My new Roamer - or how to chase vibrations

[faffi]

Are you trying to gaslight me?   

Never heard the expression, so I had to google. No. Absolutely not. I just told you how my bike acts.

[Huzo]

Just ride another one…
Just what Bad Chad said.

[HarveyMushman]

I've never ridden a V9, but have owned and ridden a fair number of other varying Guzzi's. I also have ridden SV650's and put 120k miles on a 650 V-Strom. All this to say the Suzuki 650 experience is absolutely nothing like the Guzzi experience. My money's on the V9 being fine. 

[Bulldog9]

Right!
I've just come back from a 50 mile loop on my V9 Roamer and was pondering your problem.

I found that if I got the bike to 40 MPH and then banged the throttle open in ....

5th - it vibrated a lot
4th - it vibrated enough to notice it
3rd - virtually no vibration and took off like a scalded cat

If you're gentle though it will accelerate reasonably  in any of them

If you trust your mechanic that there nothing fundamentally wrong mechanically, I suggest that before you sign it's death warrant,  you go for a decent ride and consciously ride 1 or 2 gears lower than you expect to.

For me the rules are
Up to 30 MPH 1st or 2nd as appropriate
Up to 40 MPH 3rd
Up to 50 MPH 4th
etc.

Took me a while to work that out by the way, and the bike is much happier I think

This...........

Keep the revs above 4K and try hard throttle. I don't go into 6th gear unless I am above 70. Guzzi's LOVE to hang in the 5-6K range and up to redline.

I too think this is a matter of learning how a new motorcycle responds and performs, but I wonder if this is a U Joint Issue?

[Huzo]

This...........

Keep the revs above 4K and try hard throttle. I don't go into 6th gear unless I am above 70. Guzzi's LOVE to hang in the 5-6K range and up to redline.

I too think this is a matter of learning how a new motorcycle responds and performs, but I wonder if this is a U Joint Issue?

But he doesn’t know what to expect as a base line and will not know unless he rides another one.
Also, if it’s a U joint, the vibration will not change with gearshifts.

[Dirk_S]

Fall has just started and hasn’t gotten too warm. Seems to me like the perfect time for a long weekend trip to the nearest V9 owner!

[tris]

When trying to work out which gear I should be in without a rev counter, I produced this  - object being to keep the bike in the green for any given speed




free image hosting no registration


In the absence of another Roamer to try it might help

[Zenermaniac]

For me the rules are
Up to 30 MPH 1st or 2nd as appropriate
Up to 40 MPH 3rd
Up to 50 MPH 4th
etc.

That’s my system, too. I’ve found that my Roamer is happiest in those ranges. When it’s happy I’m really happy 

[janguzzi]

Maybe something like this?
https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/mg-v7-intake-hose-crunch.24144/
or a loose clamp on that intake hose?

[faffi]

Up to 30 MPH 1st or 2nd as appropriate
Up to 40 MPH 3rd
Up to 50 MPH 4th
etc.

I am curious to know what fuel consumption you get.

For me, unless I am accelerating, my shifting points typically are
up to 12-15 mph 1st
from  12-15 mph 2nd
from 25 mph 3rd
from 30 mph 4th
from 40 mph 5th
from 45 mph 6th

Sometimes, I will carry a tall gear to a lower speed and that, if there is very little load on the engine. Or I may go as high as 70 in 4th if climbing a steep hill and/or facing a strong wind. Overall fuel consumption is  3.95 liter per 100 km / 59.5 mpgUS. Average speed about 40 mph, but that is due to a lot of gnarly, winding mountain roads with pently of braking and acceleration combined with country road cruising up to 60 mph. If I ride on highways with speeds in the 70-80 mph range, fuel consumption goes up by about 10%.

[Moparnut72]

You are shifting way too low. No wonder your bike is shaking like a wet dog. Wind her up, won't hurt her, in fact she will love you for it.
kk

[Vagrant]

This is a short stroke engine not a diesel tractor. That sound at 70 in fourth is what you need to shoot for. Third year in the right mountains!

