Nightster Vibrations..?

[HOG maniac]

I saw one the other day and never new the done a twin spark model.

Does it work. I have the sport model shocks and they are good.

If I had four plugs I would know as I polish every nut and bolt daily

[Nomad]

Hi All, picking up on vibes, my 04 1200c has only 2600miles on it but having got it on the road recently I was surprised how vibey the lump is when you crank open the throttle at less than high revs. If you hit its sweet spot its very nice to ride but I seem to need to work the gearbox more than I thought I would do.
I heard say you just crank it open in top and away you go. I find my bike is not really happy in top below 50mph anyhow. I have stage 1 with Screaming eagle II's I wondered if they were somehow sacrificing a little bottom end?
Not having ridden another rubber mounted sporty I'm not sure how they are supposed to ride, mine may be normal but I dunno?
maybe loose mounts?

Rob

[bazereid]

Try an Ironhead Sporty first, then see if there is anything to complain about.

[Urrell]

Originally Posted by Nomad

Hi All, picking up on vibes, my 04 1200c has only 2600miles on it but having got it on the road recently I was surprised how vibey the lump is when you crank open the throttle at less than high revs. If you hit its sweet spot its very nice to ride but I seem to need to work the gearbox more than I thought I would do.
I heard say you just crank it open in top and away you go. I find my bike is not really happy in top below 50mph anyhow. I have stage 1 with Screaming eagle II's I wondered if they were somehow sacrificing a little bottom end?
Not having ridden another rubber mounted sporty I'm not sure how they are supposed to ride, mine may be normal but I dunno?
maybe loose mounts?

Rob

I have the same as you and mine is not happy below 60 in top for any wide open throttle. 50 is as low as I can go in top for a steady cruise but 4th is smoother. I believe the 04 on bikes have better breathing and lighter cranks making low speed running with the relatively high gearing prone to feeling every firing pulse. Have 3000 revs on the clock and the motor loves it all the way to the limiter which on mine is set at 6000rpm. But not in top!!!!!

[koopa]

08 nightster owner here,

No vibration issues other than the vibes youd expect from having a motor sat right under you. Doesnt make your arms and head vibrate and i find it a pleasure to ride.

Like mentioned before the euro nightster has monster truck suspension which makes it look like azz and ride like shit, i have progressive 11" on mine which slams the back end, looks a hell of a lot better and funnily enough rides smoother

its a great bike and im hanging on to it. Its a great bike right out the factory and if you want to make it a bit more individual things just get better and better.

Book a test ride and see how the vibes affect you

[troymgc]

ive got the 08 nightster with peacemaker pipes and i've no problem with the vibrations... tho its a change from my triumph, bmw, honda, suzuki of the past... the only problem i have with the nightster is the ride quality. hopefully the sundowner seat i've ordered will make me a little comfier... i weigh 10 stone and the suspension crashes over anything other than a decent surface and feels like its going to judder to pieces going over any rut in the road... does anyone have any recommendations for an upgrade? The brakes are perfectly fine for the regular commuting to and from work i do and i love the bike!

[daddykemp]

10 stone! you lucky,,,,,, light weight !
I'm 23 stone and ride a 2003 883 sporty custom and it only really gives me butt ache over them sodding speed 'umps the council seem to think are so neccessary and the pot holes they can't be arsed to fill in. And yes it does vibrate like buggery, but I still love it for what it is.
Oh yeah and the missus seems to like the vibes too, I dunno what that's all about though !!!

[Tony Cross]

Originally Posted by Nomad

Hi All, picking up on vibes, my 04 1200c has only 2600miles on it but having got it on the road recently I was surprised how vibey the lump is when you crank open the throttle at less than high revs. If you hit its sweet spot its very nice to ride but I seem to need to work the gearbox more than I thought I would do.
I heard say you just crank it open in top and away you go. I find my bike is not really happy in top below 50mph anyhow. I have stage 1 with Screaming eagle II's I wondered if they were somehow sacrificing a little bottom end?
Not having ridden another rubber mounted sporty I'm not sure how they are supposed to ride, mine may be normal but I dunno?
maybe loose mounts?

Rob

A common feature of the complaints of vibration is the lack of miles. My experience of Harley's is that as they cover more miles they become much smoother and far more tractable. Lower speeds in top gear become much easier as the miles increase. I rode a mates 1200 03 the other week. At 25000 miles it is very sweet. Far smoother and more tractable than when I rode it at 5000 miles.

[memphis]

Howdo all, - just a quick update!

with a couple or so miles under my belt now with my Nightster I can say I don't notice any vibrations now. I think a lot of my original concern ( being new to HD ) was me riding too tense, hence once I relaxed into the ride all was well with the world :-)

Couple of points /my next thoughts.. which I would be interested in hearing anyone thoughts on..

i) The front forks do bottom out when I sometime hit any modest pot holes - is that normal? - Anything I can do to resolve it?

ii) Maybe its just me, but I can not really get out of second anything less than 45-50mph and can only really get into 5th when heading around 65-70 mark, is that the norm? If I try and pop around in 4th at 50 it moans and groans at me!

ii) OK ok - I admit it, I need to change the standard pipes - they don't sound too bad if you are on your tod but I'm really feeling the need for something a little ‘mature’! but not to loud as to pee off the rest of the street! I've heard about 'slip on' which I can just slide on and will increase the tune - anyone one have these / can make a recommendation? ( I don't have budget for a stage one at the mo )

iii) Forward controls! Ok this has always been on the card since my legs are a tad cramp.. Where the best place to buy them , I really wana have a go fitting them myself.

Mmm - any other suggestions? What have other folks changed ?

cheers all

[kevscrivener]

Vibes? What vibes?

As Barrie Reid says, if you want to complain about vibration buy an Ironhead. I have one, and a 1200R, and whilst the Ironhead is more fun I am in agony after a 200 mile thrash, whereas I can ride the 1200R all day and not get any discomfort.

There's a lot in what Tony says about getting some miles on it, but I wonder if it's as much the engine bedding in as the owner getting used to it? They do ceretainly become more flexible after they're run in but you'd expect that on any bike.

Interesting that someone mentioned Norton Commandos; the 1200R reminds me of a very well sorted 850 Interstate in many ways, except that reliability's probably better on the Harley!

As for shocks, i've got Hagons on mine, sent the OEM ones to Honda, 'cos i think H-D pinched 'em off a Super Dream!