Guzzi and vintage Brit twin vibration

[Rough Edge racing]

 For you guys who  had or have a Guzzi big block and a vintage British vertical twin 650-750... Can you say any vintage  Brit  twin you rode had less engine vibration at 60-70MPH than aMoto  Guzzi?
  I have ridden both and the Guzzi is far more pleasant at highway speeds or 90 MPH....I sold a nice 70 T120 Triumph a few years ago because I was tired of the vibration.....But I have had riders tell me about their smooooth Brit bikes...

[guzzisteve]

They make those mercury circle jobs that go on a flywheel or sprockets. Smooth as glass, except on heavy acceleration. Even H-D's run smooth.

[oldbike54]

 A well set up Commando with the last gen isolastics will be pretty smooth at 80 MPH , but I would still prefer a Guzzi . Having ridden lots of miles on Meriden Triumphs , and even a Coventry model or two , there is no comparison with a Guzzi .

  Dusty

[Lannis]

My '75 Norton MkIII Commando is as smooth or smoother than either of my Guzzis at any speed I might ride at.

My BSA Firebird Scrambler 650 has a dynamically balanced crank and a Boyer EI, and is smooth enough for all day running on the blue highways.   The ones with the stock points are generally "out of time" from side to side, as well as the carbs not synched, which is where a lot of the "vibration" you hear about comes from.   But there's a little more buzz than a Guzzi has.

Lannis

[LowRyter]

9 am and midnight

[MotoChuck250]

A well set up Commando with the last gen isolastics will be pretty smooth at 80 MPH , but I would still prefer a Guzzi . Having ridden lots of miles on Meriden Triumphs , and even a Coventry model or two , there is no comparison with a Guzzi .

  Dusty

Yeah, My old 750 Commando was as smooth or smoother than my old Ambassador. The Isolastics did a lot to help out with the vibrations.  I miss both of those bikes. I also had a 750 Bonneville that shook as bad as any Yamaha XS 650 that I have ever ridden.

A buddy of mine who used to own a BSA A65 still refers to them as Bastardly Shaking Apparatuses. 

[oldbike54]

Yeah, My old 750 Commando was as smooth or smoother than my old Ambassador. The Isolastics did a lot to help out with the vibrations.  I miss both of those bikes. I also had a 750 Bonneville that shook as bad as any Yamaha XS 650 that I have ever ridden.

A buddy of mine who used to own a BSA A65 still refers to them as Bastardly Shaking Apparatuses. 

 Yeah , of course now the Yamaha XS 650 guys are gonna start flaming you Chuck 

 Dusty

[dl.allen]

Guzzis always smoother over 50 mph
Triumph are very sensitive to cranks balance
Anything 20 over or more should be balanced
Send to Franz and grub for balancing
And you will have a smooth triumph

[Idontwantapickle]

There is no comparison. The parallel twin is incapable of running at speed as smooth as a 90 degree twin. This difference magnifies as displacement increases.
I know that some of the parallel twin bikes could manage moderate speed without being uncomfortable. My Laverda is like that, it's fine up to a point but at modern highway speed it is no fun.
That's why I have a Guzzi! Or 2.

[rodekyll]

If your brit twin isn't shaking, how do you know it's not broken?

[Penderic]

I saw this Disney vid about mechanical puppet motion software and a thought appeared! 

How about a motorcycle that can vary its power train pulses to mimic different animal running gaits?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfznnKUwywQ

[Rusty goose]

My experience is exactly opposite of Lannis'. I had a '66 BSA A65 with electronic ign and a '67 with points.  The '66 ran great, started easy and was pretty quick.  But the '67 ran smoother and started easier.  It took a whole lot of fiddling with the points and a degree wheel, but in the end it was definitely smoother....    but 1,500 miles later I had to doo all the fiddling over again. The ei never needed another look.  That being said, my loop is a lot smoother than either Beeza's from 50-80mph, and that lovely sound, mmmmmmm.

