New 2014, Not sure if I have a problem

[SportsterDoc]

Thanks, gentlemen. The interesting thing - and the reason that I believe that it is the tire(s) - is that I have figured out that it is only speed dependent. No issues at idle, not dependent on a particular gear, and not limited to a particular rpm. It only starts at around 45 mph and is most noticeable between 45-55 mph. While it is still there above 55, it is not as noticeable.


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Logical deductions. If the wheel is spun on a dynamic balancer, out of round should be seen.

Cormanus - exactly. I felt blown off. I’ve been riding for almost 35 years. I’m not an idiot. I’ve had poor service at this dealer before and I only purchased there because they had “new” 2014’s.

Sportsterdoc, I think it is the front tire. I showed it to the service manager. He told me that they would take a good look at it. He later told me that they didn’t look at the tires because the tech adjusted the suspension settings and the bike was “running great.” I haven’t looked at the plugs, but I will do that to eliminate that as a possible cause.

The cam covers make good hand warmers in the winter...at least for the left hand. Put a gloved hand on one when rough and not rough and feel if it is in the motor (not likely) or not.

As for the plugs, that was step 4, after 1-3. If the tire pressure is not super high (I like 38 in the front), if the front is not out of round, then it could be something as simple as a plug wire not secure and bouncing at certain rpms. If so, (a) the affected plug may not be burning as clean and (b) you would find the loose plug cap when checking the plugs. I checked mine 3 times in about 10,000 miles. They always looked like new.

If the shop isn't up to snuff as is- do NOT have them look at the plugs.

What's a TQ wrench? Says the monkey as they stress or strip your fragile aluminum threads....

Your plugs are fine..and certainly wouldn't be speed dependent. If anything they would be more noticeable at idle as a percentage of misfire.

Assumptions can mislead remote diagnostics. If I stated reasons for each suggestion, each time, my posts would be much longer.

No- knowledge and experience can disregard needless time, effort and possible damage.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of bad plugs.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of a loose plug cap causing roughness that only shows up at 45mph.

In fact- I'd say you can take a '14 leftover bike out of a crate in '24, '34, '44, '54, '64.. and it would start right up with a new battery and fuel if it was always dry- running perfectly.

I repeat- do NOT have them check the plugs. More harm than good can come from that. If you want to do it yourself- buy a tq wrench and do it right. It is not the cause of your problem and will not fix the issue.

You are correct it probably is the tire- but that also may go away with a long higher speed ride at proper tire pressure to heat the carcass. Hit the highway and cruise for an hour out and back at 80mph.

Would you assign the same probability to a TPS connector being loose or having a damaged wire?

[2017EX_imp]

I had a problem with my 2017EX, vibration that appeared around 35 MPH. The shop where bought it did the same thing...adjust suspension, test drive, and said it was fine. It was not fine, vibration still present. The shop where I bought it did not have a Honda certified mechanic. I then went to another dealer that did have a Honda certified mechanic. My front ( spoked wheel ) was out of true, AND the front tire had a flat spot. Wheel was trued, and front tire replaced under warranty, problem solved.

I discovered several things during the warranty ordeal. 1.) The Dunlop tires on our CBs, new, have had problems with being out of round, and/or flat spots whether from sitting in the crate too long or from original manufacture. 2.) Apparently in order to get anything done under warranty, the problem must first be verified by a Honda certified mechanic to start the warranty process. 3.) I had isolated the problem early on, and told both shops it was a tire and or wheel problem. Both shops went to great lengths to do do everything else imaginable first, saving tire/wheel for last, which leads me to believe the tire situation/cost has been a big one for Honda. 4.) Honda technical support had told the shop that eventually fixed my bike, to have me ride the bike for a couple thousand miles, and bring the bike back if the problem did not go away. That sounded suspiciously to me like Honda was hoping that the flat spot on the tire would wear off/even out from riding. Naturally I said no, why should I put up with the problem for 2000 miles on a new bike?

Since your bike has a cast wheel, it is probably true, and the problem is your tire.
In my case, the vibration, or roughness was most obvious at 35-40 mph. At higher speed it was still there, but less obvious. Here is what I did to isolate the problem on mine. I got on a long smooth service road, with no other traffic, and took it up to 65 mph. At 65 mph, I pulled in the clutch and coasted, watching the speedo, same result, vibration most obvious at 35-40. Did this several times with the same result. Then I repeated the procedure several times, but after pulling the clutch in, and shifting to neutral, hit the kill switch, and coasted with the engine taken completely out of the equation. Every time, same result, vibration most obvious between 35-40.

