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Incredibly annoying buzzing, high-frequency vibration recently appeared

VersusAllOdds

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Let's start with a few basics:

- I rode my bike fine a few months ago. No problems at all!
- The summers are pretty long and warm here... means riding from June to Sept is pretty uncomfortable. Therefore, my bike was almost entirely idle for the past two months (except for some very rare switch-ons, when I rode it a little and defied the heat).
- Recently, I took my battery off the shelf (kept it inside not to cook it), put it back in and started riding it (when I say riding it, I mean riding for like half an hour every 5-10 days, so very little). During one of those rides (now, I'm not even sure when), I felt vibrations. Very uncomfortable ones (more on that later).
- Two months ago I cleaned my chain with WD-40 and towel-rubbing, and applied a Motorex chain lube, off-road version (there's plenty of dust where I live, so I figured street riding here is basically the same as off road in a normal, non-desert country). After a dust storm or two I noticed that my chain was basically covered in dust and fine sand - therefore I had a ride or two with a chain in that condition (won't happen again, promise!).
- No new stuff installed on the bike. Whatever is installed (GIVI engine guards, GIVI top case mount), was installed before the vibrations appeared, and remain on the bike until now. The only thing I changed, was adding a side stand extender (the thing that makes it footing wider so that it doesn't sink into soft surface).

That was the intro... I hope those were some relevant info - I'm still searching for a source of my newly found vibrations, and wanted to provide details... actually, I wanted to show that nothing relevant changed on the bike before and after the vibes appeared. I would also like to state that I've read multiple threads for vibrations, and none of them fit the description of what I felt, so I felt compelled to start a new thread.

So, more on the vibrations, in detail:

When I start my bike, in neutral, for the first minute or so it works kind of unevenly.... the rpm in total idle varies slightly... as if I'm reving it very slightly, and I'm not. Maybe this is normal, maybe this is something every NC700X, or even every bike has, just pointing that out. The bike idle rpm is around 1000 or slightly above.
The vibrations appear regardless of whether the bike is moving, regardless of speed or gear. Maybe there are some differences based on those things, but they are just as annoying and intense anyway. That's why I will almost exclusively describe change in vibrations with varying rpm, considering the bike is standing in neutral all the time:

1- So, at idle, it vibrates, the front of the bike vibrates in particular. I hold the handlebars and it's uncomfortable... I would compare it to a vibrating phone, maybe not as intense, but the frequency is similar.
2- Then, I rev it up to 2000 - and the vibrations grow a little less intense... same frequency though.
However, at 2400-2500, they become very intense and uncomfortable. They become suddenly intense (like, 5x more intense exactly at that point) upon hitting the 2400-2500 rpm, and I can feel as if the bike has entered resonance.
3- On higher rpm, up to 3000, the vibrations subside considerably, but still remain at an annoying, and undeniable level.
4- With 3000, the vibrations are for the first time felt in the seat and foot pegs (actually they were felt there before, but nothing too bad as the handlebars).
5- At 4000, the entire bike vibrates intensely (not as on 2400-2500, however now it's the entire bike as opposed to the front from earlier).
6- At 4500, the entire bike vibrates as if at another resonance level, like the one on 2400-2500, only that this time it's very intense vibration of the entire bike. Of course, the engine is being very loud at this level as well, but that's expected.

Now I'm gonna compare riding experience - before and after the vibrations problem appeared:

Before, my favorite thing ever was pressing the gas for a strong acceleration in 3rd gear. The moment when I shift into 3rd (at up to 50kmh or 30mph) until the moment that I switch to 4th (somewhere around 80kmh or 50mph). The engine would give a very pleasurable shake with each chuck, as those chucks became closer to each other and more high pitched... I guess you guys know what I'm talking about.

Now, all those pleasures are very diminished, given the presence of a new high-frequency buzz that spreads discomfort through my body - particularly arms, but also my crotch and feet. During the acceleration that I described, those chucks somewhat hide the nasty vibration, but it's back as soon as I accelerate over the sweet spot... Also, riding above 100kmh vibrates the entire bike uncomfortably (does so before, but at that speed, the nasty ones start).

The bottom line is something I'd never thought I'd say: with these vibes, I do not enjoy riding my bike at all. Which is sad, because it felt awesome some two months ago...

That's about it... if anyone is left still reading, mind you help a total newbie figure this annoying problem out?
 
It's hard to say without being there in person, even being there wouldn't make it much easier though.
If your certain it's the engine it sounds like at least one cylinder or the other isn't doing 100%
Fouled plug or clogged injector maybe?
But I'm just a shade tree mechanic, I'm no expert, I haven't had this problem.
Pulling the plugs is pretty easy at least, I haven't pulled the injectors on mine but I'd imagine that's more difficult

How many Kmh/miles on your NC?
If your a competent mechanic you can adjust your valves and poke around with things out of your way.

