On the ride home from work I got a real nasty throbbing through the whole bike at a rate of about once per second or two. I thought I had a tire issue or something pulled over and could see nothing obvious and the bike was still doing it at idle. The engine didn't sound rough or anything, so I figured I'd ride a bit and see if it got better. It did stop the throbbing, but it seemed a lot buzzier than normal. At 5,000 RPM the pegs and bars were really vibrating and kinda uncomfortable. I got it home and when reving it on the side stand it gets a nasty rattle sound through the pipe at about 1,600 RPM and the bike visibly slides backwards a couple of inches. Idle seems normal and no louder than usual. Any ideas? Did I break something in the silencer or is it worse than that?
A couple of things to check. First, check your engine mounts, expecially the top mount, this one has a tendency to come loose. Another thing to check is your crankshaft and balancer nut. This requires removal of the right side engine case. If any of these large nuts are loose, they can cause big vibrations. Also, you may need to replace the woodruff key that locate the gears that drive the counterbalancer. Good luck and let us know what the problem was.
Yeah, based on the description of my problem and the posts I've found on the counterbalance, it's gotta be that. I ordered the parts from Hall's and will deal with it when the order arrives. Thanks!
Someone's just posted a similar thread on SMjunkie which is probably worth having a lookover and there's also a link to a thread on ADVrider (both have pics and how to's etc.) Good luck, although it's not too big a job!
