[ShadowSpirit]

I have a 2000 Honda Shadow VT1100C. The bike vibrates like crazy. The faster you go, the worse it gets. I just bought the bike last week, and rode it home. (about 400 miles) I took it to the local Honda shop last Friday and had them look it over. Tire pressures were fine, tires and wheels were balanced properly, wheel bearings were okay, no motor mount problems, basically all checked out fine. I was told the vibration was mostly engine harmonics!! How can that be true? Hell, nobody would buy one if they vibrated like that all the time. I rode 160 miles yesterday and my lips were numb, from the vibration. I love the bike, but it is no fun to ride. I gotta either get this figured out, or take the bike back. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS? I am desperate for help to figure out what this is. Any and all suggestions would be welcomed. Oh yeah, it also has brand new tires on it. The front tire was just put on before I picked up the bike and the rear tire had only 100 miles on it.

[jacobflyin]

Thats a hard one with out riding the bike,
It would be possiable for the tire to be out of round not out of balance.

[ShadowSpirit]

You are the second person who has said that! How in the world to you find out about that? The other guy that told me that, said that our local tire store had gotten rid of their machine that actually "trued" a tire. I guess I could try a different tire, eh?
Thanks a lot for the reply...........

[rokitt51]

Another cause could be low oil in the forks.

[jacobflyin]

If he has just put new tire on before you got the bike I would think that would be the problem, That's why I test ride all of my customer's bike when I do a tire change you never know when you have a bad tire untill it's on the road.

Good luck with that.

[ShadowSpirit]

Thanks for the help everyone. I am having the tire checked again today. And I will have the fork oil checked as well. I never even thought about that as a cause, and your advice is extremely welcome. Thanks all........

[sra4031]

Now I am a new rider and got a '02 Spirit. When I get past 45 MPH I get vibration, not much, but it is noticeable. I do not feel any wheel wobble.
Now the original poster mentioned bike harmonics, and this being normal.

How do you know which is normal or abnormal. I do not have many friends who are riders, so I have not had anyone else ride the bike yet.

[ShadowSpirit]

sra4031,
If you find out anything else about this let me know. I had a Honda shop tell me about the "harmonics" as well. As far as knowing what is normal or not? Man, I got no idea. All I know is that I am not very happy with it. I have ridden my bike about 1800 miles since getting it, and it has not gotten any better. To say the least, I am not all that thrilled with it. If I can't find the problem, or if it is truly inherent as they say, then I will probably trade it off for something else. I am finding it "not fun" to deal with every time I go someplace. Tired of numb lips and bouncing eyes. It is also beginning to hurt my feet as well. Let me know if you find out anything new. You can email me directly at: duttonranch@yahoo.com Thanks for your reply.

[smkeatr]

I rode a friends Harley and had the same opinion, this thing vibrates so much, why does anyone ride these? My Shadow's have rubber mounted pegs and handlebars which dampen vibration considerably. I ride higher in the revs than most probably since I came from sport bikes and like to be in the powerband but the vibration is not worth mentioning. It does vibrate more than my sport bike did but it is to be expected with V-twins. I've had 300 mile rides on it and besides a sore ass, vibrations weren't worth mentioning.

[sra4031]

The only problem I have had with the vibration has been it is un-nerving to a new rider who gets up to 45-50 MPH and then has to worry if the bike is about to fall apart, or worry about keep control.

I am going to have a friend of mine who has ridden for years come and ride it this weekend to make sure if it is usual vibration or if I need maintenance on the bike.

[denzee]

Does the bike have to be moving or will it do it by revving it up while stopped? Generally tire problems won't show up at slower city speeds.

[maurice]

Shadowspirit, did you solve your problem? I know it has been awhile since you posted, but i too have a shadow spirit 1100c, 2001, and vibration at 80 mph is pretty strong. Not too bad slower than that. i thought no way could i cruise at 80 comfortably for long. 70 i could. Honda dealer told me same thing, harmonics. but i wonder. Does anyone have ways that i could check to rule out certain cause that is easy since i don't know much about motors. How about when going 80, pull the clutch in. if vibration stops, we know it is not tires or fork oil, right? but i don't know if that is bad for engine to do that. any help would be appreciated.