If your not 100% certain it's the engine, it's likely chain tension or at least chain related, don't forget to check your tires and tire pressure as well

Either way good luck
 
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It's hard to say without being there in person, even being there wouldn't make it much easier though.
If your certain it's the engine it sounds like at least one cylinder or the other isn't doing 100%
Fouled plug or clogged injector maybe?
But I'm just a shade tree mechanic, I'm no expert, I haven't had this problem.
Pulling the plugs is pretty easy at least, I haven't pulled the injectors on mine but I'd imagine that's more difficult

How many Kmh/miles on your NC?
If your a competent mechanic you can adjust your valves and poke around with things out of your way.

If your not 100% certain it's the engine, it's likely chain tension or at least chain related, don't forget to check your tires and tire pressure as well

Either way good luck

Thanks for your reply!

Well, one should consider that the bike has been unused for more than a month, in very high heat (I guess most of the guys here are Americans, so I'll say 100-110F degrees), and occasional intense winds (in effect dust storms).

Would it be possible that the severe dust storms might've obstructed the engine operation? (those dust storms actually apply 1 millimeter of dust/fine sand on your floors in a few hours time of strong winds!) I can't seem to find any other logical reason - given that the vibrations were non-existent before the bike entered it's month-long hibernation. It's as if something has happened to the bike while I wasn't riding it...

Also note that all these problems appear during standing still in neutral, regardless of movement. That's why I don't think the chain is involved... I will recheck it though, and see if it needs to be relaxed/tensed.

The bike mileage is ~19600 km, although as I said, it worked fine before. Also - I'm not a competent mechanic...
 
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The heat is unlikely to be the problem, it's been between 100°/105° for the last 3 weeks here where I'm at and I've ridden to and from work at a spirited pace without a single hiccup, sand on the other hand gets into everything and can cause problems, but I can't think of how that could be such a problem for a motorcycle that was mainly parked, other then it effecting your chain but that wouldn't explain the vibrations while sitting in neutral.
 
The heat is unlikely to be the problem, it's been between 100°/105° for the last 3 weeks here where I'm at and I've ridden to and from work at a spirited pace without a single hiccup, sand on the other hand gets into everything and can cause problems, but I can't think of how that could be such a problem for a motorcycle that was mainly parked, other then it effecting your chain but that wouldn't explain the vibrations while sitting in neutral.

Well I'm not sure either!

But one should note that winds get pretty strong here, and they carry a lot of sand... So, when you say you can't think of how sand could be such a problem for a parked motorcycle - know that strong winds with sand/dust can be the same things as speeding through a dusty environment.

When I say dust gets into everything, I do mean everything... I had chain lube for off-road bikes (I thought it would make the chain less sticky for sand Motorex Chain Lube Off Road | Buy Online in South Africa | takealot.com - got disappointed), and still there was a thick layer of sand/dust on my chain.

Check out the inside of my battery lid:

IMG_20180718_202725_1.jpg

I dunno if the picture shows the full picture (pun intended), but there's a lot of dust there... who knows where else it got in and what else it clogged! Also - any suggestions on how to clean inside of my maintenance lid? Can I just remove the battery and hose everything with water?


It really sucks that nobody has any suggestions for this kind of problem...
 
Well I'm not sure either!

But one should note that winds get pretty strong here, and they carry a lot of sand... So, when you say you can't think of how sand could be such a problem for a parked motorcycle - know that strong winds with sand/dust can be the same things as speeding through a dusty environment.

When I say dust gets into everything, I do mean everything... I had chain lube for off-road bikes (I thought it would make the chain less sticky for sand Motorex Chain Lube Off Road | Buy Online in South Africa | takealot.com - got disappointed), and still there was a thick layer of sand/dust on my chain.

Check out the inside of my battery lid:

View attachment 36829

I dunno if the picture shows the full picture (pun intended), but there's a lot of dust there... who knows where else it got in and what else it clogged! Also - any suggestions on how to clean inside of my maintenance lid? Can I just remove the battery and hose everything with water?


It really sucks that nobody has any suggestions for this kind of problem...
I meant that it wasn't running, so not inhaling the dust, for the most part.

To clean I'd wipe down and use compressed air, I'd avoid using water, even with the battery disconnected I'd be worried about corrosion or something still shorting out when power was returned

Try asking a local that works on their own stuff (preferably motorcycles) if your problem is environmental I'd imagine there's a local that's already gone through this
 
The first thing I would check is the air filter.

However there is a thread somewhere on here where someone was experiencing excessive vibration. There was a post on that thread just a couple of days ago. Have a search. The solution to the OP's problem was poorly functioning injectors. He replaced them and problem solved.
 
