Need help with Vibrations post 4.5K RPMS

EricV

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You really can't compare dry sump and wet sump bikes. And likely none of this has anything to do with the vibes the OP is experiencing. I'm still betting on a coil wire mix up. Or shorting at the coil shroud around the plug.
 

Sierra1

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Of course, the confusing thing about the Yamaha instructions are that they tell you to run the engine until the oil temperature reaches 140F, and we don't have an oil temp indicator. In vehicles where I have had an oil temperature gauge, the oil temp is generally not the same as the coolant temp. I suspect the temperature is not very important, and they just want you to check while warm.
Yeah. . . . horse crap. Back when I was concerned about overfilling it, I ran it on the center stand 'till it got warm. . . . checked the sight glass, nothing. I knew that it wasn't low, I had put the whole jug in her. It wasn't until I went for a ride that the oil showed up in the glass. Screw it: drain, refill with the whole jug, and ride the hell out of her. Getting back on topic, I agree with Eric that oil level in not likely to cause the vibes. But, I would expect a ton of vibes if the wires were crossed. Unless dual plug/coil isn't as drastic as a single plug/coil set-up.
 

WJBertrand

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Of course, the confusing thing about the Yamaha instructions are that they tell you to run the engine until the oil temperature reaches 140F, and we don't have an oil temp indicator. In vehicles where I have had an oil temperature gauge, the oil temp is generally not the same as the coolant temp. I suspect the temperature is not very important, and they just want you to check while warm.
My owners manual says until the coolant temperature reaches 140F, as they are referring to the gauge on the dash.


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regder

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I had a similar issue with excess vibration when riding. Not terrible, but the engine felt say 10-20% rougher than normal. Did all of the things mentioned here with no change.

At some point the MAP sensor outright failed causing an engine light and the bike stalling. With the new MAP sensor, vibration was now gone.

Worth a try to unplug the sensor and see if the vibration changes. Sensor is cheap'ish and easy to replace.
 

WJBertrand

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I guess they changed it somewhere along the line.
Interesting, I stand corrected. I'll have to re-check my manual. Gotta believe that's a typo in the manual and should say coolant, unless the gauge on the dash is really oil temp? I doubt that though as I would not expect oil tp heat up that quickly. What year is your Super Tenere/manual?
 

Sierra1

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Mine is a '17, and although the page set-up is different from jbrown's, it shows "oil", and not "coolant". Doesn't make sense when there isn't an oil temp gauge.
 

Kruzzin5

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Check the oil level several times.... make sure its correct and not over filled. (Ive seen over filled cause what you describe before)

Check the TB's (again) Do you know if they turned up the "white hash marked throttle body" and then synced the other ?

You said they changed the plugs, make sure the four wires going to the four ignition coils are plugged into the CORRECT spots !

Did they perform a valve adjustment ? If so, could you please provide your starting numbers & and then what numbers they then changed them to ? (IMOP- ALL customers should leave the shop with this info, ALWAYS)

When you said you pulled the clutch in at speed and the vibration continued, did you let the RPM's drop too 1100 when you pulled in the clutch? Or did you maintain the RPM's at 4500 when you pulled in the clutch and you still felt the vibration.
Great analysis!
 

Iroh

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~Update~

I had bent the front wheel while riding the bike with a fat chain and lock still attached. None of the good mechanics wanted to repair the wheel or spokes.
Was planning on buying a new wheel and spokes and getting them shipped to Dubai but it was really really expensive and decided to live with the vibes as the wheel bend was very slight.

Finally decided to buy the wheel and spokes but decided that I should try new spokes on my old wheel first and see if I can live with it. There was only one mechanic who does re lacing the spokes here in Dubai and I asked him to fix the wheel as well. He charged me 4 hours labor and said he fixed the wheel as well.

Took a test ride and to my surprise the wheel balance/vibrations is like 95% gone. The bike rides smooth again.
The engine still shakes at higher RPMs but I am trying to upshift before I hit 4500k RPMs.

Once the weather gets better, I will try doing the TB sync myself. Got the tools for it. Its 100f and 70% humidity still.

I will also do another Oil change as I figure they used modern oil which is a lot thinner than the recommended oil. Maybe a thicker oil should help.
 

WJBertrand

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Glad you got it fixed. I find it puzzling that the wheel would create a vibration at a specific RPM and not at a specific road speed though.
 

Iroh

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Glad you got it fixed. I find it puzzling that the wheel would create a vibration at a specific RPM and not at a specific road speed though.
Well its not exactly fixed. I had 2 issues. Engine vibration and wheel vibration. If I pull in the clutch at 80 mph, the ride is super smooth all the way up to 120 mph. (Any more than 120mph, I start shitting bricks).

The wheel vibration is negligible at all speeds however, at 30mph, the bike has an up and down movement at the front. I will experiment with different rebound/compression settings when I go for rides. Hopefully it should get better.

The engine vibration is still there compared to when I bought the bike from the seller. Will update after a TBS if things get better. Step 2 is using a different oil and the correct amount of oil.
 

Iroh

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~Update~

I finally got around to doing the Throttle body sync yesterday. I used a carb sync tool with 2 gauges. It was cheap and got it off Amazon US delivered to Dubai. There are 2 videos on Youtube which helped me do the job at home.

My God the bike feels soo much better!!!!. It feels like a new bike. All the vibrations are gone now. I could easily do 120 MPH without feeling a thing on the handlebar and the pegs. The bike sounds different and sounds amazing. My nasty sounding Arrow slipOn sounds so much better. I'm upset that I waited so long to do it. I had paid the mechanics more than twice to work on it and nothing was different.

When I checked the reference screw (which was on the right side of the bike), it was still on the white mark. I closed it completely then turned it out by more than 3/4. Matched the left one to it.
The bike starts easier, doesn't stall in traffic randomly. The accelerator is super smooth and linear in both sport and touring mode. Full throttle pulls sound sooo good that I actually got compliments on the sound yesterday.

My oil change is due. Will update if it makes any difference at all. Currently using Eni 5w30. This time I want a more conservative 10w40.

Thanks for reading.
 

StefanOnHisS10

Converting fuel into heat, noise and a bit motion
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Good to hear you found the problem, those mechanics that did the TB sync for you are useless.
Thanks for keeping us updated, we all learn from it.

Enjoy your bike!
 

Sierra1

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I would have never suspected that throttle bodies could cause a vibration. Shows you what I know. (or, more accurately, don't know)
 

WJBertrand

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I remember the Honda ST1100 I had would produce a vibration around 4000 RPM when the carbs were out of sync. That was a four cylinder engine. Not surprised it would be similar, and probably more noticeable, on a twin.

Glad you finally got it sorted. I re-sync my TBs after every valve clearance inspection.


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Sierra1

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So, since a TB is more/less a carburetor, would unsync'ed carbs cause the same vibes?
 

WJBertrand

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So, since a TB is more/less a carburetor, would unsync'ed carbs cause the same vibes?
Yes I think so. Both carbs and TBs have butterflies and that’s what you’re actually synchronizing. How the fuel gets there (injector vs. jets) probably doesn’t matter


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Sierra1

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I don't ever remember reading about vibration(s) stemming from the carb. Does that mean that bikes have become smooth enough that we now feel it?
 

jbrown

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Yes I think so. Both carbs and TBs have butterflies and that’s what you’re actually synchronizing. How the fuel gets there (injector vs. jets) probably doesn’t matter


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The S10 throttle bodies share a common shaft, so the butterflies are fixed with respect to each other. The synch on our bikes is just an air bypass adjustment.
 
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