[tris]

I am curious to know what fuel consumption you get.

For me, unless I am accelerating, my shifting points typically are
up to 12-15 mph 1st
from  12-15 mph 2nd
from 25 mph 3rd
from 30 mph 4th
from 40 mph 5th
from 45 mph 6th

Sometimes, I will carry a tall gear to a lower speed and that, if there is very little load on the engine. Or I may go as high as 70 in 4th if climbing a steep hill and/or facing a strong wind. Overall fuel consumption is  3.95 liter per 100 km / 59.5 mpgUS. Average speed about 40 mph, but that is due to a lot of gnarly, winding mountain roads with pently of braking and acceleration combined with country road cruising up to 60 mph. If I ride on highways with speeds in the 70-80 mph range, fuel consumption goes up by about 10%.

I don't really know,  but there again if I want to save fuel,  I'll take the diesel car
But I think that was part of the problem for me
The car has various warnings on the dash urging me to shift up
Without a rev counter for the first time on a bike I was shifting at the wrong time.
The chart above helped me to recalibrate the revs to something I could see, ie the speedo

[Tom]

Usually new owners to Moto Guzzi need to recalibrate the ecu in their head.  As stated previously by others, shift at higher rpm's.
Shift at 5K rpm.  Without a rev counter check the speeds on the graph provided by Tris.     You'll still be below the rev limit.  This is accelerating and not cruising.

[faffi]

Today, I noticed some highly annoying tingling vibes/buzzing in the pegs, mostly in the left. This came into fruition when hitting 55 kph (about 35 mph) in 2nd gear, and lasted at least to 45 mph, accelerating up a very steep switchback hill. Never noticed this before, nor after, but I am going to experiment more.

For the record, when the load is light, my engine runs smoother at low rpm. Meaning it is smoother at 40 mph in 6th than at 50 or 60 or 70 or 80. If you place significant load in the engine, this changes. But that is why there is a gearbox: if there is load, I change down.

[bad Chad]

I opted to pickup the Guzzi little brain box thing which among a bunch of other peramiters, turns your cellphone into a tach. Works great.

[Chrull]

A few days away from the computer but sadly no real ride on my big, red vibrator.
Next in line for my testing is removing the saddle bag rack. It doesn't cause vibrations, but it might amplify them. If i reach around and touch them while riding I can feel them vibration more than anything else on the bike.

I wonder if the flywheel was properly installed balance-wise.

That should be impossible? Aren't flywheels supposed to be keyed to only fit one way?
Also, those nasty vibrations are really only under load. Engine braking or free revving it doesn't do it. Any unbalanced rotating mass should make the engine shake like a washing machine.

I found that if I got the bike to 40 MPH and then banged the throttle open in ....

5th - it vibrated a lot
4th - it vibrated enough to notice it
3rd - virtually no vibration and took off like a scalded cat

40MPH should be 65km/h, and that's where I usually get in to third gear. Accelerate from there and my behind gets a big spanking (more like a hundred tiny spanks but anyway)

If you trust your mechanic that there nothing fundamentally wrong mechanically, I suggest that before you sign it's death warrant,  you go for a decent ride and consciously ride 1 or 2 gears lower than you expect to.

For me the rules are
Up to 30 MPH 1st or 2nd as appropriate
Up to 40 MPH 3rd
Up to 50 MPH 4th
etc.

Those speeds and gears sound pretty much like what I'm doing already....

Simples - only the North Sea an a bit if Norway between us or I'd do so willingly   

Unless you happen to live on the Shetland Islands you would't need to cross Norwegian territory since i live in the southern most part of Sweden. But you might have to deal with the Danes

Never heard the expression, so I had to google. No. Absolutely not. I just told you how my bike acts.

Only joking. I'm just suprised at how different our experiences are.

All this to say the Suzuki 650 experience is absolutely nothing like the Guzzi experience. My money's on the V9 being fine. 

