How much does your R11S really vibrate?

[Marke123]

Hi Guys,

Just seeking feedback for how much vibration you really get from your R11S?

Would you describe it as 'got character', buttery smooth, the mirrors always vibrate, hands go numb, just a small vibration at 5k etc???

I ask as I think my bike is running well, has some helpful mods to improve it but I still have vibrations. It rev's freely though the rev range and you can bounce of the rev limiter easily. When I first got my R11S I never realised there was a rev limiter as the bike really wanted you to change gears.

I have previously replaced clutch pack and maybe didn't enough attention to the correct placement of the various painted marks on the clutch components as I should have.

Is the correct spreading of the heavy sides of the components SUPER important or are each items well balance and we are only splitting hairs?

I feel my vibrations are an out of balance mass compared to not tuned well.

I was think it may be possible to take the starter motor out and view the flywheel to check the painted marks. They may have disappeared under clutch dust!

I'm not sure if you could undo the flywheel bolts via the starter motor cavity and index the pressure plate around to a new position.

Any thoughts? Has anyone attempted this?

Maybe mine is just how they are and hence my question.

Thanks for you thought and regards Mark.

[JimMoore]

Mine always vibrated a little bit. I'd say it was a little more ragged than the typical R1100 RT, GS, etc.

I'd also say there is pretty much zero chance of rearranging your clutch plates via the starter hole, but in fairness I've never tried it.

[wswartzwel]

Mine is buttery smooth at Idle. As the revs increase there is a very slight sensation in the bars but not enough to notice unless you think about it. Paint marks are there for a reason. If your mirrors blur it might be a good idea to check/ correct them.

[ckcarr]

He's Australian. They manage to do all kinds of weird stuff...
Box kangaroos
Wrestle salt water crocodiles
Drink beer out of oil cans

Originally Posted by JimMoore

I'd also say there is pretty much zero chance of rearranging your clutch plates via the starter hole, but in fairness I've never tried it.

[va011101]

A couple of thoughts:

At one point, my R11S was vibrating at idle enough to make the glass in the mirrors rattle. I had previously used a vacuum liquid carb balancer and once I used a Twinmax, the idle was smooth. No rattle in the mirrors at all. My point is that if you are using a liquid balancer, you might try an electronic type.

Another idea, which only applies when riding, is phasing the driveshaft. If you changed your clutch, you most likely pulled the shaft off of the final drive. When you reassembled, did you phase the shaft properly? I have never personally experienced an out-of-phase shaft, but understand it can be quite a vibration. If you didn’t phase it correctly or don’t know, it’s fairly easy to check by shining a light into the swing arm.

Cheers!

[JimMoore]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

He's Australian. They manage to do all kinds of weird stuff...
Box kangaroos
Wrestle salt water crocodiles
Drink beer out of oil cans

Al all of it upside-down.

[Marke123]

Hi guys, thanks for your thoughts.

Originally Posted by va011101

A couple of thoughts:

Another idea, which only applies when riding, is phasing the driveshaft. If you changed your clutch, you most likely pulled the shaft off of the final drive. When you reassembled, did you phase the shaft properly? I have never personally experienced an out-of-phase shaft, but understand it can be quite a vibration. If you didn’t phase it correctly or don’t know, it’s fairly easy to check by shining a light into the swing arm.

Cheers!

Good point and I forgot to mention this one is engine related. If I pull the clutch in while riding and give it a rev, the vibration follows the engine RPM and not bike speed.

Regards Mark.

[twitchy]

I find I second guess myself as I have gotten older. I had my splines go bad and had to replace my clutch as well. The paint marks are supposed to be 120° apart, but it isn't possible to do that. As close to that as you can is what is important. You might have done that and not realized.

Mine starts to vibrate at 5000 rpm or so. I don't feel it is bad, it is just a character of the bike. The mirrors don't shake at all. I also have a Honda VFR Interceptor 800. That motor couldn't really be any smoother. What is odd to me is that after I have ridden almost 10,000 miles on the Honda, I don't really notice the vibration in the BMW.

I guess my point is, are you noticing the vibration now after you did the work and are doubting yourself? I think they are pretty awesome motorcycles when they are running properly. They do what they do. If you can get past the worry that you did something wrong, maybe it is perfectly normal and you did nothing wrong at all.

