Hey man, I appreciate the feedback! Truth is I'm just a weekend warrior swinging hammers around having to learn everything about motorcycles the hard way, but it's fun. Trying to shoot videos like this definitely makes you appreciate the people that do it really well that much more though. I get so much help from other people online, I figure I'd throw my hat into the ring and see if I can contribute anything useful. Nice sounding bike you've got, btw. That one sure has some grunt to it!
Thank you for making this video. I was contemplating buying crash bars. But your very detailed explanation of the vibration problem and the close-up shots of the crash bar made me decide to spend my money on fuel and just go riding.
Absolutely. I hope I haven't totally turned you off of the idea of the crash bars because I still think they're a great addition because they'll pay for themselves in the unfortunate event of a spill. I, just like it appears many others, have run into these nagging vibration issues. Mine is basically gone, but it really shouldn't have needed to be that hard. Thanks for commenting, and enjoy the ride!
I remember your video on this issue a few years ago. I had a '17 DL650 with SW Motech bars and never had an issue. Bought a '22 650 Adventure last year and it has oem bars. No issues either. Just got back from a 2K mile trip to the Sierras and noticed at about 4500-5500 a weird vibration. Checked all mounting bolts and were fine. didn't touch the adjusters. Only has 1 week left on warranty. Might have the dealer do it. Other than that, this bike was the mule- totally packed to the gills and pulled long steep grades at 80 mph at 5500' elev. Not the latest and greatest, but I love these bikes.
Hopefully you had a fun trip, sounds awesome! "Mule" is the best term for these bikes. Dead solid but kind of goofy. It's a weird issue that's tough to explain. I barely feel it anymore but I get a slight tickle at 68mph in 5th, 75mph in 6th. I just use it now to know my exact speed without having to look at the speedo. There's a bunch of different factors that can go into causing a vibration/resonance at a certain rpm range, so if it's not bothering you too much... I wouldn't go crazy. Some of the stories I'd read from other people made it sound like theirs was going to crack welds. Damn, it's been 4 years since I shot this, hah.
@@matttriestodothings Not to be contentious, but I wondered what you meant by goofy. I have a Z900, Z900RS, new SV650, '79 FXEF shovelhead Superglide and the 650 Adventure. I believe the DL looks as cool as all the rest.The Z900 as it is set up is a freaky little rocket. a real hoot, but in the end I'd keep the DL for it's utility. For some reason, people love to disparage the little V, but I'm proud to ride it, no matter what pulls up next to me.
@@TrustyZ900 Interesting, unique, goofy, eccentric... It just has a funny look to me. I love how it looks. So much so that it was the only new vehicle I've ever purchased and may end up being the only new vehicle I ever purchase. It's a fantastic bike, and the engine is the best part. The utility is top notch. The only knock I have on the VStrom is that it's not a terribly exciting bike to ride around town. But it wasn't made for that. Unfortunately, that's the majority of my (now pretty limited) street riding.
Awesome thanks!! Have a '17 DL650A with GIVI crash bars installed new a few months ago, and troubleshooting the ~5k resonant vibration right now (center joint not the culprit). Just took bars off as a test, and the vibe in handlebars was absent (just as I remembered pre-bars). Was considering damping material (silicone / sand / bb's / lead shot) inside the bars and rubber washers (or some type of isolation bushings) at the mount points, but would much rather fix the root cause. Will likely get a manual and special tool and try this fix, though seems odd the mounts would have been mis-torqued but who knows (bike seems to have been made with good quality control). Thanks!!
I purchased T-Rex racing engine guards about 6 months ago and they seem not to be affected by those RPM range vibrations, double cross at the front and no linkage gaskets, so satisfied.
Those T-Rex bars look interesting. They're definitely a good price since you can add the skid plate to the engine bars for the same price of the SW-Motech bars. The Motech is another ~$320 for the skid plate alone. I'd be curious to know how well those bars would hold up in a crash that was more than a 0mph tip-over. At less than $200, if they do the job of protecting the bike, then they're a good investment.
Thanks for the video, I just finished taking mine out, one was OK, the lower one was loose. We'll soon see if it makes a difference. Your video helped a great deal.
