Hi there, new to this forum but thought I would share my tale of woe with you all.
It all started about a year ago when I bought my first BB having grown tired of my Triumph (understandable I hear you say). Well, managed to find a nice P reg with only 4.5k miles on the clock - sorted, happy as a porker in poo and all that. Anyway, after about 3k miles in my tender care, the bike started to vibrate. Left right hand going numb and all that, it was unbearable. Sent off a few "help me" messages to other forums (didn't know 'bout this on at the time) and had a number of replies and various tips. Here is a list of the actions I took:
* balanced carbs
* fitted new chain and sprockets
? result, bit better but no fix
* twiddled balancer shafts according to Haynes
* changed oil for semi synth
- result, thought it was fixed on country thrash, next motorway journey proved better but not fixed!
* changed CCT
* changed plugs
* twiddled balancer shafts again
- bit better but not fixed
* banged head against wall :bang:
* took bike to George Whites for evaluation...."all carbed birds are like this mate, in fact this is one of the best we have ridden, you need an injected one to get a completely smooth ride...."
* PXd fookin bike for a new one about a month ago
- result, fook me if the fookin thing didn't fookin vibrate in all the same fookin places!!!! (only not as bad) "Must be the new tight engine" I thought - you know the drill. 1000 miles later, yes it is getting much better but still not perfect. ...Is it me? I thought, ....am I just expecting too much? Well going by this thread, I am not alone. I can also hear a bit of cam noise, not bad but it was not there on the old one. Will get this looked into again soon. Have to put the standard cans back on though as the local dealer could not hear anything with the MIGs on!
* phoned Chiswick Honda, surprise, surprise, "well, the new ones do run a bit harsher sir..."
My position is now as follows. I do not believe that there is a totally vibe free bike out there. There are just degrees of vibration, degrees of rider perception, different riding styles, etc. Some of the characteristics of my old bird that concerned me at the time a bit are the same on the new on. Conclusion, characteristic of the engine and thus does not bother me any more (if you see the logic?) I am now much more tolerant with the new BB, I just want to put some more miles on it to loosen the engine up as it is not as fast and powerful as the old one yet.
Bottom line, it is still a fantastic bike! I loved my old one but just got to the stage where I could not live with the vibes. I love the new on too, I have learnt some lessons. I know the bike better having done all the work on the old one and have experience to compare 'features'. The BB is not perfect -- but it is damn close.
