upper vibration dampers

[mack]

Anyone interested in seeing a cheap effective rebuild of these. I picked up a vibration at about 4800 rpm and it increased right through to the red line. I searched the bike for loose stuff but found nothing. Eventually looked at the motor mounts and found the culprits. I made a repair and so far it works like a charm. Cost me $10.30 Can to do four mounts. If your interested I'll do a couple more and video tape the process and post in the links.

[Nightengale]

yes

yes i love to see new and inovative stuff.

[Yahman]

Absolutely!

Ride safe,
Larry

[GLoweVA]

Definitely interested too.
I replaced my upper motor mounts with polyurathane ones and I DO NOT like them. They were a PITA to get in and they are harder then the stock rubber ones and now I feel even more vibrations.

[crazy steve]

Definitely interested too.
I replaced my upper motor mounts with polyurathane ones and I DO NOT like them. They were a PITA to get in and they are harder then the stock rubber ones and now I feel even more vibrations.

That doesn't surprise me.... Most aftermarket 'poly' bushings are designed to reduce deflection and are quite stiff. If you're looking for a bit better handling by tying the frame/motor together better they're a good idea but poorer vibration isolation will be the result.

There is an alternative; McMaster-Carr sells urethane round stock in various durometers, but the machining can be a PITA (you need to freeze the softer stuff to work it). Not particularly cheap either, but it's an option...

[mack]

give me a couple

days to get this done, one to make the movie and one to upload it. This is a very cheap effective method. The total cost per damper is maybe a dollar and works like a charm. I've been looking into this since 2009 when I did my SF and now I've found all the right materials. Just wasn't sure if this was already done to death like the carb cleaning.

[GLoweVA]

That doesn't surprise me.... Most aftermarket 'poly' bushings are designed to reduce deflection and are quite stiff. If you're looking for a bit better handling by tying the frame/motor together better they're a good idea but poorer vibration isolation will be the result.

There is an alternative; McMaster-Carr sells urethane round stock in various durometers, but the machining can be a PITA (you need to freeze the softer stuff to work it). Not particularly cheap either, but it's an option...

Just the opposite for me Steve, I was looking for a replacement to the motor mount and chose the poly bushing replacement option, I wish I had stayed with the worn out rubber ones.

[DELL82]

Mack I would like to see the results also.
Can you describe the repair you made to the mounts? Did you have to remove the mounts to do the fix? What durometer is the original mounts?
Dell82

[mack]

Upper Vibration damper Resto

Ok here is what worked for me. Worked like a charm and very cheep, I've done two sets of uppers and have enough left to do a whole lot more for $11.00 can.

http://youtu.be/qsYtfQahBIQ

[mack]

Dampeners

Hi Dell. I have no idea what the stiffness of the original dampeners was, no one has seen one in thirty years, but the feel of the stabalizer arm bushings is very close to the condition of the rubber in the ones I took out. The new bushings are a bit stiffer but will work just fine.
The other thing you saked was about the brackets. Yes they must be removed so you can slide the dampeners out. I find it best to put the bike up on a jack with a couple pieces of wood emediately under the pan. This will take the pressure off the lower mounts.
Upon reassembly , slip the brackets into position and just insert the bolts but don't tighten. Then put the upper mount bolt in first and torque to spec. After it's done, put the nuts on the bracket bolts and torque those. Once this is done you can let the bike down off the jack.

[DELL82]

The new bushings are a bit stiffer but will work just fine. What new bushings are you using. Some how I missed that info in the original thread. Are you buying new bushings from some other bike or machine?
Dell

[Yahman]

He talks about them in the video that he posted on another thread. They are some type of replacement bushings for a car.

Larry

[crazy steve]

I've merged the two threads into one, so the video is now a part of this thread...

[mack]

Hi Dell

They are stabalizer arm bushings from GM but they're generic to most cars. Very cheap too. I guess the video wasn't good enough to make it into the links but I assure you that it worked very very well for me. Just one point though, when you push the tool through the bushing to cut the center hole, put some vaseline on the tool first. It helps when trying to remove the bushing after you've punched out the center.

[crazy steve]

I guess the video wasn't good enough to make it into the links....

Mack, that isn't it at all... I moved it to make sure it got more exposure..

I do have a couple of suggestions/questions though...

It might be helpful if you could find out the actual application for those bushings so they could be bought at any parts store rather than just the NAPA number. Yes, they are pretty generic but it might make it a bit clearer for some members.

How many bushings did you install at each mount? If only one, I wonder if long-term wear would be a factor? Not clear from the video (or I missed it..).

Did you use the two thin/one thick pieces of rubber as washers just to get the correct thickness, or for a specific reason? Do you see any issues with using some other thickness material to get the same total?