88 vt1100 vibrating

[jcm292]

this bike is my first shadow and it' always had some kind of vibration more so on the top end of it than at idle. i've owned the bike for a little over a year now and it has always ran this way, but ya'll talk about this bike being notoriously smooth that sends up a red flag for me. my bike looks good, is comfortable to ride i get people approaching me all the time , but this motor is far from being the smoothest or even one of the smoothest motors out there. sync. the carbs will help some of this? plugs are clean. i have one problem and that is it uses oil i dont know where though. it dont smoke, or leak i havent found any in the pipes or water. i keep a close eye on it and make sure it doesnt run out.

[Cbjr]

Originally Posted by jcm292

this motor is far from being the smoothest or even one of the smoothest motors out there. sync. the carbs will help some of this? plugs are clean. i have one problem and that is it uses oil i dont know where though. it dont smoke, or leak i havent found any in the pipes or water. i keep a close eye on it and make sure it doesnt run out.

Smooth for a V-twin - is not smoothest out there. Actually a DOHC V-Twin will make the Shadow seem choppy by comparison (vulcan 750 for example), it's smooth in the sense that it shouldn't be a distraction, more than some minor buzziness at certain RPMs

Many people have reported great success with the way the engine runs and certainly that will relate to smoothness after a carb sync.

You could also try a bar-snake or fill the handlebars with bb's or sand check the rubber mounts on the handlebar risers (if replaced with aftermarket, or the rubber has hardened up over the years it could have some bearing on the vibrations).

A few of the 1100's use some oil, doesn't seem to hurt anything just keep the level topped up - check oil level with the bike level and warmed up- overfilling will cause some consumption/loss throught the air cleaner box.

[Easy Rider 2]

Originally Posted by jcm292

sync. the carbs will help some of this?

Maybe.....if they are out of sync. now.
How many miles?
Might want to check the valves and compression.
If the rings are worn to the point that the compression balance is off, you might be looking at a top-end rebuild. Hope not.

AND it is cheap and easy to run some carb. cleaner through with the gas. If you haven't done that recently, that might be a good idea too.

Good luck.

[Cbjr]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider 2

Maybe.....if they are out of sync. now.
How many miles?
Might want to check the valves and compression.
If the rings are worn to the point that the compression balance is off, you might be looking at a top-end rebuild. Hope not.

AND it is cheap and easy to run some carb. cleaner through with the gas. If you haven't done that recently, that might be a good idea too.

Good luck.

Certainly a compression check is easy enough to do - almost as easy as carb sync, however unbalanced carbs are more prevelant than just about any other item that causes vibrations on these bikes.

It's a HONDA do the easiest cheapest items first - chance of worn parts are slim, and it is usually a prudent idea to eliminate the stuff that is NORMALLY the cause of "perceived' vibrations in the 1100s first. Then proceed with more extensive diagnostics.