MAURICE

[smkeatr]

As we were taught in the MSF class, most clutches are wet, pull them in anytime you'd like. Riding the clutch on a bike is not a problem at all. It's called being in the friction zone, from the MSF classes. If your bikes are diagnosed with "engine harmonics", maybe it's time for a smaller rear sprocket to get the revs down some on the highway. You'll lose a little low end but with an 1100, you most likely won't notice it too much and it will drop your RPM's at higher speeds.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by smkeatr

As we were taught in the MSF class, most clutches are wet, pull them in anytime you'd like. Riding the clutch on a bike is not a problem at all. It's called being in the friction zone, from the MSF classes. If your bikes are diagnosed with "engine harmonics", maybe it's time for a smaller rear sprocket to get the revs down some on the highway. You'll lose a little low end but with an 1100, you most likely won't notice it too much and it will drop your RPM's at higher speeds.

I really just want to rule out that something is not right, like tires, fork etc. so do you think that pulling in clutch at 80 would be a good test to rule out tires? and thanks for your response Smkeatr.

maurice

[smkeatr]

Absolutely pull in the clutch to rule out anything you might think is going on. Is the vibration in the seat, bars, pegs, all of the above? Is it only in a particular gear? I know when I downshift to 4th and it revs much higher, it will vibrate some but settles down as I slow down.

You guys also might want to check your engine mounting points to see that all things are tight and torqued to spec.

[denzee]

Originally Posted by maurice

I really just want to rule out that something is not right, like tires, fork etc. so do you think that pulling in clutch at 80 would be a good test to rule out tires? and thanks for your response Smkeatr.

maurice

Only to clarify, pulling in your clutch at 80 will not rule out tires from the problem as they are still spinning. It will eliminate engine and perhaps clutch. If the vibration stops when pulling in the clutch going 80, it would narrow the problem to engine and/or clutch. It may be normal. Could you go the same speed and drop down one gear without overspeeding the engine? If so, that would also be something to try.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by denzee

Only to clarify, pulling in your clutch at 80 will not rule out tires from the problem as they are still spinning. It will eliminate engine and perhaps clutch. If the vibration stops when pulling in the clutch going 80, it would narrow the problem to engine and/or clutch. It may be normal. Could you go the same speed and drop down one gear without overspeeding the engine? If so, that would also be something to try.

man i really appreciate your thoughts on this.
pulling in clutch would rule out tires if vibration stops i would assume since tires are still spinning. that seems correct. also had thought to just go up to about 85, then kill throttle. same thing, if vibration stops know it is not tires at least. vibration from what i remember was seat, engine, everything i think. when i pressed knees against gas tank more vibration, so tank is vibrating alot. tires are almost new when i got bike, front dunlop, back is kendra. i will try either today or tomorrow the no throttle or clutch thing and post back. man i love riding this bike. so cool. only had a honda 400 in my 20's. then no riding for many years, and then about 9 months ago a 260 scooter with an acceleration problem that i could not figure out as well as 2 mechanics could not.this bike is a joy. i don't have as bad a vibration as the shadowspirit as he mentioned going 50 or 55 problem. mine not much there.

maurice

[maurice]

ok, just got back from run and brought to about 85 and pulled clutch in, vibration went waaaay down. so we ruled out tires. i guess it is harmonics like honda dealer said, or maybe motor mounts? when going from gear to gear the top of the rev range before changing gears feels alot like at 80 vibration wise. So this sounds normal?

maurice

[denzee]

Originally Posted by maurice

ok, just got back from run and brought to about 85 and pulled clutch in, vibration went waaaay down. so we ruled out tires. i guess it is harmonics like honda dealer said, or maybe motor mounts? when going from gear to gear the top of the rev range before changing gears feels alot like at 80 vibration wise. So this sounds normal?

maurice

Sounds like as you said, engine vibration that has a bad spot at a certain RPM. I'm sure it has a sweet spot you can cruise at that it's calm, maybe just not the speed you'd like.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by denzee

Sounds like as you said, engine vibration that has a bad spot at a certain RPM. I'm sure it has a sweet spot you can cruise at that it's calm, maybe just not the speed you'd like.

yeah, like 70 mph. anything higher and vib increases. the post about changing rear sprocket to higher one sounds good but don't care to spend money. i don't cruise at high speed that much. i can live with it. thanks

maurice

[smkeatr]

Anything above about 75 on my little 750 Shadow is something the bike doesn't like. It does vibrate a lot more since it's high in the rev range but that is expected with a twin. Not to mention, my little cruiser has no wind protection, so besides the wind and the vibes, that bike just doesn't like to go fast. After dragging it through Deal's Gap, I learned that it's no high revving 929 like what I had for years....

