engine vibration-can a trigger wheel cause this?

[Jess Tolbirt]

I have a 2000 interstate i bought used a few months back,,
before this one i owned 2 tourers,,
heres my delima,,, when you get on the throttle say below 3000 rpms the bike has a vibration in it that my tourers didnt have,,,
when i was racing cars we advanced the timing for a little more umph but it would feel like its hitting hard so to speak,,,my valk does this very same thing,,
no spark knock that i can tell, its just not as smooth as my tourers were...
once you get it over about 3 grand it doesnt do it any longer,,,
if you ride normal its smooth,,,only when you gas it,, and when coming out of a corner at low speed and you dont downshift it will do it...
is it possible an ecm mod could cause this?
is it possible an aftermarket trigger wheel could cause this?
is it possible that the aftermarket hard dampners in the rear wheel could cause a vibration transfer?
i also dont like the progressive springs in the front,, anyone want to trade for stock ones?
i was even thinking about pulling the carb springs out and putting the tourer type in them...
also even thought about trading my ecm for a tourer or standard type if it would work,,,
the bike has power out the butt,,, but i dont like the way it feels with this vibration,,,and super stiff ride...
o yea another thing,, the drive shaft and all the splines look great and have plenty of greese.
thanks in advance guys,, i am just about out of ideas and start replacing parts soon,,,

[SANDMAN5]

If it's a "tingle" vibration it could just be the "buzz bolt" behind
the radiator. I got about 1/4-1/3 of a turn out of mine. Makes
a big difference.
http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/buzz.htm

[eric in md]

u joint my guess ..

[Ricky-D]

if you ride normal its smooth,,,only when you gas it,, and when coming out of a corner at low speed and you dont downshift it will do it...
is it possible an ecm mod could cause this?
is it possible an aftermarket trigger wheel could cause this?

Sure, I don't consider it motor vibration but rather compression vibration/power stroke continuation. Others will say that is a characteristic of lugging the motor, to which I disagree.

I guess you are saying your bike has both the ecm modification and the trigger wheel.

I would not suggest changing out the carburetor slide springs at this point.

I would suggest ridding the bike of one or the other of the spark timing modifications. (ecm/trigger wheel) since they tend to yield the same results and you don't need the overlap nor one building on top of the other.  I myself have a six degree wheel in my interstate and experience the same as you.

I deal with it by judicious throttle control which attenuates the sensation.

If you toss out both ignition modifications you will be back to what you are used to with a Tourer.

***

[Patrick]

If your vibration is very high pitched and felt thru the handlebars then I'd say it could very well be from the ignition changes.. These engines do not like a lot of ignition advance, I've learned this the hard way..

[98valk]

u don't state what u have,
6 degree TW is too much for an I/S ICM
only use a 4 degree TW

I/S carb/slide springs are lighter than the std/tour springs, act like an accelerator pump, allows more fuel sooner to help prevent any detonation.

vibration most likely from another source, u-joint as stated and maybe wheel bearings or bad alternator bearings.

[Trynt]

I have a 4 degree trigger wheel and an Interstate ICM in my standard.  After putting this set up in, it seemed to me it produced a growl/buzz at low rpms under load. It also changed the cadence at idle.

[Jess Tolbirt]

thanks for everyones replies,,
i am going to rule out the u-joint, just doesnt seem to me to bet that type of vibration because the vibration is faster than what the drive shaft would be turning,,
i dont know if the trigger wheel has been changed or not,, i am thinking about just buying a stock one and comparing the two,,,
buzz bolt,, thats something i havent thought of but could very well be,,,
again thanks guys,,,

[Jess Tolbirt]

Trynt,
you describe it to a "T"

[tank_post142]

the icm advance feature is disabled above 3000rpms. sounds like you might be on the outer edge of advance until the advance kicks out.

[John U.]

buzz bolt,, thats something i havent thought of but could very well be,,,

No it couldn't. The buzz bolt is a stationary piece of steel that is reacting to vibration by making noise. A vibration has to be caused by a moving part or parts.

[MP]

I have a 2000 interstate i bought used a few months back,,
before this one i owned 2 tourers,,
heres my delima,,, when you get on the throttle say below 3000 rpms the bike has a vibration in it that my tourers didnt have,,,
when i was racing cars we advanced the timing for a little more umph but it would feel like its hitting hard so to speak,,,my valk does this very same thing,,
no spark knock that i can tell, its just not as smooth as my tourers were...
once you get it over about 3 grand it doesnt do it any longer,,,
if you ride normal its smooth,,,only when you gas it,, and when coming out of a corner at low speed and you dont downshift it will do it...
is it possible an ecm mod could cause this?
is it possible an aftermarket trigger wheel could cause this?
is it possible that the aftermarket hard dampners in the rear wheel could cause a vibration transfer?
i also dont like the progressive springs in the front,, anyone want to trade for stock ones?
i was even thinking about pulling the carb springs out and putting the tourer type in them...
also even thought about trading my ecm for a tourer or standard type if it would work,,,
the bike has power out the butt,,, but i dont like the way it feels with this vibration,,,and super stiff ride...
o yea another thing,, the drive shaft and all the splines look great and have plenty of greese.
thanks in advance guys,, i am just about out of ideas and start replacing parts soon,,,

Mine does EXACTLY the same thing.  I bought used with 69,000 miles.  Said he put new belts on it, but do not know which timing wheel is on it.

