Which bike has most character - least vibration?

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Yamaha FJ09. Very very affordable. Super smooth triple with a very strong torque curve and decent top end. My XSR900 which uses the same triple is smoother than any other bike I've ridden.

If you want something exotic and Italian that is smoother than a big twin duc a MV Agusta veloce with the 800cc triple would be a cool option as well.

When I was in Italy a few weeks ago I saw more MV Agusta bikes than I expected to see riding around. The sound was pure glory.

Triples are amazing, low vibrations, and fantastic powerbands.
 
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Originally Posted By: Atesz792
Guys, we're talking about a medical condition here, that's no joke!


Actually we are talking about the OP's perception of a concern related to what the doctor actually told him (unless he's since talked to the doctor).

Huge difference in putting a vibrating toothbrush against your teeth or vibrating clippers against your head and any vibration that might be transmitted through the pegs, handle bar and seat of a motorcycle (or car for that matter) with respect to how much vibration gets to your eye IMO.

Definitely worth another discussion with the doctor to see if this is really a concern and if so is it a permanent one..

Originally Posted By: Atesz792
If you really must not ride anything that shakes, I would rule out everything with 1 or 2 cylinders.


They all shake, it is just a matter of the frequency.

Assuming the OP's base assumption in the other thread (that the doctor is concerned about emulsification of the silicone filler) is correct, I would think a higher frequency vibration (I4 v V2) would be worse.

Originally Posted By: Atesz792
Haven't ridden anything 3 cyl, perhaps others can chime in on that. Hear you like Triumph, how about the Trophy?
4 cylinders and above should shake even less. If you don't want anything Japanese, the BMW a few posts back is something I would consider. Or the 6 cyl BMW GT or GTL...


The few 3 cylinder I have ridden are sort of weird, much like a 5cyl car there is something that seems artificial about them, I'm not sure why... perhaps just the unfamiliarity with the particular harmonic and I do seem to be sensitive to vibrations, it gets worse as I get older.

The BMW 6 cylinders are impressive bikes, definitely worth a shot if the size and cost are not prohibitive. There a new RS twin too thats sort of a sport tourer.

Triumph makes a ton of interesting stuff too from the Tiger line to the Bonneville - most of the dealers I've run across are perfectly happy to let you ride them too.

Originally Posted By: Atesz792
OR, (and don't hate me, it's your vision afterall), have you considered an electric bike? They are getting better and better these days, torque is certainly up to the task, and range is getting there, too.


Interesting stuff there too, there is even one that was going to be approved (or is by now) for AMA off road competition.

I feel like the OP's present bike bears investigation possibly to the point of riding another example to see if the vibration is similar, if in fact that is the way the MTS is it may be that another Ducati model in a lower state of tune would be more acceptable from a NHV perspective.
 
BMW has a new inline 6 cyl bike coming out for the US market later this year aimed at the cruiser market I forget the model designation. Liked the look except for the exhaust pipes were shaped too much like a cheerleader's megaphone. Ducati did same thing to the exhaust cans on the Diavel and I think it looks ridiculous. Exhausts are changeable of course, but just saying...
 
I rode a K1600GTL when they first came out and it was eerily smooth. I also rode a '12 or '13 Road Glide FLTRU and it was very smooth, if a bit dynamically compromised. Settled on an R1200RT, and I love it, but wouldn't consider it superlative in smoothness. I cannot speak to the T-bird or new water-cooled Triumph twins, but the air-cooled twin in my '04 Thruxton buzzed pretty good when you were ringing its neck, which was about all of the time because weighing near 500 Lbs and having something like 60 HP it was slower than Christmas.

I highly doubt the dyno break-in was a detriment to your bike, it sounds like the same procedure that I conduct on all of my bikes on the road.
 
