89 1200 FJ viberation

[Pat Conlon]

"trust no one"  Double check all work done by someone else....

Yep, loose tire valve....happened to me too.

What recently happened to me was... I take my wheels off and take them down to my local guy to put new skins on...been doing it that way for years now. He charges me $20 per wheel to mount and balance.
I picked up my last set and someone mounted the tires backwards...as in, the arrows were going the wrong way. Both tires, I know, I know....hard to do....but at least they were consistent. I caught it right away.

They blamed it on the "new guy".  FNG

[FJ_Hooligan]

I always put a strip of blue painters tape on my rim and use a Sharpie to draw a big fat arrow in the direction of rotation.  That usually keeps my idiot tire mounter (me) from screwing it up.

[rktmanfj]

I always put a strip of blue painters tape on my rim and use a Sharpie to draw a big fat arrow in the direction of rotation.  That usually keeps my idiot tire mounter (me) from screwing it up.

That's actually a pretty good idea!   

[markmartin]

I've got arrows drawn and the word rotation written with a marker in the inside of the rims.  Rear is more evident, but I can see how the front could be done wrong esp. if the wheel comes in with no tire on it.

[fj11.5]

Had that same tyre direction incident happen too,  rear tyre on effie, but this time it was the owner of the bike shop that screwed up, , boy was he red faced after rushing outside to prove me wrong for saying he stuffed up the direction , ,couldn't wheel the bike back in quick enough  ,, then had the apprentice swap it around 

[RichBaker]

After having a front tire mounted and balanced by a shop close to work I had a valve issue. I was performing my routine checks on the bike including air pressure. I took my valve cap off and heard a quiet hisssss. Damn, I was thinking it was the valve stem, already had one fail so I replace them every 3 tires. But I wiggled it around and the sound did not change. Ok, it must be a bad Schrader valve. I have few spare in the garage. Just for giggles I make sure the one in the stem is tight. It was loose!!!  One of the reasons I decided I was taking that job over myself and now mount and balance my own tires. And why I now have 90* stems as well, easier to check the air and service if it starts to leak.

I now have 2 of those, and need to get them installed.  I was checking the air in the rear tire, and the valve stem broke off!!!  Damn rubber just let loose....  For the 2nd time in 2 years! So, now it's metal stems ONLY!!!   

I'm DAMN glad it happened sitting still.....

[CelticTiger]

Hi guys,
           Just checking in. As you have gathered from my self inflicted absence, I have had some 'me time' on my beloved FJ. I got up on it at 3pm last Sunday and apart from stopping for a wee break, I was a total of 6.5 hours in the saddle. I didn't even pull in for a cup of java. It was my first time riding in the dark, it went ok but I figure I need to set the lamp range as the Hi beam was HIGH rather than extending my field of vision.

Again, I had the bad vibrations leading to hand numbness issues. I purchased a set of Knox Handroid racing gloves. God Bless the unfortunate kangaroo that gave up its life to provide the material for them, but they certainly seemed better. Coupled with the fact that I reset the levers to their lowest positions thus giving my hands the straightest plain in line with my arms. I also am covering the brake lever with 3 fingers rather than the previous index finger technique, thus having less of my hand in contact with the handlebar. I was also conscious that I wasn't applying my (considerable) body weight forward to my wrists, I tried to apply the load to the old glutus maximus ( my well padded lard arse )
All minor adjustments in themselves, they will have to do until I finally resolve the issue.

I have since renewed my membership of the FJ owners club in the UK. The site is ran by the FJ guru Doc Hacker. He mentions about vibrations being a design feature of my model, but due to the rubber mounts it should only be mildly detectable between 2,500 - 3,000 rpm. That is not the case for me. I just take the steed up to 80mph (4,000rpm), and it's there right thru that band, hence my reluctance to nudge above that figure. He also recommends checking the carb diaphragms and checking the compression ratios, so thats two more tasks on my To-Do list. I am determined to get to the bottom of this issue as it seriously restricts my safe enjoyment of my riding, so much that I am considering selling her on and purchasing it's replacement the FJR. That having been said there are a lot of bikes on the market right now. Guys are raffleing or swopping them on biker sites, cash is a rare commodity in the Irish biking community right now  

[red]

Hi guys,
Again, I had the bad vibrations leading to hand numbness issues. I purchased a set of Knox Handroid racing gloves. God Bless the unfortunate kangaroo that gave up its life to provide the material for them, but they certainly seemed better.

CelticTiger,

When you balanced your carburetors, did you balance them at 3500 RPM, also?  I might tolerate some minor roughness at idle, for the exchange of smoother cruising. 

I cured about 90% of the vibrations in my handlebars with a combination of foam grips (Grip Puppies or similar), and new, heavier handlebar end weights:

http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AFoamGrip

http://www.vibranator.com/product_p/b10.htm

These Vibranators are purpose-built for the FJ, but other bar-end weights may help as well.  The OEM bar-end weights seem to be be too light, for the task.   Some FJ riders have installed a plug inside the handlebar, added lead shot (~60gr. or more) and re-used the OEM bar-weight in each end of the bar; this trick may help, if money is scarce.  Scientific glassware uses tapered rubber plugs, which can be bought with a single hole in the middle.  Hobby shops might sell them; trim to fit, as needed.  Use one of these plugs at each end of the handlebars, with a stout braided cord through the hole as the inner handlebar plug.  The inner end of the cord is to be knotted, and perhaps having a metal washer between the knot and the plug.  Then you can adjust the size of the weight-chamber by pushing the plug deeper into the handlebars, or pulling the cord (and plug) outward.  Add the lead shot, then re-install the OEM bar-end weight.

Cheers,
Red

[FJ_Hooligan]

Perhaps it's not the vibrations that are causing your hands to go numb.  I'm no doctor, but if your hands are going numb, that is typically caused by a pinched nerve, not by vibration.

How is your posture while riding?  Are your arms slightly bent, or are your elbows and wrists locked up supporting your upper body weight?

Whenever I start getting tired, I get lazy and use too much arm to hold myself up.  I become aware of this when I start feeling pain in my wrists and hands.  Once I correct my weight support (using back, stomach and legs muscles instread of just my arms) the pain goes away.

You might want to try different riding postures and see if that helps any. 

[winddancer]

Perhaps it's not the vibrations that are causing your hands to go numb.  I'm no doctor, but if your hands are going numb, that is typically caused by a pinched nerve, not by vibration.

How is your posture while riding?  Are your arms slightly bent, or are your elbows and wrists locked up supporting your upper body weight?

Whenever I start getting tired, I get lazy and use too much arm to hold myself up.  I become aware of this when I start feeling pain in my wrists and hands.  Once I correct my weight support (using back, stomach and legs muscles instread of just my arms) the pain goes away.

You might want to try different riding postures and see if that helps any. 

I have to disagree on my bike my hands go numb due to the vibration after about 30 min ride and i know it is from the motor due to the fact that when i pull in the clutch the vibration goes away. if i take my hand off the throttle for about 30 sec the numbness goes away. That being said i still am looking for way to take the vibration out of the motor just been slow going.