Glad it was useful. Hopefully it helps negate some of the vibrations for you. Fingers crossed. I've still got a little, but it helped me quite a bit. Just the nature of attaching tuning forks to an engine I suppose.
thnx man, that issue with t-adjusters and mounting boltsnof engine is realy the solution. cause guards are from volume comparing with engine to small to provide those stronge vibes in handles, some yes but not entirely.
the reason I picked the OEM crash bars vs the sw motech is that they have that center front bar as a separate piece and it's connected to each side bar with screws and a big sleeve type rubber damper.SW motech went with welding and that center connection with screws and no rubber damping. I haven't felt any vibrations in the handle bars since they got installed.
The thing is--I've heard of vibration horror stories from just about every one of the crash bar types for this bike, and I've also heard people say that they put the SW-Motech's on and experienced zero vibrations. Have you ever reached out and held your crash bars on acceleration from 1000rpm -> 6000rpm? I'd be curious if you could feel a rev range where it seems to hit resonance. No matter what, any crash bars are going to add *some* degree of vibration--it just may not be enough for the rider to feel. That's where I'd eventually like to get with the SW-Motech's. I appreciate the response. I'd love to ride someone's V Strom with another set of crash bars on to truly compare it to mine. I just did 1300 miles without issue, just a little knocking right at 75mph in 6th. My friend that owns a 2018 V Strom 650 rode my bike for ~40 miles, and said he didn't feel the knocks I was complaining about. Maybe I'm just being a baby.
@@matttriestodothings actually, after watching your video, while riding to work this morning, I grabbed the bars to see if they're vibrating (@100 kph ~ 62 mph, 6th gear so I assume ~4k rpm) and they were vibrating but it seems not enough to get a feedback to the bike. But main thing is, in general, I didn't notice any difference to before having them and I forgot to mention, I have a 2019 650, basically identical to yours (also yellow :) ). And yeah, testing different configurations by yourself is the best because all opinions are subjective :). As a side note, the dealership were I got it from also runs a racing team so maybe they are a bit more knowledgeable in how to properly set up a bike, they also mounted the bars since I don't have the space/necessary tools to do that myself.
yeah the bastards, talk how good they are and never mention vibration, figured it might be the crash bars, so gonna take them off, and see if it vibration disappears, but now i will match your video, hope it will help. exactly what I was thinking, because the motor is connected to chassis, I reckon the engine should have been mounted way better to remove connection between motor and frame. I think your video is exactly what i was after. brilliant mate.
Well it wasn't my idea to check it out--just following the advice of people smarter than me! But the crash bars definitely are a cause of vibration. I don't think you can ever really eliminate that. It's essentially attaching two big tuning forks to a V-Twin. About all you can do is limit the intensity of resonance.
Just a quick question.... why does the thrust adjuster need to be removed all of the way only to be immediately reinstalled? Why not just tighten it up, install the lock nut and then install the engine mount bolt and nut.
The thrust adjuster does *not* need to be uninstalled. Sorry if the video isn't clear about this. The picture I printed out of a thrust adjuster was from someone else's bike so I could better understand what it was.
Hi pal…thanks for the marvellous videos and explanation. Appreciate if you could snap pictures of the manual related to this process and link it here bcoz I won’t be able to get the manuals in my part of the world…thanks again…cheers. 😊😊
Where did you get the book from? Took a new 1050 v strom for a ride, had crash bars on, but were not connected through the front, and the ride was smooth, and it also looked cooler. So what if you remove the bar across the front., or take the joiner off completely and see how it goes.
The manual I ordered from genuinesuzukimanuals.com. First time I ever bought the paperback factory service manual (as opposed to a Clymer). In regards to the cross bar on the engine guards, I imagine you could remove them by chopping off the support; however, I think you'd severely limit the strength of the device. It'd be far more likely to bend and snap the frame connection points in a tip-over which may actually be worse than having no crash bars at all. I'm content with the little vibration I feel now at 5600rpm. I wasn't content prior to re-torquing though. I'll check out what the 1050 Suzuki crash bars look like. Curious how they're going about it without a connecting point between the two sides.