I'm also starting to think the V9 is fine. It just differs greatly from any other bike I've ever been on. All bikes I've been on have had a different feel, but no bike, has ever given me the sense of "something is not right."

When trying to work out which gear I should be in without a rev counter, I produced this  - object being to keep the bike in the green for any given speed




free image hosting no registration

I do like the chart, and will try to keep it in my head the next ride so see how close I am.
(From memory feel the bottom edge of the green zone needs to be slanted upwards.)

Maybe something like this?
https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/mg-v7-intake-hose-crunch.24144/
or a loose clamp on that intake hose?

I like the idea of something wrong with the intake. Different mixture left and right would cause issues, and best of all, it can be fixed :)

I opted to pickup the Guzzi little brain box thing which among a bunch of other peramiters, turns your cellphone into a tach. Works great.

If I keep the bike  adding some sort of tach would be on the list.

Writing all this have made me hungry. Time to get on the bike in search of something to eat. I will try to ride it like I stole it and se if it puts a smile on my face, or a thousand slaps on my butt....

[Vagrant]

Hit the rev Limited in third gear, look at speedo, whatever speed it shows never drop below 1/2 that speed. Repeat for fourth. Drive all day without ever hitting sixth! Problem solved.

[Chrull]

Hit the rev Limited in third gear, look at speedo, whatever speed it shows never drop below 1/2 that speed. Repeat for fourth. Drive all day without ever hitting sixth! Problem solved.

That's pretty much how I'm riding it, and it doesn't really solve anything (for me.)
Rolling on the throttle any more than a few percent makes the bike vibrate badly - no matter rpm. Just before hitting the rev limiter the seat stops vibrating, and the vibrations are added to the already buzzing footpegs.
This increases with every gear, second is worse than first, third is worse than second etc.

Took the bike for a 100km ride this morning. Did most of the riding between 40-110km/h (25-70mph). Got into 4th a few times.
I think it safe to say that this doesn't work for me.

[Dirk_S]

I still think you need to ride another V9 for comparison. When it comes to Guzzi dealers, my default is to not trust them unless I know that they actually truly know the brand. It’s like Ural dealers—a lot of them don’t know the nuances or special bits about the machines. And these bikes are still unique despite losing a small amount of the classic Guzzi character over the past decades (in the case of electronics, that’s not a bad thing!).

[bad Chad]

Dirk is right.   All this wheel spinning is useless, if it turns out its just you!   Find someone who will let you ride another v9 if possible, but really anything v7III or later as long as it's a small block will tell you all  you need to know.   Once this has occurred, come back and enlighten us.

[faffi]

That's pretty much how I'm riding it, and it doesn't really solve anything (for me.)
Rolling on the throttle any more than a few percent makes the bike vibrate badly - no matter rpm. Just before hitting the rev limiter the seat stops vibrating, and the vibrations are added to the already buzzing footpegs.
This increases with every gear, second is worse than first, third is worse than second etc.

Took the bike for a 100km ride this morning. Did most of the riding between 40-110km/h (25-70mph). Got into 4th a few times.
I think it safe to say that this doesn't work for me.

My V9 would definitely vibrate annoyingly, especially through the pegs, if I carried such low gears and high rpm. At least according to how it acted in 2nd gear on my Friday ride.

As several have mentioned, we all differ in how we observe vibrations, and what annoyes us or not. I am usually not bothered by low-frequency, high amplitude vibrations, but those thingling high-frequenzy, low amplitute vibs really gets to me. Main reason why I generelly struggle with multis. Even the Z1300 six I had would numb my fingers within seconds if held at a constant 4000 rpm, even if the buzz was too mild to disturb the mirror images. Others didn't even notice the vibrations.

So what I am trying to say is that while your V9 may be within the range of normality, it still may be a pain to ride for you. I have sold a lot of bikes due to vibration issues over the years.

[janguzzi]

A faulty temp. sensor?
https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/new-2022-v7-850-how-much-vibration-is-too-much-vibration.23792/post-198457