I put a NEW u-joint on it when I got it, so that is NOT it.

I tried tightening the "buzz bolt", but it was so tight, I could not move it any.

MP

[BonS]

Perhaps the previous owner(s) did the ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature) mod? This will affect the advance below 3K and taper out when you hit 3.5K. See ShopTalk for more info: http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/ect-mod.htm

[dubsider]

... "growl/buzz at low rpms under load" ...
I have a Standard '01 that I believe is completely stock and produces the growl/buzz under load mentioned above.  In fact I have a wrench date to install an IS ICM and a 4* trigger wheel this weekend. It should be interesting.

[Kylenav]

I have an '01 standard that I believe has all the stock ignition still intact.  Mine does the EXACT same thing. After reading the U-Joint recommendations above I was a little worried.  Please keep us updated as to what you find...

[cef2lion]

My '98STD might have the same noise/vibration. Been hunting for it for the past two years since I bought it. Been all over the bike without luck. I removed and tapped the buzz bolt tube with set screws. Replaced the timing belts and checked the tension pulleys. Recently pulled the rear wheel and changed a bad wheel bearing. Did the whole spline lube and inspected the pinion cup. All fine there. Put a new set of Honda dampers in as well. I have a U joint on back order with HDL and hoped it would be in by the time I changed the rear wheel bearing. Couldn't wait any longer. Two items I have no ruled out. The U joint and clutch. I did put slight pressure on clutch lever to put tension on the clutch rod. No help. I can't get the noise to happen by revving the engine in N or clutch disengaged. I made sure the engine mounts were tight. This past summer I went from a STD/Tour ICM to an IS ICM. Had issue before and after.

What is odd and wouldn't think related. I got a D pilot tool. I checked the back two carbs. One was barely a half turn out from full in. The other was about 1 turn out at best. I set them both at 2.25 out. I have IS PODS on so I need to remove the PODS to get at the other pilots to check them. What was odd is after adjusting the two back piliots the noise/vibration was less noticeable. Still there but I know it changed for the better and all I did was check/adjust those two pilots. I do know PO had a shop work on or replace at least one carb. The engine runs very good and I didn't really want to mess with something running as such. But knowing the carbs had been messed with had me wanting to check the pilot settings. A friend is going to sync the carbs next after I check/set the rest of the pilots. I just don't think the pilots could contribute to such a noise/vibration.

Craig

[rodeo1]

an old biker once told me that the reason harley owners had so many problems with their bikes is that they couldn't avoid "monkeying" with them. straight pipes, screaming eagle carbs, re-jetting, etc, etc, etc. he had ridden his over 200,000 miles without an overhaul. he said his secret was to leave the dam thing the way harley built it.

since then i have been a real advocate of leaving things alone. i would throw that degree wheel as far into a lake as i could, turn everything back to where people first started saying " this is the best bike on two wheels" back to the point it was awarded "cruiser of the decade" stop fiddling with it, trying to make it do things it was never designed to do.

rule 1 _ they don't get good mileage, they never have, they never will, 6 cylinders going around real fast being fed by 6 carbs just aint gonna get good mileage.

rule 2 - they don't need to go any faster than they go from mother honda.

rule 3 - see rule 1 and 2

[Kylenav]

I agree with you rodeo but would like some possible insight as to what could be causing this, or if it's just normal for some.  Seems like there is more than a few of us here that all experience the same vibration, at the same RPM.  Mine runs real strong, stronger than it "needs to" at any given moment!

I'm not looking to mess with anything, just looking to see what I may want to have on hand to get it back on the road if the beast does break anything...

[rodeo1]

try this. put the bike on its side stand, balance a nickle on the rt. valve cover (nickle trick) start the motor. is there enough vibration to knock the nickle oner ? if not slowly bring the rpm up to cruising speed ( 3 to 4,000 rpm) does the nickle fall over ?

if not, you are probably just feeling what a lot of horsepower and torque feels like. it ain't a gold wing, but it is a goldwing motor. but ! it has square cut gears in the tranny, and it has solid lifters and six carbs. can we think stock pontiac vs. hot rodded GTO ?

[Jess Tolbirt]

i will find this problem and fix it one way or another,, thanks for all the responses, this winter will be fun,,

[currahee2-6]

I have the same vibration situation on my 2000IS (72K+ miles). I tightened the "buzz bolt". (you do not have to take off the radiator as some suggest)  I removed both pods and used a impact wrench to tighten the nut while a helper held the bolt head. The vibration comes from the spacer tube Honda uses to keep the two frame tubes apart that the bolt passes through.  This helped a little. (I shoved a little silly cone goop in the tube at one end and shoved the bolt back through).  When I bang my fist moderately on the front of the pods after reassembly, I still noticed a vibration. My next thing to check is the decorative screen on the radiator and decorative cover on the radiator top.  All of this only happens when I allow the engine to "lug" at a lower speed and a higher gear......I don't know if that helps at all but this is what I've found so far..........ps I have a 4deg trigger wheel installed.

[sandy]

I recently helped find the source of a bad vibration for a guy here in Scottsdale. It turned out to be the U joint which was about to explode. He's had the bike for 3 years with a slight vibration which he accepted as normal. A new U joint and the vibration is now gone. It still could be a U joint.