Ive been riding my 636 for about 6 months now, and just recently im noticing my finger tips are going numb after a 30 min ride. The bike isnt real buzzy but enough that i cant make out what type of car im looking at in my rear view mirrors when riding. The numbness started about 2 weeks ago. Im leaning towards an engine buzz. What tests can i have done to check for engine problems.. I heard something about a harmony, or harmonic something test? Should i do that? Thanks, Justin.

 

Dunno what to tell ya, all bikes vibrate, but if it is excessive you can check the codes on the ECU, check for good spark, check the plugs, use some injector cleaner, etc. You can also look into gel grips and padded gloves until you get it sorted. Good luck to ya!

 

i know these bikes vibrate, but enough to make your finger tips numb after every ride?? Somethings up. Also, i do ride with gloves 80% of the time..

 

How did the plug check go?

 

You are thinking of harmonic resonances, these points of vibrations in most anything are called harmonics for short. Engines will vibrate more at certain points in their range and smooth out at others. Some are very noticable. My streetbike has irritating vibration at two ranges. One is at 4000 rpm the other is at 6000 rpm. Both are buzzy and irritating, both were noted in the original road tests of the model. They last a few hundred rpm and all I do is avoid them by either shifting to another gear or, in the case of the 6000 rpm in top gear, I don't go that fast continuously (it's about 80 mph and I seldom encounter situations where doing 80 is conducive to keeping points off my license and money in my pocket). From there, things aren't too bad in general. Your mirror vibration is relatively common on lots of bikes. Even the mirrors alone have a harmonic resonance where they will blur.

I have the same problem of fingers going numb when riding my Zephyr, but I know partly what it is. The bike is virtually silk smooth in the cruising range of 55-70 mph, so I don't have much issue there. In my case it is partly due to the forward lean, wrist position, and resulting weight on my wrists. I've heard all the ergonomic "experts" opine that I'm not riding correctly, but I know I have a very short arm reach - let them move their handle bars about 2-3" forward and see what they say then. Because of that short reach I have real difficulty riding any sportbike for any length of time. My left hand fingers go numb and I can not get enough weight off my wrists to deal with the position. The same issue is present with the more old school superbike postion of the Zephyr, but no where near as bad.

The slightly higher rise setting of the bars aleviates some of the weight issues, about 1/2" higher and most all will be gone. but the numbing of my fingers is still present. I have to conciously alter my hand position to rotate my wrist and I ride with 3 fingers extended to the clutch lever most all the time, which seemed to help. I actually have it to a lesser extent at times on the KLX, but not often.

It has to be a case of pinching of some nerves in my wrist due to wrist positon in my case. Possibly yours too. You may not have the excessive weighting of the wrist issues I had, but it doesn't take much to have nerves pinched off. Kind of like when you have a foot or arm "go to sleep" due to being in a certain position that may not be painful, but apparently pinches off some nerves. Try conciously rotating your wrist to get your arm up a bit in line with your hand, it may help a bit. Different handlebar position may help too if possible. I know gel palmed gloves help on my mountain bike too. Seems the lean and wrist angle can affect me there too. I have about a 20mm too long stem on it.

 

hahaha, no answers to this one since all bikes have that little sweet spot for buzzing your fingers. That and rider grip which is a huge issue as well. Relax your grip abit and see how that goes first.

 

Thanks for the responces.. the wrist position theory is interesting. Dragone, my bikes buzz range is anywhere in the 70mph range. Fingers have gone numb crusing at 40mph.

 

I placed new grips on the 10r with good success at stopping most of the buzz. Heavier bar weights have helped others as well. The 10r vibes at around 4-5k (70mph range), the EX500 vibes at 3k (the numbing vibes) for me that is. I like to use a different gear and riding position if feasible and can only wish for cruise control. lol

 

previous owner of my bike went -1 -1 on the sprockets,(track riding) causing me to be at 70mph at 7000 rpms, not very highway friendly.. Or is that ok? I feel like its wearing the **** out of the motor..

 

i hate when my bike is buzzing and i am not thats what turn outs are for, hehehehe
tires and brakes good?? bearings might have to much play??