The infamous Valkyrie Buzzzzzzzzz

[Fritz The Cat]

OK, I've got a bad case of it and I'm about to tackle it but got a couple of questions.

1. What's the best way to get to the loose bolt that causes it? How much junk has to come off.

2. Should Locktite be applied befor tightening it?

3. (Bonus Question) Is there a pictorial somewhere on the web that shows the steps? I found the site that shows pic s of the offending bot and it looks like a major tear down is required. I'm hoping not.

Thanks

[Patrick]

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/buzz.htm

[98pacecar]

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/buzz.htm

Interesting. 

 Don't have a buzz at da moment,,        but next time I get one,,, I'll know,, what ta do...   

[R J]

In the picture all the tupperware and tank are removed.

You don't have to remove anything.

One end of the bolt is just below the horn mount.

Once ya find it, go to the other side and look for the other end of this bolt.

IF, you have an impact wrench, get the right size socket, and the correct size for the other side, put the impact wrench on it.   Back it off a little bit and then put it back on as hard as your impact will handle.      Mine, I have a impact at the shop that will remove truck wheels, and it has some impact, actually more than needed.

So give it all you impact will put out.    Take it out and see if it helped any.   Come back and hit it again.   If no more umph, get a breaker bar and a piece of pipe that will slide onve the breaker bar and lay into it for all you rare worth.    Now if you are like Hulk Hogan, only give it a little additional turn and then quit.

I found mine in late 1998 after 2 seasons of riding.   I whomped on it once and it has never vibrated again.    Just lucky I'd say.

[salty1]

Looks easy enough. I think some blue loctite would be a good thing. My 0.02 worth. 

[Fritz The Cat]

Hey RJ, am I correct in assuming I'm not gonna twist the head off the bolt? I'm pretty good at over tightening and have been know to twist off more than one bolt head. That would be a disaster. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Hey RJ, am I correct in assuming I'm not gonna twist the head off the bolt? I'm pretty good at over tightening and have been know to twist off more than one bolt head. That would be a disaster. 

A disaster?  OK, Yes it would be a broken bolt, and you would have to get a new one..........not much of a disaster IMO...if you are really worried about it breaking just order the new one before messing with it, then, if it breaks you just slap the new one in...

[R J]

Hey RJ, am I correct in assuming I'm not gonna twist the head off the bolt? I'm pretty good at over tightening and have been know to twist off more than one bolt head. That would be a disaster.  

A disaster?  OK, Yes it would be a broken bolt, and you would have to get a new one..........not much of a disaster IMO...if you are really worried about it breaking just order the new one before messing with it, then, if it breaks you just slap the new one in...

That bolt will take a pretty good dose of strength.     But. if ya do break it, then you will have to give it less umph on the new one.

One last comment.   If ya are afraid you'll twist the end off, then leave it alone and have someone who has tightened one to help ya.

[Jess from VA]

My interstate buzzed like the daylights, and made me crazy.

I had a hard (impossible) time trying to get wrenches on both sides working alone.  Turned out, I only needed to work on the nut side, though I did not back it off before torquing (nut is on the right side).  The bolt never turned a bit. That bolt and nut are tool steel.  I cranked that bitch hard enough to snap a lug nut, with a big 1/2 inch braker bar, and broke nothing (but there was a bunch of squealing).  Took two attempts, and the 2d time I did everything but jump on it with boots.

On my bike (and I think many), I am convinced that the inside distance between the two mounts welded on the frame that the bolt travels thru was wider than the bolt sleeve between the two mounts (and it is the sleeve that rattles, not the bolt).... meaning I had to torque it hard enough to actually bend one or both the weld mounts inward enough to fully capture the bolt sleeve to stop it from rattling.

Some took it apart and squirted RTV or some such inside the sleeve, but if you torque it hard enough to capture the sleeve to the mounts, no need.

[Fritz The Cat]

Man, that's one sorry pointing job. Dude must not want to get his finger dirty. 

Didn't know about the nut or the sleeve, thanks. I've got a 4 foot breaker bar, should be able to supply sufficient torque to it. Problem I had with torquing the head off the bolt was getting the stud out. But with a sleeve, that's not gonna be a problem.   

[Ricky-D]

Thread locker is not necessary to use on that bolt.

Actually thread locker is not necessary at all on the Valkyrie.

What is usually necessary is to use a thread anti-seize compound on all fasteners.

