Vibration

From A2B

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I’m thinking strongly about buying a new ST XT1200.

I’ve one concerning question. As someone who has owned a 2012 GS, 2013RT and 2017 GS lc, will I noticed an increase in vibrations. At the pegs and seat I’m sort of okay but I struggle to tolerate bar vibes.

Thanks for your input in advance.
 

gsergrant

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The Tenere does not seem to suffer the vibration/flat spot at around 4500 revs. I've had 4 BMW GS Adventures before switching to the Yamaha. Overall very pleased but I don't think it's as comfortable out the showroom as the BMW. Bar risers and a new seat rectified that. Also the fueling takes some getting use to. I just leave mine in T mode and enjoy the low service costs and reliability.
 

Gigitt

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Compared to the Gen 1, the 2014+ Gen2 Super Tenere has rubber isolated handle bar tripple tree mounts.
Also has a better aluminium handle bar with heavy bar ends.
These help with minimising vibrations and jolts to the wrists.

If you add the foam Pussy Grips or Grip Puppies it will help as well.

I really cant tell you if there are vibrations in the bars... because i dont notice them as I enjoy riding it too much.

My Versys 650 vibrates way more than the Super Tenere.

I do keep my bikes tuned with regular throttle body balances and that does help with vibrations.
 

Sierra1

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The RT I drove had a vibration that I couldn't feel, but my right hand would go to sleep after about 30 minutes at 80ish mph. I haven't really noticed any major vibes from the Tenere, and my hand(s) haven't gone to sleep either, so....
 

ace50

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Gigitt said:
My Versys 650 vibrates way more than the Super Tenere.

I do keep my bikes tuned with regular throttle body balances and that does help with vibrations.
What year Versys do you have?, as the last couple years they added rubber engine mounts.
 

Gobius

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ace50 said:
What year Versys do you have?, as the last couple years they added rubber engine mounts.
I just traded my 2015 Versys 650 (the newest version) for a 2017 S10. The big girl definitely vibrates less than the Versys, and feels much more relaxed at highway speeds.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 

EricV

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From A2B said:
I’m thinking strongly about buying a new ST XT1200.

I’ve one concerning question. As someone who has owned a 2012 GS, 2013RT and 2017 GS lc, will I noticed an increase in vibrations. At the pegs and seat I’m sort of okay but I struggle to tolerate bar vibes.

Thanks for your input in advance.
Go ride one. Only you can say what bothers you. I consider that BMW paint shaker to have more vibes than the Super Ten, either Gen I or II. The wife rides a '16 GSA, so I have some experience with that bike. Gen I bikes are known for having more vibes than the Gen II bikes. Somewhere around 40-60k miles the clutch hub gets looser and causes vibes under power in the 3k-3500k range, (most noticeably), that can be eliminated by change over to a Gen II factory clutch hub. It's not hugely expensive, requiring a new nut, clutch hub and gasket. ~$300 or less.

So really, it depends on what year, Generation and mileage you are comparing.
 

Gigitt

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ace50 said:
What year Versys do you have?, as the last couple years they added rubber engine mounts.
2012 model gen 2 Versys.
Vibrations are there they are not bad... more like buzzes... the S10 is a lot less vibey/buzzy.

Biggest issue for me with wrist pain was solved with better handlebar ergonomics.
I do get sore writs and do suffer from numbness, but it not the vibrations causing it.

On the Versys adding Rox 2" risers lifted my wrists, but it was when I rotated the handle bar back slightly it put my wrists into a more comfortable position with a slight vertical element to the angle. This made a huge difference and reduces my pains and numbness.

On the Super Tenere I now have RRR Tools Risers. I have tried stock bar = numbness, contour Raptor = good, then bought the Contour ATV Low bar for less sweep to see if it was better = good but over time it iritated me somewhat. Sweep was a bit too straight and my wrist got tired in the twisties - this was tested on a 2 week 8500km trip beginning of this year.
When I got home I went back to the Contour Raptor bar and cannot be happier.

What I saying is that numbness and sore writs may not be cause by vibrations alone.
 

HeliMark

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I had a 2012 RT, and put 45K miles on it. To me, it had more vibes in the handle bars then my 2013 ST. My hand was going numb a lot faster on the RT then the ST.

Mark

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bmac

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Anyone coming from a big BMW twin will be pleasantly surprised at the lack of vibration of the 2014 and newer Super Tenere. The engine is very smooth throughout the rev range.

My last ride on a BMW GS was just a month ago and the vibration at higher speeds drove me nuts. There is a lot to like about the GS but the level of vibration was more than I can handle. That trait alone scratched the bike off of my list. I much prefer their inline 4 in XR trim.
 