I've ridden several much larger cruisers and the heavier, bigger displacement bikes don't mind it as much but they also have 6 speeds, unlike my 5 speed Shadow.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by smkeatr

Anything above about 75 on my little 750 Shadow is something the bike doesn't like. It does vibrate a lot more since it's high in the rev range but that is expected with a twin. Not to mention, my little cruiser has no wind protection, so besides the wind and the vibes, that bike just doesn't like to go fast. After dragging it through Deal's Gap, I learned that it's no high revving 929 like what I had for years....

I've ridden several much larger cruisers and the heavier, bigger displacement bikes don't mind it as much but they also have 6 speeds, unlike my 5 speed Shadow.

smkeatr, or anyone else, when you go through gear changes and you are about to change to the next gear, is there a strong vibration? this is what i feel with each change in gear is i go pretty fast and get the revs up, and is the same vibration at 80 mph since revs are probably similar speed. This bike is an 1100 which to me seems like it should not be tough on the bike at 80 since top speed might be about 115-120! i don't know though since no knowledge of bikes.

maurice

[smkeatr]

I'm not being a smart ass but you ARE closing the throttle when you pull the clutch in right? I re read what you said and it sounds like it's being over revved between gears.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by smkeatr

I'm not being a smart ass but you ARE closing the throttle when you pull the clutch in right? I re read what you said and it sounds like it's being over revved between gears.

yeah, of course. no, it is while there is still strong throttle, revs getting higher, right BEFORE i change, strong vibration. so it seems related to the revs, higher revs, more vibration. this is a pisser. someone on another forum that has my model 1100 says his does not do this.

maurice

[smkeatr]

You may be at the very top end of the rev range just before hitting the rev limiter. Take your girl for a long ride on the highway on the back and see what she thinks.

If you wring the piss out of any twin, it will vibrate strong just before the limiter. I rode my co-workers Vulcan 2000 to the rev limiter in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, it vibrated a lot just before the limiter. It was ok, I was just following what he said to do so I could feel ALL of the power. It was fun.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by smkeatr

You may be at the very top end of the rev range just before hitting the rev limiter. Take your girl for a long ride on the highway on the back and see what she thinks.

If you wring the piss out of any twin, it will vibrate strong just before the limiter. I rode my co-workers Vulcan 2000 to the rev limiter in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, it vibrated a lot just before the limiter. It was ok, I was just following what he said to do so I could feel ALL of the power. It was fun.

so you cannot be saying the rev limiter on a 1100 honda is close to 80 mph? no way.there are no other gears after 5th.

maurice

[smkeatr]

Doubtful, I've seen about 95 on my 750's and they were screaming. Poor things, I almost felt bad about wringing the little bikes out like that but I had to know.

I was thinking your 1100 was a 6 speed but I've never ridden one. Ridden a Valkryie, now that thing has some serious balls.

Keep diggin' for answers, I've run out of opinions but If I run across any further info, I'll post up.

[maurice]

ok thanks smkeatr. i took bike out yesterday to 95 mph to see if vibration would reduce due to "harmonic". no such luck. plenty of power to keep goin but hate to get a ticket.

maurice

[Bigtoe]

What bike are you coming from? If its anything but a V-Twin, you will think the bike is vibrating excessively. My wifes Spirit 750 vibrates quite a bit. But is tolerable. My VTX1800, when I had it, vibrated a lot when I was low in the RPM range. But it was not excessive!

[Bigtoe]

Hell my RC51 vibrates quite a bit too. But not enough not to know thats a characteristic of a V-Twin.