For that particular bolt, if tightening additionally is contemplated, it would be good
to remove the nut and put some anti-seize on the threads.

I feel that attempting to tighten a "set" nut, without loosening it first is fraught with peril.

I rarely use a torque wrench and always lubricate a fastener with anti-seize.

If you use a correct wrench, the odds of twisting a bolt or nut off are greatly diminished.

My recollection is that most times fasteners are broken or stripped, it occurs with the use
of a breaker bar or a torque wrench.

With the smooth running Valkyrie, the occurrence of a fastener rattling loose, is rare indeed.

***

[Patrick]

The 'buzz' appears to be a resonance set up within the bolt and sleeve, seems I remember some applying silicone to help eliminate that.

[Jess from VA]

Man, that's one sorry pointing job. Dude must not want to get his finger dirty.  

Didn't know about the nut or the sleeve, thanks. I've got a 4 foot breaker bar, should be able to supply sufficient torque to it. Problem I had with torquing the head off the bolt was getting the stud out. But with a sleeve, that's not gonna be a problem.  

Yep, everyone who looks at this pic the first time (me too) wonders how that intake tube can be a rattling bolt.  

No,  the buzzbolt is above his finger, and the nut at his first knuckle.

Locktite is pretty redundant on a bolt torqued to "that's as hard as I can possibly pull the bastard". Though my breaker is only 16" or so.  Jerking should be avoided in favor of a constant pull to avoid breakage.  Again, first time, the nut was tight as hell, but the sleeve still rattled, I had to bend a mount (probably only a MM or two) to snug the inside sleeve tight, probably only on the nut side, to make it finally shut up.

A test ride will tell if you got it or not.  And for me, the buzz/rattle was worse at certain speeds/rpms/gears (harmonic).

BTW Rick, I'm pretty sure the valk brake rotor mount bolts come with threadlocker on them, and they'd like you to buy new honda button heads (with threadlocker preapplied) anytime rotors are changed.    

[Fritz The Cat]

Well Hell, glad I asked. I thought it was the bolt on the other side of the tube. what a sorry assed pointing job that is.  

Thank you Jess.

[Jess from VA]

Yeah Fritz, it's the acorn nut to the rear, not the forward hex head (which does not have a long bolt, surrounded by a long bolt sleeve, going between the frame members on each side.

[salty1]

I am with you Jess, Honda used a lot of thread lock material throughout their Valkyrie.

[Fritz The Cat]

Let me make sure I understand. It's the acorn nut that needs to be torqued, right? Is the rod that runs from one side of the frame to the other a solid bar that's threaded on the ends? Do both ends need to be tightened? Just went and looked, there's only one acorn nut, the other side has a bolt. Where exactly is the sleeve?

[Jess from VA]

Let me make sure I understand. It's the acorn nut that needs to be torqued, right? Is the rod that runs from one side of the frame to the other a solid bar that's threaded on the ends? Do both ends need to be tightened? Just went and looked, there's only one acorn nut, the other side has a bolt. Where exactly is the sleeve?

In the picture, yes it is the rearward acorn nut on the right side that must be torqued.  The long bolt screws into that acorn nut.  It is only threaded on the side of the acorn nut.  The head of that long bolt is on the other side of the bike, opposite the acorn nut.  I did not have to put a tool on the bolt head when torquing the acorn nut, the bolt never turned (but I did not loosen it first, if I had, it might have turned).  

All you are seeing in the picture, between the two frame mounts, above the guy's finger,  is the long sleeve surrounding the bolt from one side to the other.... no part of the bolt itself is visible in the picture, just the acorn nut on one end, and the sleeve surrounding the bolt all the way across is visible.  

All you are looking at going all the way across is the sleeve, the long bolt is inside the sleeve (head on the left, acorn nut on the right).

How's that?

[Fritz The Cat]

Fantastic.

All is clear to me now. Long bolt in sleeve with acorn nut on the end.

Thanks a million, you da man. 

[Jess from VA]

You're welcome Fritz..... for a minute there I thought you were pulling my leg. 

[Patrick]

The fellas that have added the silicone, put it in the sleeve to help isolate the two.

[Fritz The Cat]

You're welcome Fritz..... for a minute there I thought you were pulling my leg. 

No sir, the bogus finger point painted a totally different pic in my feeble brain and it too a bit for me to shake it off and grab hold of the truth. Thanks for being patient.   

