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Handlebar viberation

12K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  steferf 
#1 ·
I have an 09 KLR and my hands and arm tingle after riding a short while. What is the best way around it? Gel grips? And if so, whats the best ones to use? I have heard filling the bars with caulking??? Any help would be great....
 
#2 · (Edited)
Before you chase after the bars check the motor mounts and adjust the doo.

Do you have the bar end weighs on? Have you tried adjusting the bars maybe a different position will lessen the effect on your arms.

I use gel grips, ProGrip 737 they are slightly larger diameter than the OEMs. They might kill some of the vibes. I have aluminium hand guards that transfer vibes away from the bars like bar end weights. I'll get a slight buzz in the grips at certain RPMs but nothing annoying.

There are Vibrabators I don't have any experience with them though.
 
#3 ·
I found that when I first got the bike I had alot of numbness in the fingers but I learned over time not to grab so tight, allowing my fingers to rest on the levels when on the highway. Even purchased a "cramp buster" from aviciouscycle.ca for ~$10.

Try that before and if it is still a problem, follow the advice from Spec.
 
#4 ·
What Spec Said....

I cant tell you why but I can tell you that when I got my bike the bars were stood up pretty tall, setting foward. I pulled them back toward the tank, I dont do much high speed low drag riding you could say. It made a big diff for me. Good leather gloves will also soak up some of the buzzzzzz you might be feeling?
 
#9 · (Edited)
I will also be aware about how tight I am holding on while im riding. Thanks again
Nothing wrong with trying to reduce vibration, as evidenced by all the products out there designed to do so, but I would think you're on the right track here and would experiment with how (and how tightly) you hold your handlebars/grips and perhaps whether you're having to reach too much to keep your arms relaxed while riding.

moriver brings up a good point. Try rotating the bars back. It's something quick and easy to try. I never had any issues with my hands or arms, but found rotating my bars back and down did make it much more comfortable to ride and now I'm considering some 1" handlebar risers. Is it pathetic to be too lazy to even reach out for your handlebars? I'm hoping it will help with shoulder tightness/knots I get on longer rides. You are not alone. Good luck with solving this problem.
 
#11 · (Edited)
The doohickey is the tensioner for the balancer system. The balancer system tames the vibes that are created from the single cylinder motor. When the balancer chain needs more tension there is a corrosponding increase in felt vibrations. Not saying that that's the source of your problem but adjusting the doo should be a preliminary step in chasing vibes.

The doo is locked in place when the bolt is tight (the bolt is behind a rubber cover lower left side of the motor in front of the primary gear) You pop off the rubber cover and loosen the bolt less than a full turn (motor off!). This allows the spring to pull the doo and take up the slack on the balancer chain.

BTW the bolt can hang up the doo so most tap on the wrench or the case to insure that the doo does move. It's important to not loosen up the bolt too much. Tighten up the bolt and replace the cover.

Common Mods and Issues thread has doo info.
 
#12 ·
I had a terrible problem with my throttle hand when I first started with the KLR. switched gloves to a gel palm, loosened up my grip and put a "paddle" on my throttle. Not sure what they are called, but they're cheap and easy to attach/remove(velcro strap). Has helped a ton. I'll probably try to reposition the handle bars as well.
 
#13 ·
He's referring to adjusting the balacer, should be a "how-to" here on the Forum, if not it's definitely in both the owners manual and the Clymer manual.

Bar end-weights have helped me with vibration. 1 inch bar risers and rotating the bars rearward has made riding more comfortable, and reduced fatigue in shoulders, back, and arms (I have alligator arms).


Good Luck! :)
 
#17 ·
Grip Puppies are a cheap grip cover that have good reviews.

There are also vibration isolators for mirrors.

A good solution to mirror vibration is putting XR650L Mirrors on it. If I added right, 77.30 from Bike Bandit.

Rocky mountain ATV has cheap Aluminum Handle Bars. Different colors different bends available. http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/48/77/252/947/-/12330/Tusk-T-10-Aluminum-7-8%22-Handlebar I'm pretty sure this'll work with the KLR....Though on some of the sharper bends, I'm not sure if there is enough cable slack.

27 bucks. 7 Dollar shipping up to 99 bucks. 100 and over free 3 day shipping. I need a new handle bar anyways, so this is going to be my first attempt to fix vibrations.





*Note* I have not used any of the above. Only some of the solutions I've found while doing research into the problem.
 
#18 · (Edited)
The best and cheapest way to fix the vibes is ride another bike. Like a KTM 450 or LC4 or Husqvarna or some other hopped up dual sport bike. They almost always vibrate at a certain rpm so you're always trying to lug them under it and rip on it to get above it. Annoying and fatigues you.
You jokingly said you're old. That makes me wonder if you're lugging the engine too much? If you are it will shudder and vibrate more and it's not good for the engine.
My 08 KLR is pretty darn smooth. I don't want it TOO smooth though. I like my bikes to have a soul.
:)
 
#20 ·
Adjust your bars, try it. Rotate them away and go for a ride, better? No rotate them towards you and repeat. Could be that they are too low also. Rocky Mt. has cheap risers.

Some say to close your eyes and reach for your bars where it's comfortable. Open and see where your hands are. Should give you a rough idea of what you need to do.
 
#23 ·
How much do you put in?

I was actually thinking if it were possible to put foam into the Motech Crash bars to help vibration problems. I know Ford does something similar with their F150's.
 
#24 ·
I need to do that before winter. My Hawk came like that, I put on heated grips and they work MUCH better than my KLR with no caulking. Problem is the caulking in the Hawk was still wet just like new, didn't harden.
 
#27 ·
Use Steel Shot + Caulk

The point is that you want to make the bar ends heavy to reduce their natural frequency. That way they don't buzz.

On my KLR I have a Moose ATV bar (wanted a narrower bar than stock). Since I lost the stock bar end weights with the swap, I filled the ends of the bars with a mixture of steel shot and RTV caulk. I also have Spider grips that are thicker and softer than stock.

With the bars off the bike, I cut a wine cork in half and pressed each half about 8" into the bar. I used a dowel to be sure that they were both at the same depth. Then I mixed up BBs and RTV until I had just enough RTV in the mixture to hold it together. Then I filled the bar ends while tamping intermittently. Once it was full, I inserted the end caps and let it set up overnight.

I went out on a 90 minute ride with quite a bit of highway yesterday. No tingling, no pain. You could do this mod with the bars on the bike, but it would be a little harder to fill the ends.
 
#28 ·
The point is that you want to make the bar ends heavy to reduce their natural frequency. That way they don't buzz.

On my KLR I have a Moose ATV bar (wanted a narrower bar than stock). Since I lost the stock bar end weights with the swap, I filled the ends of the bars with a mixture of steel shot and RTV caulk. I also have Spider grips that are thicker and softer than stock.

With the bars off the bike, I cut a wine cork in half and pressed each half about 8" into the bar. I used a dowel to be sure that they were both at the same depth. Then I mixed up BBs and RTV until I had just enough RTV in the mixture to hold it together. Then I filled the bar ends while tamping intermittently. Once it was full, I inserted the end caps and let it set up overnight.

I went out on a 90 minute ride with quite a bit of highway yesterday. No tingling, no pain. You could do this mod with the bars on the bike, but it would be a little harder to fill the ends.

Welcome to the forum!

You could have just used inserts and the stock end weights. :cool:


 
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