500 to 6500 for me to so it sounds as if we are all having the same issue. Mine is at the dealer tomorrow and will post what they have to say. I don't understand how this was not picked up by BMW during there testing and not mentioned in any of the publication reviews. My dealer did say that BMW have fitted anti vibration plates to them all ready. I think a lot of is down to the engine being a "stressed member" (oh-er-mrs!) and so part of the "frame" which exacerbates the issue. Either way not acceptable - the bike is fantastic but ruined by this.

[PlanktonPete]

Hi Wookie yes it is annoying.  I wouldn't say the bike is ruined for me but it is not really acceptable.  My dealer just says "yes they do buzz a bit!" And he's one of the good ones!
I'm going to try one of those little palm rests arounf the throttle, that worked on a few of my other bikes well.
P