My first pointy

[Taipan]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

You reminded me of something.In one of your posts you say you always get tinglies in the right hand on SVs.I've spent more hours than I care to mention fighting vibrations as I'm very sensitive to them.I got my old CX500s pretty damn good and they were/are well worse than a more modern SV.

The trick when balancing the carbs on my old CXs was to get them close but deliberately slightly off and then use the final tightening of the balance lock-nut to bring them in perfectly level.Even if they were slightly out I got,"Tinglies".




As a side-note:

I had a 100 mile ride yesterday using A roads/B roads/Goat tracks/Dual carriageways and some motorway to check-out the,"Vista" cruise control I have managed to fit.
Sod's law.It works great but I hardly needed it.I didn't notice any tinglies in my right hand with my larger diameter soft rubber/gel grips.


This tells me at least two things.

1:There are no or few worn components inside the engine causing any oscillations

2:And more important on a V-Twin when dealing with vibrations,the carb/fuel balance between the cylinders is perfect on my 1999 Curvy.


I used over 90% just front brake braking.I hardly had to touch the rear brake.Compared with my old 80 lLbs heavier(That's 40 2 pound bags of sugar) and sub-standard brakes on the CX the SV650 Front braking system is phenomenal for me.

I did do some,"Threshold" braking(Emergency Braking) on empty roads to get used to the new braking power and required change of braking procedure from my old bikes.Man can I pull up fast and safe on this bike

I've had a couple of SVs before, this being my first Pointy, but on every one I've suffered from numb fingers on my right hand. Its a well known, dare i say issue, on these bikes. If you google it you'll get loads of hits from this and the American forum. Strange thing is it seems to affect some folk more than others? I seem to recall its the highway users that suffer from it more than the town riders, so assume its related to constant, higher revs?

My ride to work is 30 miles and the first half of that is on a main A road and by the time i've got into London, i'm looking forward to catching a red light so I can open and close my hand a few times to get some feeling back into it. It wont bother me for the rest of my ride through central London. which sort of bears out the theory of sustained higher revs being the cause. Maybe just characteristic of the engine? I normally sit between 70-80mph, maybe if i went faster or slower I'd miss the revs that produce the vibration? Maybe if I used to every day instead of once in a while i'd simply get used to it?

[shiftin_gear98]

I tend to cruise ever so slightly faster than you, not by much honest officer.
I still get a numb hand.
And I use it every day...

[R1ffR4ff]

Yes constant high revs may exacerbate the conditions.

I think a cheap,"Cramp Buster" and,"Thumb-Over technique<when safe>" just used for that part of the journey would do the trick

Blapper beat me with his £0.99 pence one.The one I sent for cost me £1.99 even though now I don't need it

PS
My only bit of fatigue now is on my clutch hand(May be lack of riding).I've sent for some cheap shorty adjustable clutch levers(Comes with a shorty adjustable brake lever as well) so will give them a go

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Bibio

if your suffering from tingles or pins and needles its usually due to your gloves being too tight and not enough length in the fingers. this pushes on the tips of your fingers and coupled with the vibrations causes the tingles/needles. when buying gloves in a shop i always buy the next size up even if the ones i have tried fit well. ''choking the chicken'' will also give you tingles/needles, you should never 'grip' bars.

+1

As I have said before on forum, most golfers hold club grip too tightly and it causes problems, same with handlebars

The SV AL7 is one of the least vibrating bikes I have ridden, not like the parallel twins that cause 'vibration white finger' and
acute angle V twins that shake your eyeballs up and down.

[Blapper]

Interesting ideas/experiences here.

I don't 'choke the chicken', but the spring rate does mean I hold it tighter than any other bike I've had.

When mine was a standard curvy 'S' with the clip-ons I got numbness in my right hand starting at 30 mins followed by pain in my neck and shoulders on rides of 100 miles+. I don't get that anymore with the straight bars. Engine vibration becomes unpleasant to me (this is very individual to bike, state of maintenance and rider) at 85+, but as wind buffeting and noise is uncomfortable above 80 and I don't want to crouch, I like to cruise at 70-75. Too slow for long day intercontinental trips really, but hey, it's a 650.

