vibration at freeway speeds

[JIBTEXHNKA]

i have a suzuki gz250, and at speeds over about 55mph it vibrates so bad it's ridiculous. probably because it's only a single cylinder and it's not exactly meant for cruising at 65 for extended periods of time...

what's a good way to deal with this? seat cushions? or a new seat altogether? or do i just need to suck it up and deal with it?

[JC Viper]

I had that bike when I first started out. I could barely reach 65mph with all the wind buffeting.

One suggestion would be to get a windscreen or such which should make the bike more aerodynamic. I sold the bike before I could get one though.

Another would be to find a used Vulcan 500 or V-Star. Those perform stutter free at highway speeds. I took the windshield off the Vulcan and took to the highway. It really does make a big difference.

[ofblong]

like he said a windshield should fix the vibration. I noticed that on my shadow deluxe. Without the windshield tons of vibrations. with the windshield next to no vibrations.

[HYPERR]

Is the vibration coming from the engine, tires, or something else?

I have a KLX250S single with agressive knobbies and I ride the 50 miles each way to the dirtbike park at 70+ mph and the bike is very smooth.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

i have a good-sized windshield already.

as far as i know it's coming from the engine. it doesn't feel like anything's wrong with it, it's just really "buzzy" at high RPM's. i'm definitely going to get something bigger eventually but i've only been riding for a week and i want to wait until i'm as confident on this thing as a i can be before getting something new.

it's most noticeable (annoying) at around 65mph after twenty minutes or so. i don't think it's vibrating any more after that time; i think that's just when it starts getting to me.

[jstark47]

According to the reference I found, your bike is running between 6500 and 7000 RPMs at 65 mph. It's pretty common for a lightweight single to be buzzy at those RPM's. I'm curious, if you push it faster than 65, does the buzziness stop or get worse? Not that I'd sustain it much faster than 65, but a short burst shouldn't hurt.

[RhadamYgg]

This is a problem that I have not encountered on the Ninja 250. The wind buffeting can be pretty bad, but I seem to have solved at least most of that with a larger wind screen.

But vibration is not an issue - and I've taken the bike all the way up to 85 so far - without vibration issues.

I do notice, though that the sound of the wind on my helmet changes when I cross a little over 80...


RhadamYgg

[flw]

I don't see any changes that will do much other than reduce the size of your wallet and give you some false hope. At least for vibration issues. Another and bigger bike will be the only real solution.

Mine is a I-2 and I've tried a gel seat cushion which doesn't due much. I also have adjustable shocks but that didn't do much either.

Sorry but I prefer the truth to false hope.

[mgdavis]

It's normal for a single cylinder engine to vibrate at high rpm. There's not much that you can do about it.

RhadamYgg- Your Ninja is a parallel twin, which is much better balanced than a single. That's why it's able to run smoothly, and attain the rpm that it is capable of.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

I don't see any changes that will do much other than reduce the size of your wallet and give you some false hope. At least for vibration issues. Another and bigger bike will be the only real solution.

Mine is a I-2 and I've tried a gel seat cushion which doesn't due much. I also have adjustable shocks but that didn't do much either.

Sorry but I prefer the truth to false hope.

thanks, i prefer the truth as well... its just a little discouraging sometimes. ha.

i figured a gel pad would transmit vibration pretty well. any idea about a new seat altogether? i was considering one anyway for other reasons, but i was wondering if they might have any kind of vibration-damping seats for harleys or something that might work for me.