Does the GS500 have any areas of vibration (seat, pegs, bars, mirror, etc)? I had a Yammy XS500 that for all practical purposes was electric smooth...nearly as smooth as my current Wing. I want to downsize and the GS500 seems like it would fit my purposes, but, I know I won't be happy if it isn't fairly smooth. Any comments? If there are any vibes are they at any particular speeds?
Paul :)
well i got up to 95mph and didnt feel anything except the wind rushing into my face. but going that fast i wasnt really concentrating on vibrations. nothing at 80mph either.
There have been past threads on the Vibration theme, worth a search? but usually they turn out to be something simple like incorrect tyre preasures. I am not aware of any inbuilt wobbles or vibrations on mine.
Mine vibrates at bit at certain revs, but it's a '91 and has over 100,000kms on it. There is always the feeling of pulsing and vibration, which I actually like when combined with the way the bike growls at you - reminds you you're riding a motorcycle instead of driving a car. However, my harmonic vibration (probably some loose nuts) has given me sore hands after excessive amounts of riding at highway speeds (only ~60mph for you guys).
I used to get a buzz in my tail plastics around 5K-6K rpms but I replaced the rubber gromets the plastics mount to and that remedied that. I have Flanders drag bars without weighted bar ends and I notice no vibration in the bars. I do however notice some in the foot pegs but its very minor (to me). Its been so long since I've had my stock bars with bar end weights that I can't remember how it was stock
I think one's opinion of a vibey ride will differ from one person to another. In fact, I hardly ever even notice the vibes in the foot pegs.
My bike has a funny vibration at midrange, like buzzing, if I keep it at same speed in the range it can be claerly noticed, around 6-7k RPM, but it doesn't disturb me really. If I ride "agressively" for more than an hour my hands and feet end up feeling like senseless for a few minutes, which really doesn't bother me at all. I guess the big issue would be the seat in long trips, it doesn't vibrate but my butt will call for a break. :oops:
Mirrors only vibrate at high speeds (100MPH), and sometimes madly so you really can't see nothing at all on them, but blurred spots.
Welcome Paul!
The only vibration I notice is the joyful pitter-patter of my little heart while riding.
The GS has about as much vibration as a properly tuned XS650.
Edited for clarity
My mirrors vibrate from near standstill. I have to pull in the clutch to clear them. I don't know how to fix that. The foot pegs and handlebars were pretty buzzy between 5-7k but a carb synch cleared that up and it's smooth as silk now.
My 2002 is smooth up to about 75 with gloves. After that, it's a little buzzy but not bad. I once rode a Matchless 500 single. Once moving, the handlebars grew to about the size of coke cans and the pegs vibrated so much that my feet kept sliding off. I had a 74 BMW 900 for many years. The GS500 is smoother.
Mine's a little buzzy between 5K-6K, and it blurs the mirrors quite a bit, but it's far from uncomfortable to ride.
My handlebars seem buzzy at highway speeds. After being on the highway for an hour, my hands feel weird and tired. But I have tiny girl hands, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Scratch, that's disappointing to hear. I owned an xs 650 and it was VERY vibratory(Is that a word?). After 50 miles on it I looked as shakey as Barney Fife holding a gun! And the GS has a counterbalancer! Maybe I'd be better off finding an old XS500 to restore. Now that was one smooth bike! I ran the devil out of it (XS500) and it was just bulletproof.
Paul