[RBMann]

My S has always vibrated in the 4,000-5,000 RPM range. I can make it worse but have never been able to make it better.

[ckcarr]

Back in the early days some called this a "Donkey Bike." Not sure if that was partially due to vibration or what. But when I was a teen I used to read that BMW's were the smoothest, most vibration free bikes available. Now I've come to realize they vibrate quite a bit, enough that my hands can go numb after a while. Not just the R1100S, but the S1000XR also has a reputation...

[sgoodwin]

Viiibraaation? Never heard of it.

[Chris Canning]

Vibration or for me was how to avoid it....

Even in the early days with SJ filter, Lennie Induct,Power Commander, never mind a full custom exhaust system from front to back, Ohlins,Dymags,PFM full floating 6 pots and more carbon than I could throw it the vibes were always there, even more so because it revved so easily.

There was much posted on here about custom building a rear bevel with a different ratio and while I had the contacts to build one felt it was a one way ticket to mud and alligators...and dropped the whole idea.

Day dreaming some time after.....and thought how the hell did the boxer cup guys get around Daytona, i’ll Cut a very long story short after much denial and while at a WSB meeting bumped into Bertie Hauser the look on his face was a picture when I questioned him about such, too my amazement he gave me a business card of the people who made them but their were 30(ish) made and that was it.

Now this we’re it gets complicated because even after tracking one down who actually owned it/them was open to debate, cutting a very very long story down finally got one from a German contact, a straight fit and one of those Eureka moment, bike is doing 100mph at 4900 and it is truly magical, just a shame after 20 years is at the back of the garage under a dust sheet.

Re the vibes on an X/R...Akra headers,PC,MIVV end can,2 teeth off the back sprocket,sorts those.

[brentw1]

I use a electronic balancer so it can be checked on the road at speed.
and the balance if properly set will drastically reduce vibrations,
and a fully functioning ignition system makes a difference, if you have a failing
stick coil they will miss at higher speeds, also if you have the injectors balanced/ flow
matched it also makes them smoother. and the newer designed spark plugs make a difference,
they will never be perfectly balanced due to the crankshaft offset.
but having done lots of 300 mile days on these one properly set up is not a vibration monster.
my new r1250rs is smoother but still vibrates, they have counter balancers

[phlam]

Chris Channing,
Do you know if the 31 tooth ring from a R1100RS' 31:11 rear end would mesh up with the 12 tooth bevel of a R1100s? The notion of smoothly motoring up the I75 doing 100 mph at 4900 rpm is a pleasant one.

Brentw1
What RPM are you using for your road speed synch. I'm leaning toward 4500 to 5000 rpms as that is where i spend most of my time.

[Lars]

Mine only vibrates when it's running, which sad to say hasn't been very often in the last couple of years. Owner's fault, not the bike's.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by phlam

Chris Channing,
Do you know if the 31 tooth ring from a R1100RS' 31:11 rear end would mesh up with the 12 tooth bevel of a R1100s? The notion of smoothly motoring up the I75 doing 100 mph at 4900 rpm is a pleasant one.

Blimey now you are asking .....you need to do a search on here, my bad memory says it was Dr Curve who posted loads about rebuilding a stock unit, with exactly what other BM parts??? But the answer is on the site... somewhere.

After much searching to jog a very bad memory....it was the cruiser ring that was put into the final drive case what ever ratio that was, but my suspicion is it’s the same as the Daytona bevel I have.

As for using the bike, yep i’m the same, bike is way down the food chain....just about to go to the dyno and collect a KTMGT some things never change.

[pdonnell]

Paint shaker from day one.

[wswartzwel]

wow. look who dropped by.

[ckcarr]

And batting next in the senior league is some fellow named Carlos...
aka "The Donkey"

[Marke123]

Thanks for all replies and input.

Sounds like there in a background vibration in this model in many bikes.
I think I had a little win.
I have a AF-XiED fitted and have it set on 5.
I've been slower making it leaner to see what happens and hopefully increase the range of the bike.
I made an adjustment to 7 and I think my buzz in the handle bars has reduced.
You never know if it's not a placebo effect!
I understand the adjustment's are subtle and take time to average out and settle.
I'll observe the try 8 or 9 as well.
I don't mind a vibration but the buzz that puts your hands to sleep is my issue.