WANG said:
I rode a K1600GTL when they first came out and it was eerily smooth. I also rode a '12 or '13 Road Glide FLTRU and it was very smooth, if a bit dynamically compromised. Settled on an R1200RT, and I love it, but wouldn't consider it superlative in smoothness. I cannot speak to the T-bird or new water-cooled Triumph twins, but the air-cooled twin in my '04 Thruxton buzzed pretty good when you were ringing its neck, which was about all of the time because weighing near 500 Lbs and having something like 60 HP it was slower than Christmas.

I highly doubt the dyno break-in was a detriment to your bike, it sounds like the same procedure that I conduct on all of my bikes on the road, it was one of the fastest bikes available now it has entry level bike power.
 
Having lots of friends and family in the Motorcycle Business, I've had the opportunity to ride most of the bikes that have been made for the last 20 or so years.

I've ridden the Harley line, including the new Milwaukee-eight bikes. The Indian line. They all have some vibration at some point. It's part of the character they are marketing.

The only bike that fits your criteria for supreme smoothness, and brands you're willing to consider, are the I-6 BMW's, IMO. The downside is that the models with that engine are fairly heavy.
 
Character and smoothness are pretty much polar opposites.

I prefer character on a bike and I will never own a long term bike with more than two pistons.
 
Originally Posted By: Atesz792
Guys, we're talking about a medical condition here, that's no joke!
If you really must not ride anything that shakes, I would rule out everything with 1 or 2 cylinders.

Haven't ridden anything 3 cyl, perhaps others can chime in on that. Hear you like Triumph, how about the Trophy?
4 cylinders and above should shake even less. If you don't want anything Japanese, the BMW a few posts back is something I would consider. Or the 6 cyl BMW GT or GTL...

OR, (and don't hate me, it's your vision afterall), have you considered an electric bike? They are getting better and better these days, torque is certainly up to the task, and range is getting there, too.


Plenty of twins are smooth...BMW boxers come to mind. My wife's Pacific Coast can pass the quarter test!
 
Though I've not ridden one, the verdict seems to be unanimous that it is ultra-smooth (the I6 configuration helps too as it has perfect primary and secondary balance). Said to surprisingly agile too... What about an ST1300? I recall they seem to be quite smooth too...
 
what I have noticed over the years for vibration at highway speed is a Throttle Body Sync. preceded by the std. checks, plugs, valve clearance, timing, etc, where applicable. Don't know if that is a variable that can be adjusted on your Duc.
You didn't mention where the problem is felt, bars, pegs, all over etc.... For example, bar buzz can sometimes be addressed with changing the resonant frequency by adding mass to the bars in the correct location or different mounts. Have you checked the Duc forums for others experiencing the same? Is this something that just came on?
 
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Bars, pegs, frame. And then there's the buffeting of helmet above about 60 mph since I'm 6'02" and the screen on this bike is made for riders 5'10" at the tallest or so it seems.

The previous gen had air bleed screws on each tb but this model doesn't and the tb butterflies are electronically actuated as it's throttle-by-wire bike with the twist grip being a Hall Effect sensor sending signal voltage to the ECU which then actuates moves throttle bodies as it sees fit.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Might have to sell the Duc and get something smoother. No two wheeled motorhomes i.e. gold wing's, legendary smoothness but too much the Buick Park Avenue of the bike world.

Something that's not boring has some uniqueness and character and heritage but not Honda, Suzuki, or Kawasaki. Yamaha might be okay. Back in the 80's I got to use my older brother's Yamaha Maxim 650 for a while after he upgraded to a Maxim 1100 and it was a fun bike.

Could the new Milwaukee 8 powered Harley Davidson Road King be smooth enough? Lots of reviews so far comment about how much less it shakes, with HD saying it shakes actually 75% less than the TC 103 engine. Reviews are useless compared to a test ride though, so maybe I should give one a try.

Going to double check all the easy to get to stuff on the Duc just in case a spark plug lead is loose or etc. Four spark plugs and four coils to check.


My buddy just bought a brand new Milwaukee 8 and says it's a lot smoother than his 96 was...
 
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