1150gs vibration

[budkohn]

the vibration is getting worse as the miles go by. 19000mi and my butt gets numb within 60 miles. the bar vibration does not bother me. the "dealer" says "this is in factory specs" well i did not know the factory had specs for vibration. the bike surges also but that is solved by downshifting.
i want to solve this problem. i love this bike, save the increasing vibration. does anyone have the fix. just had a major service with this as a problem. some people have over 100,000miles on these bikes. not with this vibration.

thankyou!

[Mr. Frank]

Most oilhead owners report their bike gets smoother with increased miles. You might have someone who has the same bike as you ride yours to see if something is amiss. My RT has almost no vibration in the front seat.

[username]

from what i understand, if youve got a lousy dealer, the best bet to get your oilhead running smooth is to do it yourself. that means doing your own valve adjustment and throttle body sync. i had a major service done (r1150r) and had some issues with vibration after about 800 miles. i took it in and sure enough, my throttle bodies were out of whack, ever so slightly, but just enough that at 4500 rpm, i was on a jackhammer. 30 minutes later and i was good. (i have a good dealer.) these things get out of whack pretty easily. im going to be getting my own twinmax and synching them pretty frequently. right after it's done, the bike is like butter i tell ya.

be sure that theyre doing the valves cold, then synching the throttle bodies warm. go over to www.advrider.com and check out the hall of wisdom. theyve got some great docs explaining exactly how to do all this. this knowledge is valuable even when going to the dealer, because you can have an intelligent conversation about it.

from what ive read, with meticulous tuning (read: a mechanic who gives a crap.) there isn't any surge on the bike.

let us know how it turns out.

[kbasa]

Yep. Careful tuning is key on oilheads. Username's totally right. Get a copy of OVAD and the Throttle Body Sync for Dummies items and spend a little time in your garage getting to know your bike. The first time you do it, it'll take you a couple hours, but as you get more practice, you'll be able to do it in an hour.

You'll also start to be able to feel when your bike is due for a Valve adjustment based on how it feels.

When an oilhead is properly tuned (by someone that gives a hoot), they're pretty doggone smooth.

I love my dealer, but I like to do this stuff myself. I take more care and am more committed to a nice result since I have to ride it.

[dzimbric]

My 1150RT was getting a liitle rough, to the point it was idling like a harley.

manicmechanic and I put a new alternator belt, plugs, synced the throttle bodies with a twinmax and checked the valves.

The bike is back to smooth, ditto to what username sez.

[budkohn]

thank you to everyone!
The newness of this bike and it still being under warrantee, has led me to be scared to do maintence and adjustments as I do on my air-head. I am going to order a Service manual (paper) today.
It seams as these machines are just less forgiving about sloppy adjustments.

[username]

Originally posted by BUD KOHN
thank you to everyone!
The newness of this bike and it still being under warrantee, has led me to be scared to do maintence and adjustments as I do on my air-head. I am going to order a Service manual (paper) today.
It seams as these machines are just less forgiving about sloppy adjustments.

possibly. it's also possible that the BMW brand is going down the toilet, and we are all suckers. it depends on who you talk to. :D

i was in the same boat as you regarding the maintenance, and i learned a few really useful things about getting decent service under warranty.

1. drop err, i mean leave the bike there for a few days. leave it at the end of the day, to decrease the chances of them doing your valves while theyre hot. you also want to give them the flexibility to take their time, and make you a happy customer. i think theyre under pressure at some places to work fast, you don't want to compound this.

2. see if you can meet the mechanics. shake their hand, and look them in the eye. smile. thank them before they do any work. admire their shop. drool about BMWs a little. (this is sometimes confused with outright ass kissing.)

3. take donuts in the morning. (ok, this is outright ass kissing. :D )

developing a personal connection with the folks at your dealer is beneficial. i think that when they have a face and a smile to put with a machine, it's likely to help you.

keep us posted!

[dbrick]

What they all said.

I'd add that the BMW factory service manuals (at least the paper ones I've seen) are aimed at professional mechanics, not us amateurs. Much basic stuff is not described. While it's very useful to have multiple manuals (Haynes, Clymer, BMW factory) on hand, my experience is that if you're only going to have one, you should get one of the non-factory publications.

[hwunger]

Yup, a boxer is a boxer no matter how high tech.

I finally gave up on my roadster and got a mint ST11 ... yes you heard that right - back to Honda. The roadster wasn't too bad except at 4k, but eventually the vibes will wear on you. Too bad as they are otherwise excellent bikes, no question about it.

Now I'll have to do another SS1000 ... hmmmm ! ... :-)