Road Trip

[AVGuy]

I'm headed out today on a 440 mile trip with a friend of mine. He rides a Harley Ultra Glide, but I cut him some slack and said he could come along. We're not going to be in a big hurry so may stretch it out to 3 days. We were planning a longer trip but the weather south of us has not been cooperating.

[windwheeler]

Yeah, tell your friend he gets like you the same "gas money"....    Bring a rope with you, and a bag for the parts that fall off the American Iron.   LOL!   

You both have fun!

[AVGuy]

I won't post exactly his reply, other than he said no parts fell off

We've finished day 1, about 175 miles. Rode some nice twisties in central Indiana.

[Vivo]

Yeah, tell your friend he gets like you the same "gas money"....    Bring a rope with you, and a bag for the parts that fall off the American Iron.   LOL!   

You both have fun!

Correction...it's Chinese iron...                  

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/harley-davidson-parts.html

[AVGuy]

Today was only about 120 miles. My bike has a vibration and I found a local Honda dealer to take a look at it. They'd never heard of Kymco. Belt was fine and they think the back rotor is warped. OK to keep going so I'll take it to my dealer at home.

They gave me an OTD price of $8767 on a '12 Silverwing they have on the floor. Had to pass.

[windwheeler]

A wareped rotor would only vibrate the bike if you brake. 

A vibration can come from your tires that go more and more out of balance as they wear on your trip.  I have seldom seen dealers that get balances 100% right in the first place when they mount new tires. 

It's not an issue inder 60 mph, but over, (75 GPS mph) my G/V had a horrible vibration in the front wheel from the berginning (factory), and I bought the equipment to balance now myself ALL my motorcyle wheels.  Now all is super smooth.

[AVGuy]

It could be a number of things, I guess. The tech at the dealer thought it was a combination of the warped rotor and the calipers not releasing the pads enough so they're rubbing against the rotor. He said he thought he could see this happening while checking it out.

A vibration had shown up last year and I took it in and they went over it pretty good, checking for loose bolts, engine mounts, etc. without finding an obvious cause. It hasn't been this bad, but then I don't normally ride 175 miles in one day. It seems I was also hearing a new noise this week which could have been the brake pads rubbing the rotor. I'll take it in and have them go over it.

Anyway, we had a great ride, which wound up being 500 miles. Here's my scoot in Milan, Indiana, which was home to the high school basketball team they based the movie Hoosiers on. They just opened a museum with all sorts of team and movie memorabilia.

[MaryK]

Thanks for letting us enjoy your ride,

scoot safely,

[windwheeler]

AVGuy, would you please let us know what you find out about that vibration issue.  Hard to tell remotely, can be several things.  If it is really the caliper you should feel a strong binding after squeezing the brake and trying to turn that wheel on the center stand.

[AVGuy]

I took my GV to the dealer. The service manager went out to the parking lot and we fired her up. He checked the vibration and the rear brakes. He didn't see or feel anything wrong with the brakes. He said if you watched the rotor spin it looks warped due to brake dust and discoloration, but if you watched the edge it remained true as it was spinning. He didn't feel any pulsing or anything unusual when he applied the brake. I'd been paying more attention to the rear brakes myself after the trip and hadn't felt any pulsing, either.

The vibration I feel occurs at idle or at speed and he said is normal for scooters. He said he could take my money and check things out in their shop, but he didn't see any need to do so.

My plan is to enjoy my scoot and keep riding as normal. I've documented the issue and my visit if there are any future problems.

[windwheeler]

Please describe the vibration you are feeling, and at what speed.  You say also "idle"...   But I guess it shows up most at speed, but what speed?

[windwheeler]

After riding my G/V today, I was thinking about your vibration.  How many miles on your G/V?  Any drive belt change, and if yes, when?

[AVGuy]

I just turned over 7,000 miles this week and still have the original belt. I first noticed a vibration last August and mentioned it to the dealer when I took it for for a valve adjustment and oil change. They didn't find any cause.  Up until then it had run really smooth. I took it back to them 200 miles later with the vibration and they checked engine mounting bolt torques & other things and said it seemed normal.

When I went on my trip a few weeks ago we covered 175 miles the first day, the most I had run in one stretch. It seemed the vibration increased by the end of the day. I thought I heard a noise coming from the rear end area, but it was hard to say for sure while wearing my helmet.

I called my dealer, who suggested a few possibilites, including a belt getting ready to go, so I took it a Honda dealer in the town where we were. They took a look and said the belt looked fine. It was their tech who suggested the rear brake rotor.

I took it back to my dealer last Friday and the service manager went outside with me. We fired it up and he said the brake rotor wasn't warped and he didn't feel any problem when applying the brake. He said everything feels normal to him and that scooters have an inherent vibration.

The vibration feels like its coming from the engine and is transfered to the rest of the bike. I feel it in the handlebars, through my feet and can see it in my mirrors. It's present whenever the bike is running, when stopped or riding down the road.

The bike has no problem reaching speed or running down the road. There's no hesitation or loss of power at any time. And I had new tires put on in February. So it may be nothing out of the ordinary, but it seems odd the bike would have been smoother running when brand new and would pickup this vibration with more miles.

My dealer has been around for years and sells Kymco, Burgman, Vespa, & Piaggio scooters and Suzuki, Triumph & Can Am motorcycles. I've pointed this out to them now 3 times and have documented it, so if something does come flying apart, hopefully they and/or Kymco will take care of it. And it is still under warranty.

[PassedByAScooter]

I had a lot of vibration in my seat area,  and had everything checked.  Turns out,  it was the roller weights.  they were worn out and weren't functioning properly.  they were replaced and the problem was immediately resolved. I had never heard of this before  my issue,  but it may be a cheap easy fix if it's the case.

[AVGuy]

I had a lot of vibration in my seat area,  and had everything checked.  Turns out,  it was the roller weights.  they were worn out and weren't functioning properly.  they were replaced and the problem was immediately resolved. I had never heard of this before  my issue,  but it may be a cheap easy fix if it's the case.

Thanks, I'll have that checked.