Love the hat. Go Blue! I get a vibration but it only happens in rapid acceleration and lasts just a second or two. It's annoying af but I can't justify all that work for a few annoying seconds. Was yours a sustained vibration?
Go Blue! It's sustained vibration. I can find it in any gear--just changes the speed I'm running at. It's at indicated 68 (5th) and 75 (6th) on my vstrom, and if I'm remembering correctly, around 5,600rpm. I have a similar thing on my Suzuki Bandit right at 5,100rpm--but it's hardly noteworthy. I can just tell the bike reaches resonance there. Unfortunately, when we attach big tuning forks (crash bars) or luggage racks, it amplifies small vibrations. After re-torqueing the thrust adjusters and adding a rubber spacer to the SW Motech connection point, it's only something I notice because I remember how bad it used to be. I could cruise in the resonance spot without any physical discomfort for an hour. It's more mental that I wish I could remove it completely. Prior to those two "fixes" though, it was pretty bad. If I wanted to get even more involved into trying to remove it, I'd probably fill the crash bars with foam. But I'm content with where it's at now.
@@matttriestodothings Turns out mine was the Givi crash bars. They mate in the middle about where the oil filter sits. Apparently this is a common issue. The fix is to remove the bolt that connects the two halves, take out the spacer, grind off a mm or 2, and voila - problem solved.
Hey there! Great Vid! going through the same issues! Quick question, am I understanding correctly that for your bike's model year you could have tightened the thrust adjuster it with a 12 point 19mm socket (no need for special tool?) Thanks in advance!
On this 2018, you do need a special tool to adjust the thrust adjuster locking piece. You can buy the motion pro one I mentioned OR you can make once out of a spare socket by grinding 4 teeth into it. The 12pt 19mm socket was for the thrust adjuster itself (not the locking bit). I'm trying to think of a better way to explain it... I'll see if I can get to a parts sheet diagram when I'm near a computer. But you DO need that special tool/need to make one.
Theoretically yes. The crash bars (at least these SW Motech ones) use the engine mount "ears", so you'd need to uninstall one side at a time while balancing the engine and reinstall the OEM bolts (shorter). You're not really gaining much outside of making some access a little bit easier. It's been a minute since I've done this, so I'm trying to remember. But if you remove both crash bars at the same time without balancing the engine, you're going to drop the engine forward.
Thanks for this video from Amsterdam! Just to be sure: do I or do I not need to unscrew the thrust adjusters (and thus have to buy the expensive special tool) to be able to install crashbars? I already tried to unscrew the engine bolts without succes. Probably locktite. Did you have any problems with getting them bolts to move at first?
You do *not* need to touch the thrust adjusters in order to install crashbars. I installed my crash bars months before I had the special tool. However, it sounds like some people (like me) experience buzzing that can be dampened by properly torquing the thrust adjusters that are used to mount the engine. If the bike was properly torqued from the get-go, there is no need to mess with the thrust adjusters. I remember having some trouble getting several of the bolts out used to mount the SW-Motech bars. If I'm remembering correctly, you don't actually touch the large engine mount bolts; but rather, the bolts that attach the frame "ears" on that the engine bolt runs through. They are super, super tight. Find the best allen key that fits and probably a pipe to use as an extension to get some more leverage to loosen up those bolts. I'd also recommend putting a jack under the side of the engine you're working on. It just gave me more peace of mind. Apologies if some of that was vague.. working off memory and some pictures I'm looking at now. I didn't take enough pictures of the actual installation.
Matt Tries to Do Things Thanks! I have the OEM bars and for them you do need to replace the long engine bolts. I feel kinda hesitant to apply a piped wrench to the bolt though... afraid that I break something. Maybe I'll have to warm the locktite first with a hairblower. I am considering to pay a mechanic to do this.
@@vergaarpotpourri I remember really struggling with a few of them, and I put gloves on and found the best fitting allen key I had for fear of rounding the bolts. I'm not sure if that is a better approach than a high quality impact wrench bit and impact wrench--I've only just gotten one of those and haven't used it yet.. but I bought it for those types of applications. If you think you're going to round the bolts, definitely consider your other options like taking to a dealer. At least ask them what the cost would be to help make a risk/reward decision. I'm curious though, you mention OEM bars.. Are you replacing OEM crash bars with SW-Motech crash bars? If so, why?