Prior to my test, tires were inflated to spec, wheels had already been checked for balance ( by the first dealer ), steering head had been checked for play, and gear lash had been checked. The experience with mine, and other Forum members, leads me to believe your problem is the tire, with the possibility that if the trie/wheel assembly has not been checked for balance, that could come into play as well. Mind you, I am not bashing Honda, or the CB1100, as I am a huge fan of both, but this seems to be a common problem. Hope this helps you.

[PowerDubs_imp]

Thanks, gentlemen. The interesting thing - and the reason that I believe that it is the tire(s) - is that I have figured out that it is only speed dependent. No issues at idle, not dependent on a particular gear, and not limited to a particular rpm. It only starts at around 45 mph and is most noticeable between 45-55 mph. While it is still there above 55, it is not as noticeable.


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Logical deductions. If the wheel is spun on a dynamic balancer, out of round should be seen.

Cormanus - exactly. I felt blown off. I’ve been riding for almost 35 years. I’m not an idiot. I’ve had poor service at this dealer before and I only purchased there because they had “new” 2014’s.

Sportsterdoc, I think it is the front tire. I showed it to the service manager. He told me that they would take a good look at it. He later told me that they didn’t look at the tires because the tech adjusted the suspension settings and the bike was “running great.” I haven’t looked at the plugs, but I will do that to eliminate that as a possible cause.

The cam covers make good hand warmers in the winter...at least for the left hand. Put a gloved hand on one when rough and not rough and feel if it is in the motor (not likely) or not.

As for the plugs, that was step 4, after 1-3. If the tire pressure is not super high (I like 38 in the front), if the front is not out of round, then it could be something as simple as a plug wire not secure and bouncing at certain rpms. If so, (a) the affected plug may not be burning as clean and (b) you would find the loose plug cap when checking the plugs. I checked mine 3 times in about 10,000 miles. They always looked like new.

If the shop isn't up to snuff as is- do NOT have them look at the plugs.

What's a TQ wrench? Says the monkey as they stress or strip your fragile aluminum threads....

Your plugs are fine..and certainly wouldn't be speed dependent. If anything they would be more noticeable at idle as a percentage of misfire.

Assumptions can mislead remote diagnostics. If I stated reasons for each suggestion, each time, my posts would be much longer.

No- knowledge and experience can disregard needless time, effort and possible damage.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of bad plugs.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of a loose plug cap causing roughness that only shows up at 45mph.

In fact- I'd say you can take a '14 leftover bike out of a crate in '24, '34, '44, '54, '64.. and it would start right up with a new battery and fuel if it was always dry- running perfectly.

I repeat- do NOT have them check the plugs. More harm than good can come from that. If you want to do it yourself- buy a tq wrench and do it right. It is not the cause of your problem and will not fix the issue.

You are correct it probably is the tire- but that also may go away with a long higher speed ride at proper tire pressure to heat the carcass. Hit the highway and cruise for an hour out and back at 80mph.

Would you assign the same probability to a TPS connector being loose or having a damaged wire?

Yes. The connector lock in place, the sensor at least on my 2014 has paint markings on the bolts where it was installed and checked. The wire would be pretty much impossible to damage.

[mturmelle_imp]

Thanks 2017EX. Your bike was behaving exactly as mine is. I really appreciate your help.

MJ


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[SportsterDoc]

Thanks, gentlemen. The interesting thing - and the reason that I believe that it is the tire(s) - is that I have figured out that it is only speed dependent. No issues at idle, not dependent on a particular gear, and not limited to a particular rpm. It only starts at around 45 mph and is most noticeable between 45-55 mph. While it is still there above 55, it is not as noticeable.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Logical deductions. If the wheel is spun on a dynamic balancer, out of round should be seen.

Cormanus - exactly. I felt blown off. I’ve been riding for almost 35 years. I’m not an idiot. I’ve had poor service at this dealer before and I only purchased there because they had “new” 2014’s.

Sportsterdoc, I think it is the front tire. I showed it to the service manager. He told me that they would take a good look at it. He later told me that they didn’t look at the tires because the tech adjusted the suspension settings and the bike was “running great.” I haven’t looked at the plugs, but I will do that to eliminate that as a possible cause.

