Bar snake?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had any experience with the Bar Snake vibration damper? I'm running stock grips, but might change to something more comfy. I have no problems around town, but I notice buzzy/sleepy hands after too much time on the freeway.

[Anonymous]

On my 1100ed- I have been using foam grips and some insert weights that go inside the handle bar. The inserts came from an old goldwing((boneyard)). Many of us have read articles wher BBs or lead shot has been poured into the handle bars and then silicone added for the purpose of holding the shot in place. Handle bar snakes have come up in our discussion a few times but I myself have never needed any more dampening than i have now. My bike had that numbing buzz when i bought it. It put my hands to sleep after riding a while.
If I remember correctly a couple of the fellows have used the snakes and if they still lurke, Im sure you will hear from one of them shortly unless you are talking about some creep that hangs out at your local gin mill .

[Anonymous]

I've never used the factory made Bar Snake, but i made my own with some soft rubber air hose and lead shot.
It did help some, but not enough to brag about.
Mike

[Anonymous]

Does the shape of the handlebars cause much vibration? I would think that something along the lines of an apehanger would vibrate like a tuning fork while a flat bar would be less noticable.

Steve

[Anonymous]

Does the shape of the handlebars cause much vibration? I would think that something along the lines of an apehanger would vibrate like a tuning fork while a flat bar would be less noticable.

Steve

I don't know, but that would be just one more good reason not to have apehangers!

[Anonymous]

I run Gel grips and handlebar end weights on the stock '78 bars and the buzz dissapeared.

Steve

[Anonymous]

And some guys just get a caulking gun and a tube of silicone and fill the interior of the bars with it. Never tried it myself, but have heard that it helps. I found that handgrips can make a big difference. The stock ones are horrible.

[Anonymous]

Vibration dampening

Just a thought but I think worth a look...... check all engine mount bolts for proper torque. I have found a loose one will really effect vibration. On Kaw Concours in particular, a popular and effective way to reduce vibration is to loosen and retighten all engine bolts. I have ridden a friend's Connie before and after he did this and couldn't get over the difference. Oddly, all bolts were tight to begin with. He did this procedure after reading about it and was as surprised as I was with the difference. Just my .02 worth.

[Anonymous]

Al:
Good point, my friends Saab would wander when above 200km/h. In the end Saab sent an engineer in and all he did was loosen the subframe from the car and retorque it.

Steve

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your advice. I've owned and ridden a lot of "fours", and I don't think they get too much smoother than this. I'm famous for being careful with my money, and I hate to throw away perfectly good parts. So I've been reluctant to get rid of my hard-as-a-rock 22 year old grips! Just to satisfy my curiosity, I think I'll go the Bar Snake route. I'll probably change the grips sometime after that, to gain any additional benefit. Thanks, Al.