Cycledude

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Mine is a 2013 and vibration has never been an issue for me, in fact it seems pretty smooth, but like others have said what drives one person crazy might not bother the next rider at all.
About the only bad things I will say that are somewhat handlebar related is my 13 has no cruise control or self canceling turn signals, I personally would not buy another bike without those 2 features.
 

krussell

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I am very sensitive to handlebar vibrations, but I've learned over a lot of bikes and vibration reports that people resonate differently. What one rider considers unnacceptablle another rider may consider to be just fine, and vice versa. I also think riders grow accustomed to things like vibes over time, and they don't seem as bad after a while.

I have done considerable back to back testing of 2 GSA LCs I've had with 3 different Gen II S10s that I've had. My observations:

- During leisurely riding below 50mph, the GSA-LC can be very smooth, more or less as smooth as the S10.
- Under hard acceleration the GSA-LC vibrates much more than the S10.
- Under heavy load, for example 2 up steep grade, the GSA-LC vibrates much more than the S10.
- The GSA-LC vibrates at idle, the S10 is definitely smoother there.
- By far the worst vibes from the GSA-LC are above 65MPH+. Basically freeway speed and beyond. I hate it. S10 at similar speeds is much smoother.

After an hour of spirited riding on the GSA-LC, my hands are numb for several hours. After a day on the S10, I'm not numb.

This comparison is pure stock GSA-LC(s) against pure stock S10 Gen II(s) wearing lightly padded leather riding gloves.
 

Ramseybella

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1012, the new designed clutch basket swap made a big improvement at the 3-4k mark.
Swapped the stock bars and installed bar risers.
ECU flash help even more but a pair of foam Grip puppies topped the cake.
I bought the grips puppy knock offs at Cycle Gear for $8.00, been going strong for 4+ years now. ::008::
 

From A2B

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Thanks for the input.

I’ll report back in a while with my view. New bike hopefully this weekend...
 

Checkswrecks

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From A2B said:
Thanks for the input.

I’ll report back in a while with my view. New bike hopefully this weekend...



Ooohhhh - Congratulations!
 

From A2B

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Yep bike bought. Have only managed 140 miles or so but I’m pleasingly content with the whole package. Bought the base model as my preference to too much electronics.

From what I’ve experienced, vibrations are barely perceptible and certainly unobtrusive although clearly at this stage, I haven’t been able to explore the feeling at the later stages of the rev range.

As an aside I’ve put three clicks clockwise into the fork rebound to calm the attitude there.

Will report back...
 

2daMax

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Do have the TB sync'ed if you can. I do find that the vibes drops off significantly after a sync'ed.

I did an oil change to something considered a better oil (shell fully synthetic) and found the vibes on the engine did not go away at the 3 to 4k range. It felt better than with the old oil in. Bike appears to not be as responsive as I remembered, and usually with new oil, there would be significant throttle response improvements. Last TB sync'ed was 7k km ago. Found out that the manometer I used for the sync was more than 6" off during the sync. After sync'ing, the difference were:

1. Certainly more responsive on the throttle
2. No longer felt there was some sluggishness in T mode. Was contemplating of upping the CO settings due to this symptom.
3. Vibes are gone at the 3 to 4k range, and that translates to a overall smoother ride.
4. Weirdly, the exhaust sounds better and louder on the Akra. At one point I did noticed the exhaust became less aggressive sounding and more subtle. Thought I have hearing issues.
5. Back to normal on the off-throttle stumble. Before sync'ed, it felt as if the reference screw did not have the 3/4 turn out. I somewhat felt the air passages are more restricted. This was the motivation to use the TB cleaner.

The last time I checked on TB sync was with a 5k km interval and the manometer difference was a mere 1". What made the 6" difference at 7 k km interval this time was probably due to cleaning out the air bypass passages and entire Throttle plate with TB cleaner. Nearly had a hard start issue with all the TB fluids so lesson learned is to have the engine running while the cleaning takes place.

This is on a 2012 Gen 1 bike.
 

madman4049

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I have a 2012 with a clutch basket mod and protaper adventure evo bar on sw motech barback risers with very heavy weights and am still getting bad vibration. So much so that my throttle hand goes numb after a few minutes, part of it is the vibration part of it is carpal tunnel. I know the 2014 and on top triple clamps have rubber isolators in them. Is it possible to buy these parts the top clamp, rubber isolation, and bar bases and fit them to my 2012? And if so does it reduce vibration enough to warrant the roughly 180 price tag for all parts?
 

cyclemike4

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I have a 2012 and it is very smooth. you do feel the twin thump when rolling on the gas hard. I have the clutch mod and the bike feels better than it did. The two things that helped my bike the most was believe it or not changing the muffler to an after market unit. that just about eliminated all the vibrations with just that. Of course the bike was fairly new and was still breaking in so it may have been the break in miles helping it too. Also for my throttle hand I lightened the throttle return spring. I have had to do that on the last two bikes I have owned. Having to grip the throttle tight just to hold it open on long stretches seemed to make my hand feel numb.
 
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