The cam covers make good hand warmers in the winter...at least for the left hand. Put a gloved hand on one when rough and not rough and feel if it is in the motor (not likely) or not.

As for the plugs, that was step 4, after 1-3. If the tire pressure is not super high (I like 38 in the front), if the front is not out of round, then it could be something as simple as a plug wire not secure and bouncing at certain rpms. If so, (a) the affected plug may not be burning as clean and (b) you would find the loose plug cap when checking the plugs. I checked mine 3 times in about 10,000 miles. They always looked like new.

If the shop isn't up to snuff as is- do NOT have them look at the plugs.

What's a TQ wrench? Says the monkey as they stress or strip your fragile aluminum threads....

Your plugs are fine..and certainly wouldn't be speed dependent. If anything they would be more noticeable at idle as a percentage of misfire.

Assumptions can mislead remote diagnostics. If I stated reasons for each suggestion, each time, my posts would be much longer.

No- knowledge and experience can disregard needless time, effort and possible damage.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of bad plugs.

There is ZERO chance on a leftover '14 of a loose plug cap causing roughness that only shows up at 45mph.

In fact- I'd say you can take a '14 leftover bike out of a crate in '24, '34, '44, '54, '64.. and it would start right up with a new battery and fuel if it was always dry- running perfectly.

I repeat- do NOT have them check the plugs. More harm than good can come from that. If you want to do it yourself- buy a tq wrench and do it right. It is not the cause of your problem and will not fix the issue.

You are correct it probably is the tire- but that also may go away with a long higher speed ride at proper tire pressure to heat the carcass. Hit the highway and cruise for an hour out and back at 80mph.

Would you assign the same probability to a TPS connector being loose or having a damaged wire?

Yes. The connector lock in place, the sensor at least on my 2014 has paint markings on the bolts where it was installed and checked. The wire would be pretty much impossible to damage.

Yes. The connector lock in place, the sensor at least on my 2014 has paint markings on the bolts where it was installed and checked. The wire would be pretty much impossible to damage.
Both were problems in this thread: http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8120

The connector can lock into position, but a pin or socket not be seated.

[2017EX_imp]

Thanks 2017EX. Your bike was behaving exactly as mine is. I really appreciate your help.

MJ


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You are welcome, and I hope it helps isolate and correct your problem. At the very least, the test procedure I used and outlined will help you determine if it is tire/wheel related, or TPS related as SportsterDoc has mentioned. I forgot to include that prior to my test, I had also checked for correct chain tension and rear wheel/chain alignment.

Just do the coast test on a smooth road with no traffic to do it safely. With the engine in neutral, and completely shut off during the test, if the vibration goes away the problem will be engine related, but if the vibration is still present as you describe with the engine out of the equation, it will be chassis/wheel/tire related.

Do you have any stick on balancing weights on your rims? Generally if a cast rim has balance weights, there will be one or more weights directly across the rim from the valve stem to offset valve stem weight, although there can be weights in other locations. This is just generally, but not always, as sometimes a wheel/tire will balance with no weights. In any case, wheel balance should be checked if it has not already been checked.

[SportsterDoc]

Thanks 2017EX. Your bike was behaving exactly as mine is. I really appreciate your help.

MJ


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You are welcome, and I hope it helps isolate and correct your problem. At the very least, the test procedure I used and outlined will help you determine if it is tire/wheel related, or TPS related as SportsterDoc has mentioned. I forgot to include that prior to my test, I had also checked for correct chain tension and rear wheel/chain alignment.

Just do the coast test on a smooth road with no traffic to do it safely. With the engine in neutral, and completely shut off during the test, if the vibration goes away the problem will be engine related, but if the vibration is still present as you describe with the engine out of the equation, it will be chassis/wheel/tire related.

Do you have any stick on balancing weights on your rims? Generally if a cast rim has balance weights, there will be one or more weights directly across the rim from the valve stem to offset valve stem weight, although there can be weights in other locations. This is just generally, but not always, as sometimes a wheel/tire will balance with no weights. In any case, wheel balance should be checked if it has not already been checked.

Not suggesting TPS.
It seems most likely to be a tire issue.

Should it not be a tire issue, I did suggest some remote possibilities if it were actually an engine issue.

Thereafter, I did take exception to a couple "zero chance" statements and proffered a couple scenarios which have been documented on this forum, related to the TPS and asked the poster if he would assign the same probabilities to them.