[Dorkman]

On my bike (and I think many), I am convinced that the inside distance between the two mounts welded on the frame that the bolt travels thru was wider than the bolt sleeve between the two mounts (and it is the sleeve that rattles, not the bolt).... meaning I had to torque it hard enough to actually bend one or both the weld mounts inward enough to fully capture the bolt sleeve to stop it from rattling.

Can a loose bolt sleeve be verified by shaking the sleeve, or maybe giving it a twist?  Besides the buzz, how obvious is it?

[Jess from VA]

I don't know, on the interstate, it's buried inside the bike.  I've never actually seen it, except in the shoptalk picture of a disassembled bike. To get your hands on it you'd have to take stuff apart.

If you don't have an obvious and irritating buzz-rattle (usually at inbetween gears and speeds) forget about it. 

I know it's not the bolt that rattles, because it was always tight as hell.... I just had to force another third to half turn on the nut to bend the frame mounts it travels thru inward to capture the sleeve between them.

[Fritz The Cat]

I've tightened the p*ss out of mine but haven't taken her out for a test ride yet due to the weather. It was obviously looser than it should have been tho so I'm hopping.

Now let me tell you about the buzz. It wasn't a noise per se, it was a physical vibration that was so bad I had trouble seeing the road because my head was vibrating and making everything blurry. If I brought my teeth close together Holding a wire I could do a tattoo. Very annoying and took the fun out of the ride. 

[Valkpilot]

I've tightened the p*ss out of mine but haven't taken her out for a test ride yet due to the weather. It was obviously looser than it should have been tho so I'm hopping.

Now let me tell you about the buzz. It wasn't a noise per se, it was a physical vibration that was so bad I had trouble seeing the road because my head was vibrating and making everything blurry. If I brought my teeth close together Holding a wire I could do a tattoo. Very annoying and took the fun out of the ride. 

That doesn't sound like a buzz bolt problem.

At what speed/rpm does this happen?

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I've tightened the p*ss out of mine but haven't taken her out for a test ride yet due to the weather. It was obviously looser than it should have been tho so I'm hopping.

Now let me tell you about the buzz. It wasn't a noise per se, it was a physical vibration that was so bad I had trouble seeing the road because my head was vibrating and making everything blurry. If I brought my teeth close together Holding a wire I could do a tattoo. Very annoying and took the fun out of the ride. 

If thats the case I doubt you " fixed " it with a twist of the buzz bolt... U-joint , left rear wheel bearing, front wheel bearings  something in the final drive ( star flange , pinion cup , dampers , etc.....You got more problems than a buzz bolt.

[Patrick]

I've tightened the p*ss out of mine but haven't taken her out for a test ride yet due to the weather. It was obviously looser than it should have been tho so I'm hopping.

Now let me tell you about the buzz. It wasn't a noise per se, it was a physical vibration that was so bad I had trouble seeing the road because my head was vibrating and making everything blurry. If I brought my teeth close together Holding a wire I could do a tattoo. Very annoying and took the fun out of the ride. 

As the others mentioned, I agree that you have something wrong other than the 'buzz bolt'.

[Fritz The Cat]

Well hell. 

I rebuilt the rear drive about a year ago but the buzz predates that. I guess it could be wheel bearings cause I didn't change them. They seemed OK. As for the front, haven't looked into that. It is a very high toned vibration. The term "buzz" fits it perfectly.

  How would I go about isolating something like this? Change parts till it goes away?

[3W-lonerider]

is your buzz only on exceration or when the engine is under a load.. then goes away when you let off the throttle. is it about the most irritating sounds you ever heard.. if thats the case it's not your buzz bolt. heres a link to a thread where i found mine after searching for a couple of months
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,57770.0.html

[Fritz The Cat]

Thanks, I'll definitely check that out. My hearing ain't worth a hoot so I can't comment on any noise but like I said, it's a high pitched vibration that occurs between 2k and 3k rpm. Next time I ride I'll take careful notes. 

[3W-lonerider]

mine was between 2 and 3k to. when the engine was under a load like climbing a hill. even if it was a slight hill.or cruising along and giving it alittle throttle.. mine was so loud it would drown out the music and exhaust noise.. i swear it coulda been heard across the other side of the state. you'll know for sure if you take the tranny cover off install the 2 bolts holding the alternator on then going for a ride.. couse mine i did'nt even have to go for a ride. sit in the driveway hold the rear brake and start letting the clutch out. it would rattle like like there was no tomarrow.

[Ricky-D]

That sounds like clutch chatter!

***