@@matttriestodothings Exactly my fear: rounding the bolts. My V-Strom doesn't have any bars right now. So I plan to put some Suzuki bars (sorry, OEM is confusing) on them which I already bought. I already checked at one place and they told me it should cost around 150-200 euros to install them. That's why I am still considering to do it myself :-) Especially since I do not have a nice garage like you. Mine is on the street with a cover over it.
@@marceloosterwijk8512 I'm not positive that the OEM bars mount to the exact same places as the SW-Motech's I have. The procedure will be pretty similar regardless. One thing you may want to do before making a decision is to check out stromtrooper.com, find your bike's specific forum, and read through the appropriate "Crash Bar" thread. OEM, Givi, SW-Motech, Happy Trails, etc. Everybody that installed one of those had to remove some of these bolts. See if you can find other people that struggled to remove them and how they resolved it. Might be some good tips in there. It's a really useful forum. I think I just said fuck it at some point and gave it the muscle with the extension, and they came loose. If rounding those bolts is simply not an option, then I would take it to the dealer and have them installed. If I did end up rounding them... oof. That would really have not been good. Those wouldn't be fun to drill out. Make sure your allen key fits super snug. good luck whichever way you go with it.
Thanks for your sharing bro, does sw crash bar for v-strom650 has spot light rack to fix/secure spot light? As i notice there is a narrow space between the bike and sw bar, usually a spot light width is 8 to 10cm, if i fix it on the top of sw bar, my another concern is if bike fall down will the spot light touch the ground? Thank you for your answer! I am also consider to have v-strom650 as my fifth bike
Hey Kroos--as far as I know, there is no "dedicated" spot to mount a spotlight; however, there's certainly plenty of spaces to get creative. I've never fitted spotlights myself, so I never gave it much thought. If there's a spot you'd want me to measure out, let me know what you're looking for, and i can post some pictures with a tape measure.
Matt Tries to Do Things hi Matt i ordered a 2020 vstrom650 from my local dealer and my spot light and crash bar is still on the way in shipping. Will share it with you when it all done, thank you bro!
Thanks Matt. I don't even have a V-strom, I have a DR but several observations. The nomenclature (thrust adjuster???) of this part is so effed up, it's laughable. "Thrust" is a propulsive force acting on a component, there is no thrust. What the hell is Suzuki thinking? The whole reason why I clicked on this video was to find out what you're talking about! I wish I better understood what is going on behind that threaded part; is there a bushing in there, a rubber grommet, something else? Obviously you are joining components or two surfaces together where the compressive force is important. That compressive force is controlled by the TORQUE you apply to that threaded device and it sure as hell is not a thrust adjuster. By definition, the running engine creates a torque or rotational moment acting on the motor mounts, where these "thrust adjusters" are. So I suspect the thrust adjuster torque specification is there to control a dampening device associated with this adjuster and not so much to prevent stripping threads and such. This contention is probably accurate because you are compressing two surfaces or components together) and the end result is reduced vibration. I just wished I knew what the hell was in that whole assembly. I'm as confused as the nomenclature.
"Thrust Adjuster" definitely threw me through a loop for quite a while. I could hardly find any information about what it was. I don't believe there is anything behind the threaded part--I think it butts right up against the motor. I'm guessing "Torque Adjuster" would cause additional confusion because it sounds like a dynamic setting as opposed to the static setting you put on by manipulating these thrust adjusters. i.imgur.com/pB3uYu0.jpg I should have pulled the whole thing out when I was in there and taken pictures/video. I just didn't even know what I was getting into when I started, so I didn't bother at the time because I'd have been talking nonsense. And after I'd successfully gotten it back together and reduced a lot of the vibration, I wasn't in a hurry to start taking it all back apart.
hey, I have two quick questions, first what does the thrust adjuster thread into and second did you keep your bottle jacks at the same point when doing both the upper and the lower?
