Pins and Needles after 5 miles, is this fixable

It turns out that I'm absolutely fooooked and fit for the scrap heap!!
I might just try moving the bars instead of going under the knife (which seems a bit severe) never had this problem on other brand of bike.
 
If you're asking me, I have Pirelli's at the moment and before that I had 2 sets of PR4's.

I have a 2007 (04 onwards) which I bought new. It is used daily for commuting all year round and has covered 60,000 miles. Early in it's life it was called back for a software 'upgrade' and this modification significantly increased vibration at about 4000 - 5000 rpm. I asked BMW to return it to the original spec but they said it was not possible.

With regard to the tyres, I had Anakees which were prone to giving vibes and I swore never to use them again. However, I foolishly bought another pair recently (cost) and sure enough, despite accurate balancing, the vibration is very noticeable. I would say a re-map might be the way forward.

My 1957 R69 is perfectly smooth...!
 
Try someone else's machine the same as yours see how it feels,I know your bike may have service but if valves & rocker endfloat has not been done correctly it could contribute to vibes ?
I as others never liked the OEM bars so fitted others but it's not easy screen change or modification is needed but the results are :)
 
Ady, just a thought.

I had the same problem on my 2007 GS. I changed the standard BMW screen for a Givi Airflow to reduce the buffeting as a separate issue and found that my hands settled down immediately. I was definitely holding on too tight due to wind buffeting without being conscious of it. Much more relaxed with the Givi and no hand cramps/tingling. Bar risers have also improved my wrist position, as someone mentioned earlier. Might be worth changing stuff around while you're waiting for your carpal tunnel results. Makes the ride more comfortable even if you end up going under the knife. :thumb

Tim
 
I use Conti TKC-70 tyres. A blocky tread slightly more off road than Tourance style tyres. They are noisy but don't cause vibrations. Full knobblies like TKC-80 will vibrate but almost anything else is pretty smooth.
 
I've had CTS for a few years now and I've tried different things to ease it.
My last bike was a K1600 and while obviously smooth, even it gave me CTS!
Vibration can make it worse but it's not the main trigger. Riding position is everything.
I suffered no problems when I tried an R1200RT so must assume the position suited me perfectly.
My current bike, a 2010 TC, has a few mods which help but I still suffer the first ten miles or so before it eases.
Have 20mm risers along with a low Sargent seat. Also use a throttle lock for longer journeys. Means I can rest the grip on my right hand.
Have a look at Jaws Motorcycles for reasonably priced and well made risers and throttle locks for the GS.
If you want to make your GS smoother, buy a Power Commander.
I bought mine brand new, in the box, for £155 from eBay, but they're always coming up second hand on eBay or on the forum. They either work or they don't. Can't wear out.
You don't have to be trying to make your bike go faster to fit one. Mine has a standard exhaust and air filter and all it does is fix the fueling to what it should have been without emission regulations.
Plug and play takes about twenty minutes and you'll notice a difference immediately. Take the time to download and install a standard European spec fuel map and you'll end up with a smooth, flexible bike that's great to ride and doesn't use any more fuel than standard.
If you want to go down the sports exhaust route, just load up another map.
Recommended.
 
My 2010 twin cam caused me issues with white finger, I had it serviced and all setup correctly and it made no difference. I tried different tyres again no difference. This year not for the vibration reason I changed to a 2012 GSA same engine but goodness it was so much smoother. Then it needed a rear tyre and the folk that fitted it couldn't balance the rear wheel. Result my supper smooth bike vibrated like hell until I had the rear balanced.

Bottom line cheap fix but give the wheel balancing a go see if it sorts it for you?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I can get vibration numbness on my mountain bike, which has decent front suspension but wide, blocky knobbly tyres. My road bike, with a rigid fork and narrow high pressure tyres doesn't give me any problems. The grips on the MTB are quite hard and have a rough surface. I don't know what any of this means, except that the vibration can be caused by issues other than engine, and suspension is probably not much use in damping out high frequency road/tyre induced vibration.
 
I have carpal tunnel, in normal life it doesn't bother me enough to have the op, even though I wake up in the morning with a numb hand, can't hold an axe for chopping firewood fr longer than 5 mins and my hand aching and various other diy tasks, I used to have terrible problems with a numb right hand. I have to say I was sceptical but £12 later and a pair of grip puppies have been an absolute revalation. It's now gone.

Well worth the investment and you can still feel the heat from the heated grips.
 
I have carpal tunnel, in normal life it doesn't bother me enough to have the op, even though I wake up in the morning with a numb hand, can't hold an axe for chopping firewood fr longer than 5 mins and my hand aching and various other diy tasks, I used to have terrible problems with a numb right hand. I have to say I was sceptical but £12 later and a pair of grip puppies have been an absolute revalation. It's now gone.

Well worth the investment and you can still feel the heat from the heated grips.

Thanks for info, I was gonna swap gs for another Harley BUT I decided to give the grip puppies a go, so I installed some on friday night and will go for a blatt later today. Also being as I'm 100% on the road I'm gonna swap out the very slightly blocky Tourance tyres for some PR4's and just make sure the motor is spot on, which TBH I think it's pretty good.

Can anyone tell me if it would be worth fitting an ADV type handlebar brace to kill a few vibes? I really want to give the GS a fighting chance before I think about swapping it.

Cheers Ady
 
The Adv bar brace does help but not very much.
I have Conti TKC-70s. The treads sing but I have no more vibration than the Tourance type I used to use. Other than very knobbly tyres, I'm not convinced tyre vibes are the issue.
On Thursday I did best part of 500 miles to London & back for a meeting.
The Rox anti vibe risers and Renthal bars have certainly helped. The engine vibration "felt" very similar to the standard bars but I have no significant after effects that I had last time.
I have what amount to grip puppies but mine are likely to be less soft to the touch.
Next stop is lead shot inside the handlebars.
 


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