Looking for advice on how to get rid of buzzy handlebars

[PlasticSun]

I recently purchased a 2000 Triumph Sprint RS. While the ride is wonder and the torque appears to be bottomless, the only gripe I have about the bike is that the handlebars vibrate much more than my old bike. While traveling at highway speeds, my hands will start to hurt, then the palms will become numb. I expect that on a really long ride (like the vegas trip I'm planning on this summer), I run the risk of making my rather important right hand numb when it needs to be doing something important, like grabbing that handy brake lever.

A buddy of mine suggested filling the handlebars with buckshot. This seemed like a good idea, the only downside was when I looked at my clipons that I couldn't find a suitable hole, or for that matter, any hole to start dropping bearings in.

The stock bar ends are quite heavy but they still don't do the trick...do gel grips do a good job at reducing vibration? Should I take my drill to my new baby so I can fill it up with buckshot? I have to admit it was much easier to apply power tools to my old 24 year old bike....

Any advice is appreciated.
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--The man came around.

[G]

I would actually be temted to have the engine and mounts etc checked over, ok I've only ridden two triumph triples for 5 minutes each, but both seemed pretty vibration free to me.

[MarJay]

Aha! A question I can answer. You'll need to check that the bar end weights on your clipons are correct. Sometimes in a low speed spill these are the first things to get damaged and are often replaced by tarty aftermarket items. Perhaps the previous owner had some bad luck and replaced them.

The bar end weights are designed to keep vibration to a minimum and so that would be the first thing that I would check.

Secondly, follow G's advice, and also a good service often helps to reduce vibration especially if you have the throttle bodies balanced.

If those fail then try asking in the technical forum on www.t595.net

HTH
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[PlasticSun]

Thanks! Although the bike is 4 years old it was never sold to anyone, when I purchased it from a dealer at half of it's orginal MSRP I got a two year warrenty with it. If it's a possible engine mount problem or if the bar ends were faulty, then they'll have to replace/fix them!

Thanks!
____________________
--The man came around.

[Kickstart]

Hi

The weight of the bar end weights is meant to damp out the vibration, greatly reducing the frequency. Adding extra weight might well help, but the Triumph triple is meant to be quite smooth.

I would be inclined to agree that there is a problem elsewhere. Quite possibly nothing serious, but throttle bodies out of balance or a loose engine mount are both possible.

If you DO want to fill the bars with buck shot then take the switchgear off. You will probably find a small (2~3mm) diameter hole in the bars for locating the switchgear (to stop it just spinning round the bars). If you are lucky you can feed the shot in through that hole (might take a while!).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[MarJay]

Keith, I'm not sure but I think that the Triumph clip ons are billet most of the way along, with an open endpiece that is machined out to fit the bar end weight. I don't /think/ that they are hollow.
I took my switchgear off recently and there is no hole, just a centre punched mark.

I think that a service with balanced throttle bodies is your best bet!
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.