The thrust adjuster essentially adjusts the distance (and therefore, torque) that can be applied to the engine bolt that connects the engine to the frame of the bike. Think about it this way--if you needed to put the engine into the bike, you'd need to lift the engine up into it, and you'd need some clearance on either side to be able to maneuver it in. Even if you tightened up the engine bolts super tight, there would still be some clearance, and the engine would vibrate like crazy. The thrust adjusters work like threaded spacers to take up that empty space and ultimately affect how tight the engine can be mounted to the bike. I can't really remember on the bottle jacks. However, since the pivot position will be different based on if you're removing the top(front) or rear(bottom), you'll just want to make sure you're in a spot that's properly supporting the engine so it doesn't swing. It never felt like it was going to pivot on me, but better safe than sorry.
Interesting. I'm not sure how the motor on the Versys-x is mounted compared to this DL650, so I couldn't tell you if it's a related problem. If it's happening with the Givi's but didn't happen with the OEM, and they're both installed on the same bike... I'd suspect the issue was with the Givi bars themselves or how they were installed.
Do you mean the frame ears that hold the engine mounting bolts? I think those were surprisingly low. I'm struggling to find the SW-Motech recommendation now, but I thought it was 16.5ft-lb. Don't take my word on that though.. if I stumble across the value I'll update you. If you're talking about the engine through bolt nut and bolt specs, there are several different torque values depending on the component. I just snapped a pic of the most relevant factory service manual for ya. i.imgur.com/NxivG7s.jpg
It drastically cut down the vibration on my bike. There's still resonance and a little light knocking I can feel at 5600rpm, but it's probably 80% better than before torquing the thrust adjusters.
Hi Matt, your video is very interesting, I also have a 2020 vstrom 650 xt, I saw that you have the service manual, do you know how to get it? Thank you so much Saludos desde España Paco.
I paid $90+12.50 for the hard copy shipped in the states at genuinesuzukimanuals.com I like having a paper copy. If you're just looking for the PDF, you may be able to find it on a vstrom-specific discussion forum as well.
It's definitely annoying that it even is a problem straight from the factory. It's not the only explanation for vibrations, but it sounds like it has been at least for a fair amount of people. Hopefully you've gotten yours all straightened out!
I don't know if you'll get a response from anyone else on here for a while. Results seem to be mixed on stromtrooper.com as to whether adjusting the thrust adjusters cut down on the vibration. There are quite a few factors that could contribute to it, and this is just one of them. Some people bolt them on and claim no vibration difference at all from stock. I've seen other stories of welds actually cracking. If you haven't yet, I'd recommend hopping on stromtrooper and searching "Crash bar vibration" or "engine bar vibration". This thrust adjuster retorque isn't a magic bullet, but it was a big contributing factor on mine.
Bro, if you had a podcast talking about dirt people would listen. You’ve got some great presentation skills to say the least! Strong work. Thanks
Hey man, I appreciate the feedback! Truth is I'm just a weekend warrior swinging hammers around having to learn everything about motorcycles the hard way, but it's fun. Trying to shoot videos like this definitely makes you appreciate the people that do it really well that much more though. I get so much help from other people online, I figure I'd throw my hat into the ring and see if I can contribute anything useful.
Nice sounding bike you've got, btw. That one sure has some grunt to it!
Thank you for making this video. I was contemplating buying crash bars. But your very detailed explanation of the vibration problem and the close-up shots of the crash bar made me decide to spend my money on fuel and just go riding.
Absolutely. I hope I haven't totally turned you off of the idea of the crash bars because I still think they're a great addition because they'll pay for themselves in the unfortunate event of a spill. I, just like it appears many others, have run into these nagging vibration issues. Mine is basically gone, but it really shouldn't have needed to be that hard.
Thanks for commenting, and enjoy the ride!
I remember your video on this issue a few years ago. I had a '17 DL650 with SW Motech bars and never had an issue. Bought a '22 650 Adventure last year and it has oem bars. No issues either. Just got back from a 2K mile trip to the Sierras and noticed at about 4500-5500 a weird vibration. Checked all mounting bolts and were fine. didn't touch the adjusters. Only has 1 week left on warranty. Might have the dealer do it. Other than that, this bike was the mule- totally packed to the gills and pulled long steep grades at 80 mph at 5500' elev. Not the latest and greatest, but I love these bikes.
