I got a vibration.

[Guest]

Riding my 83 gs 650 gl this summer I noiticed a vibration. I thought maybe it was drive train, but the other day I let her coast off the mountain around 65 mph, by pulling in on the clutch handle....the vibration went away! Let the clutch out and the vibration comes back. I have no clue. anyone got and thoughts on this?

[tom203]

Another 650 with a vibration! Did you try putting it in neutral and coasting? Can you duplicate this vibration by reving bike in neutral and pulling/releasing clutch lever?

[chuck hahn]

Is the lever itself rattling and you feel it in the bars???

[Steve]

Did you try putting it in neutral and coasting?

BE CAREFUL with that. You DON'T want to be moving 'at speed' and try shifting to neutral.

On your way to neutral, you will be engaging second gear, so the gears will speed up to whatever the engine speed would be at that road speed in second gear.
Now, if you are already in second gear, just pull the clutch and slip it into neutral with no problem.

.

[justin]

i have an 83 650GL with the same issue . i checked the engine mounts by the front of the frame and 2 bolts were loose and 1 was completely missing . i tightened the bolts and ordered a new bolt which hasnt come in yet but tightening the other 2 helped with the vibration

[sixty8cat]

at 55 mph you cant hardly notice it. at 65..It becomes very noticable. I can feel it in the tank and my butt gets numb(LOL). I will test this weekend and see if I can get her in "N" at 65....this just scares me. I will be looking at engine mounts and all bolts. Thank for the response guys! Nice to have someone to bounce issues off of. Also, I have been reading about engine oils. Some where I read that any auto engine oil will work in these bikes... so I use walmart 10-40. Then I find out that "auto" oils, today, dont have the additives needed for these bike and that some guys are using deisel oil. Could this be a problem?

[steve murdoch]

I would get rid of the auto oil before i rode again.
Rotella T5 10w-30 will work fine with your bike.
There are probably a couple hundred threads on engine oil.

[Steve]

I would get rid of the auto oil before i rode again.
Rotella T5 10w-30 will work fine with your bike.
There are probably a couple hundred threads on engine oil.

Please be careful with that advice, Steve.

Suzuki does not recommend 10w-30 for our bikes, no matter who makes it.

Additionally, most 30w oils today (including all the multi-viscosity ones, which would include 10w-30) have "friction modifiers" in them which will really wreak havoc with your clutch. These oils can be identified by looking at the API "donut" on the back label. If the lower half of the donut has the words "Energy Conserving", DO NOT use that oil in your bike. Great in your car, but NOT your bike.


Rotella makes good oil, and I dare say that most of us use it, but not in the 10w-30 variety.
If you want an older-style 'dino' oil, the T5 15w40 (in the white jug (new ones might also be silver)) works well.
If you want a synthetic, the T6 5w-40 (in the blue jug) is the way to go.

.

[tom203]

"at 55 mph you cant hardly notice it. at 65..It becomes very noticable"

Strange... Keep it in 4th gear and see if it changes at 65mph
When you pull in clutch, you are unloading the secondary drive gears, so maybe check the propeller shaft coupling.. Put bike on centerstand (if needed put a piece of plywood under stand to lift rear wheel off ground) ,pull back boot and see if anything looks odd as you spin rear tire

[steve murdoch]

I stand corrected.
Please disregard my comment on using Rotella 10w-30 in your bike.

[nejeff]

Changed the gear oil yet? If not do that just for fun

[sixty8cat]

Thanks guys. I did go with the rotella 15w-40. Vibration is still there when I go to "coast" down the mountain. So, it is in the engine or clutch.