Rusty

[Testarossa]

Both my Guzzis are smoother than the TR6R with its Boyer ignition, but the Triumph is smoother than I remember the Laverda being, and even smoother than the F650 single.

[Rough Edge racing]

My '75 Norton MkIII Commando is as smooth or smoother than either of my Guzzis at any speed I might ride at.

My BSA Firebird Scrambler 650 has a dynamically balanced crank and a Boyer EI, and is smooth enough for all day running on the blue highways.   The ones with the stock points are generally "out of time" from side to side, as well as the carbs not synched, which is where a lot of the "vibration" you hear about comes from.   But there's a little more buzz than a Guzzi has.

Lannis

 The smoothness of a Commando is dependent on the Isolastic bushing condition...I had a 850 Commando that was a pleasure at high speeds but below 2500 RPM the rubbery shaking was annoying..just like the Buell.....
  I owned and rode many Triumphs over the years but honestly the 55 BSA A10 was smoother ..And it was not in the same league as a Guzzi or Ducati...And of course some Italian V twins shake more that others...
  For me the measure of vibration is if it blurrs my vision...I seem to be very sensitive to vibration coming through the seat..Every Brit bike I rode had the seat vibes no matter how well padded...it's like looking through  dirty googles...

[leafman60]

Ditto what most of the others have said.

All British bikes are not equal insofar as vibration is concerned.  The rubber mount (isolastic)  Norton that I had was very smooth at speed.  The '70 Triumph was pleasant for me but had more vibration than the Norton.  I've heard that the Royal Enfield twins were also smoother than a Triumph.

You can rev an old Triumph on the center stand on a concrete floor and it will walk around, lol.

None of this bothered me.  Thank goodness for some character.  Last thing I want is a sterile smooth sewing machine to ride.  If I wanted that, I'd have a garage full of four-cylinder Hondas.

Thankfully, the Guzzi bikes have vibration too although not as much as my old Triumph.  However, on the road, a Guzzi is nothing but pleasant in my book.

[Rusty goose]

FWIW- The G5 I had was a bit smother than the loop I have now.  The big round barrel with that 5 speed trans was so smooth and comfy right at 85mph, that was its sweet spot.  I had a '79 BMW R100s, it's sweet spot was 80 mph.  I lived in CO, went to school in IA.  I was very familiar with I-80.  Unfortunately these were the dark days of the 55mph national speed limit.   Come to think of it, that is when I should of owned the Ural!

[Sheepdog]

All of the un-counterbalanced vertical twins I've ridden (excepting my Commando) produced enough vibration to break metal tabs, light bulb filaments, and my will to keep the bike. Even my revered Norton Interstate would bounce the front wheel off the ground when idling on the center stand. My Vintage feels a great deal different. The primary balance is near-perfect, with only the rocking couple of slightly offset crankpins contributing a pleasing throb. OTOH, my '03 Triumph Bonneville is really smooth, thanks to the counterbalancer.

I have a great deal of admiration for you guys who restore older British bikes. Poorly maintained examples nearly always have hidden damage due to vibration; electrical shorts, gouged bolt shanks, missing fasteners, and cracked sheet metal are common. The difficulty finding parts and buying a good set of Whitworth tools make things even tougher. Keeping one pleasantly rideable is a cool accomplishment.

[Northern Bill]

I have had many British twins and singles and the biggest laugh is their designation.  For example, a Triumph T120 is supposed to go 120 mph.  I know some will do this but I couldn't imagine riding any of the 120s or 140s I have had at that speed. The only British bike I have had that I would call smooth was my 1970 Norton Fastback.  When I took my T3/replica out for the first time it reminded me of that Norton. When I had the Norton I used to get it tuned by a guy who had 20 Commandos.  When he rode mine he said it was the smoothest Norton he had ever ridden.

[MotoChuck250]

Yeah , of course now the Yamaha XS 650 guys are gonna start flaming you Chuck 

 Dusty

I'll take the guff from the BSA riders but I have spent too much time on Yammy XS 650s call them anything but bone shakers when out on the highway. 