I have excellent adjustable shorties and had Venhill make me a custom cable using the curved tube from my OEM cable. I have a hydraulic feeling two finger clutch action now. On the right, I have a two finger front brake too.

When I put the touring screen on mine I hoped for a miraculous reduction in wind blast around my helmet but alas no. I have an eye open for some retro fit extra blade to throw the wind up - if anybody knows of one, I'd give it close consideration.

[garynortheast]

All of this goes to show just how individual we all are.

My curvy S has standard clip ons and throttle with a pair of full length dogleg levers. The only cabling change has been the clutch, which has a cable from my old 400 gixer, and has resulted in a much lighter, smoother action than the oem cable.

The only other change from standard is a double bubble screen which was on the bike when I bought it.

I have no issues with vibration or riding position, and have done a number of 500 mile days with no problems or discomfort. Even the standard seat seems to suit me, and is comfortable for most of the day.

[R1ffR4ff]

I am very sensitive to hand vibrations on motorcycles,as previously stated,so over the years have had to combat it.

The 3 major things I've found to lower the problem are

1:Carb Balance/Cylinder fuel balance must be exact.This keeps the vibrations down,gives smoother ride and optimal performance.
I can recommend the Carbtune2 Carb balance.John Morgan stands by his product and will answer email questions.
Tip:Buy the 4 cylinder version as it doesn't cost much more than the 2 cylinder version.

2:Handlebar position.
As soon as I get a Motorcycle I slack off the bars and sit on the bike with my riding gear on and gloves and adjust until I find the,"Sweet Spot" for my build/Arm length.

3:Valve train/Valve clearances.
Keep these nominal e.g within specs.It's the point in the engine with the most meta-on-metal hammering contact that can set up oscillations through the engine that are transmitted to the frame and then bars.

Things that can help already mentioned like,"Cramp Busters","Vista Cruise Control" and a wider diameter soft rubber/Gel set of grips(Tried foam ones.Bloody terrible.Too vague and got soggy in the rain).



Also as an FYI there are,"Gel Palm" motorcycle gloves that may help,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_od...loves&_sacat=0

As per another poster I always buy one size bigger gloves than I need to allow for the use of inner gloves when required.

HTH

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

All of this goes to show just how individual we all are.

The only cabling change has been the clutch, which has a cable from my old 400 gixer, and has resulted in a much lighter, smoother action than the oem cable.

I'm interested in this but I have a,"Curvy" X(Normal bars).Can you measure it sometime and or do you know of a better cable for a,"Curvy" with standard bars?

[Taipan]

I put a Venhill featherlight clutch cable on my SV. They dont use the bend the SV cable has and claim it to be a lighter action.

My vibration mainly affects my right hand. I do wonder if its because I rest my weight on the bars so much, something I cant help but do and was going to change the Rizoma bars for higher ones. I also wondered if the presumably lighter Rizoma bars contribute to the vibration by having a lesser damping ability due to being lighter?? Moving the position about on them hasn't helped.

I have balanced my TBs and used the Carbtune, but to be honest, I'm not a great fan of the Carbtune. Typically is you leave the bike idling with it connected and the swop the pipes round, you'll get a different reading. Its the same when you tap it. I think I said earlier in the thread, the rods seem to suffer from stiction? When i had a BMW GS I got much better results using a twinmax. I've never tried making one up, but the homemade manometer is supposedly the best?

No idea when the valve clearances were done on my bike, so that may have been worth pursuing if i had been keeping it, but i think its going to go now as another tinkering project maybe coming my way?

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

I'm interested in this but I have a,"Curvy" X(Normal bars).Can you measure it sometime and or do you know of a better cable for a,"Curvy" with standard bars?

The cable I use would be too short for anything other than clip ons. The bit that makes the difference is the bend/tube. Strangely it's more of a curved right angle than the big arc of the oem cable. It results in a much more compact routing of the cable in the cockpit part of its run. May well be worth having one specifically made for you.