If it was 670cc's post the injectors didn't fix the issue.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Guessing Bad gas. Easy place to start. Try running some Techron fuel cleaner through it and fresh gas.
Also check the bolts for all your Givi stuff.
 
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About the chain, wax (paraffin) based compounds work better than oil based lubricants in dusty conditions. Oil collects dirt, paraffin doesn't.
 
The first thing I would check is the air filter.

However there is a thread somewhere on here where someone was experiencing excessive vibration. There was a post on that thread just a couple of days ago. Have a search. The solution to the OP's problem was poorly functioning injectors. He replaced them and problem solved.

You’re probably referring to this thread: Vibration at 55 (or other high gear load) SOLVED!
 
Guys, thanks for your suggestions! I'll try them out, as soon as I have more time...

I've started up the bike and ridden it a little, to test it out. While I was reading about other guys with vibration problems on this forum, I read a pretty good description for a weird sound I hear as well - a clicking noise as if I am riding near a concrete barrie, and hear an echo...

I have also gotten a more detailed feel of the vibrations - they are in the front part of the bike, and go in a sideways, left-right direction... as if the engine or a part of it is dislodged and it shakes sideways as a result of its work....
 
Guys, thanks for your suggestions! I'll try them out, as soon as I have more time...

I've started up the bike and ridden it a little, to test it out. While I was reading about other guys with vibration problems on this forum, I read a pretty good description for a weird sound I hear as well - a clicking noise as if I am riding near a concrete barrie, and hear an echo...

I have also gotten a more detailed feel of the vibrations - they are in the front part of the bike, and go in a sideways, left-right direction... as if the engine or a part of it is dislodged and it shakes sideways as a result of its work....

How many miles/Kilometers on the chain? The clicking noise could be caused by kinks in the chain going thru the front drive sprocket (there is a tab on the inside of the front drive sprocket cover which the chain sometimes hit when there are kinks in the chain). Even if no kinks, the chain may need to be replaced...
 
It's not so much noise at is a physical vibration... also, the vibration is felt during idling in neutral, maybe even more than during movement.

Therefore, I'd completely exclude the chain.

Also, the links and sprocket look like they are in a pretty good shape.
 
Took it to the dealer, he immediately recognized the noise as something being wrong with the valve clearances... the mechanic and his supervisor were both baffled that such a thing happened to this bike...in fact it surprised them so much that they didn't trust me until i started it up!

I guess it speaks of both how reliable NC700 is and how unlucky I am...

Any of you guys have a clue how big/small problem this can be?
 
Took it to the dealer, he immediately recognized the noise as something being wrong with the valve clearances... the mechanic and his supervisor were both baffled that such a thing happened to this bike...in fact it surprised them so much that they didn't trust me until i started it up!

I guess it speaks of both how reliable NC700 is and how unlucky I am...

Any of you guys have a clue how big/small problem this can be?

So the noise was recognized as a valve clearance problem. Did they proceed to adjust the valve clearances, and was the problem resolved?

Valve clearances don’t just abruptly change in a short time unless an adjustment screw or nut was left loose, or something broke. Or, there was grit in the oil or a lack of oil that caused extreme rapid wear, in which case the engine is probably destroyed anyway.

Please let us know now the outcome of the dealer visit.
 
Took it to the dealer, he immediately recognized the noise as something being wrong with the valve clearances... the mechanic and his supervisor were both baffled that such a thing happened to this bike...in fact it surprised them so much that they didn't trust me until i started it up!

I guess it speaks of both how reliable NC700 is and how unlucky I am...

Any of you guys have a clue how big/small problem this can be?

So the noise was recognized as a valve clearance problem. Did they proceed to adjust the valve clearances, and was the problem resolved?

Valve clearances don’t just abruptly change in a short time unless an adjustment screw or nut was left loose, or something broke. Or, there was grit in the oil or a lack of oil that caused extreme rapid wear, in which case the engine is probably destroyed anyway.

Please let us know now the outcome of the dealer visit.
 
So the noise was recognized as a valve clearance problem. Did they proceed to adjust the valve clearances, and was the problem resolved?

Valve clearances don’t just abruptly change in a short time unless an adjustment screw or nut was left loose, or something broke. Or, there was grit in the oil or a lack of oil that caused extreme rapid wear, in which case the engine is probably destroyed anyway.

Please let us know now the outcome of the dealer visit.

I left the bike - they are first going to diagnose it, and then call me with the results. That will happen on Saturday, so I will keep you posted.

I cannot believe that this bike had its engine suddenly destroyed... as previously stated, checking oil level was one of the first things I did, and it was at an ample level. For what it's worth, while I was riding it to the dealer, the engine was perfectly capable, except for the uncomfortable vibes.
 
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