[oldbike54]

I'll take the guff from the BSA riders but I have spent too much time on Yammy XS 650s call them anything but bone shakers when out on the highway.

 The first XS I rode in 1972 vibrated like a paint shaker , worse than my old Triumph . 

 Dusty

[LowRyter]

There is no comparison. The parallel twin is incapable of running at speed as smooth as a 90 degree twin. This difference magnifies as displacement increases.
I know that some of the parallel twin bikes could manage moderate speed without being uncomfortable. My Laverda is like that, it's fine up to a point but at modern highway speed it is no fun.
That's why I have a Guzzi! Or 2.

Many of the new twins now have 270 degree cranks, so they fire just like a 90 degree V twin.

[Lannis]

I have had many British twins and singles and the biggest laugh is their designation.  For example, a Triumph T120 is supposed to go 120 mph. 

The standard claims from the old days ....

650 Triumph - 120 MPH
Sportster - 130 MPH
BSA Hornet - 120 MPH
500 Kaw H1 - 120 MPH
CB350 Honda - 110 MPH

Those have essentially doubled since then, with the extended-swingarm gixxer and busa crowd calmly claiming 250 MPH on the street from their terrible-handling, badly-jetted/mapped customs.

Nothing really changes, does it?   

Lannis

[Northern Bill]

Speaking of 270 I had a 2009 Triumph scrambler that was relatively smooth.  I modified the bike quite a bit, including reducing its weight by 60 pounds so it was a lot faster than stock.  Anyway I put on a Zard low exhaust and I replaced the cut out side panels with t100 panels. When I brought the bike in to get remapped for the new exhaust the local dealer said it would take about half an hour.  After about two hours I was a bit worried. Eventually it was done but what I found out was that the mechanic (????) had read the t100 on the side panel and had been trying to map it without realizing it was a 270!!

[Huzo]

Many of the new twins now have 270 degree cranks, so they fire just like a 90 degree V twin.

Oh dear.....

[canuck750]

On Saturday I took my 1973 Laverda SF1 out for my first ride, compared to a Guzzi Eldorado or V7 Sport the Laverda is rough, more torque and probably more powerful of a beast!

The Guzzi is just so much smoother, no comparison.

I rode around town for half an hour on the Laverda and I was ready to get off it. Like the V7 Sport its probably better suited to fast sweepers than in town speeds.

Today I went out for a couple hours on my Eldorado at highway speeds and returned fresh and comfortable, I could have ridden the 850 all day long. At 80 mph  the guzzi is comfortable and smooth.

[nc43bsa]

The first XS I rode in 1972 vibrated like a paint shaker , worse than my old Triumph . 

 Dusty

The XS1 shook so bad that fairing manufacturers of the day refused to make mounting brackets for it. 

[Jim Rich]

Well, comparing my old T140 Bonneville to Guzzis, all I can say is you have to be joking.  The trumpet was a paint shaker compared to the Guzzis. 

[britman]

I have and ride both, 64TR6R and a 99 Bassa.  The Triumph wins hands down in the vibration department. 

[leafman60]

So, we've all pretty much agreed that the non-isolastic British twins shake like a paint mixer.

In defense of them, I say - so what? 

My '70 Bonneville shook, as I've said, but it was so slender, compact, nice handling, quick accelerating that it would run circles around my Loop Frame of the same era.  Yeah, the Loop was a pleasure on the road but it was no where near the sporting machine of the Triumph. 

Bottom line is that the British bikes appealed more to the young at heart whereas the Guzzi was/is more of an old man's bike that provided easy accoutrements for the more "mature" at heart. 



.

[Northern Bill]

I took my winter project (T140) for a ride around the block yesterday and it was a lot smoother than any of the 650s I have had but I still wouldn't be cruising at 80 mph on the highway with it.




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That is a beautiful Laverda but I know what you mean about the ride.  I rode a friend's SFC and it was the most uncomfortable bike I have ever ridden. Now the Jota, that is a different story.