Hopefully you had a fun trip, sounds awesome! "Mule" is the best term for these bikes. Dead solid but kind of goofy.
It's a weird issue that's tough to explain. I barely feel it anymore but I get a slight tickle at 68mph in 5th, 75mph in 6th. I just use it now to know my exact speed without having to look at the speedo. There's a bunch of different factors that can go into causing a vibration/resonance at a certain rpm range, so if it's not bothering you too much... I wouldn't go crazy. Some of the stories I'd read from other people made it sound like theirs was going to crack welds.
Damn, it's been 4 years since I shot this, hah.
@@matttriestodothings Not to be contentious, but I wondered what you meant by goofy. I have a Z900, Z900RS, new SV650, '79 FXEF shovelhead Superglide and the 650 Adventure. I believe the DL looks as cool as all the rest.The Z900 as it is set up is a freaky little rocket. a real hoot, but in the end I'd keep the DL for it's utility. For some reason, people love to disparage the little V, but I'm proud to ride it, no matter what pulls up next to me.
@@TrustyZ900 Interesting, unique, goofy, eccentric... It just has a funny look to me. I love how it looks. So much so that it was the only new vehicle I've ever purchased and may end up being the only new vehicle I ever purchase. It's a fantastic bike, and the engine is the best part. The utility is top notch.
The only knock I have on the VStrom is that it's not a terribly exciting bike to ride around town. But it wasn't made for that. Unfortunately, that's the majority of my (now pretty limited) street riding.
Awesome video. I'm going to look into this on my 2015 V-STROM as I have the same issues at 5000 to 5500rpms. Thank you!
Hopefully it proves useful. I'm just relaying the information that smarter people than me have figured out.
Awesome thanks!! Have a '17 DL650A with GIVI crash bars installed new a few months ago, and troubleshooting the ~5k resonant vibration right now (center joint not the culprit). Just took bars off as a test, and the vibe in handlebars was absent (just as I remembered pre-bars). Was considering damping material (silicone / sand / bb's / lead shot) inside the bars and rubber washers (or some type of isolation bushings) at the mount points, but would much rather fix the root cause. Will likely get a manual and special tool and try this fix, though seems odd the mounts would have been mis-torqued but who knows (bike seems to have been made with good quality control). Thanks!!
Sure thing Benjamin. I can't guarantee this would resolve your issues, but it's been beneficial on my DL650XT.
I purchased T-Rex racing engine guards about 6 months ago and they seem not to be affected by those RPM range vibrations, double cross at the front and no linkage gaskets, so satisfied.
Those T-Rex bars look interesting. They're definitely a good price since you can add the skid plate to the engine bars for the same price of the SW-Motech bars. The Motech is another ~$320 for the skid plate alone. I'd be curious to know how well those bars would hold up in a crash that was more than a 0mph tip-over. At less than $200, if they do the job of protecting the bike, then they're a good investment.
Thanks for the video, I just finished taking mine out, one was OK, the lower one was loose. We'll soon see if it makes a difference. Your video helped a great deal.
Glad it was useful. Hopefully it helps negate some of the vibrations for you. Fingers crossed. I've still got a little, but it helped me quite a bit. Just the nature of attaching tuning forks to an engine I suppose.
thnx man, that issue with t-adjusters and mounting boltsnof engine is realy the solution. cause guards are from volume comparing with engine to small to provide those stronge vibes in handles, some yes but not entirely.
This fixed my vibrations. Thanks so much. My motor was not aligned properly. Now…no vibes
That's awesome to hear man.
the reason I picked the OEM crash bars vs the sw motech is that they have that center front bar as a separate piece and it's connected to each side bar with screws and a big sleeve type rubber damper.SW motech went with welding and that center connection with screws and no rubber damping. I haven't felt any vibrations in the handle bars since they got installed.
The thing is--I've heard of vibration horror stories from just about every one of the crash bar types for this bike, and I've also heard people say that they put the SW-Motech's on and experienced zero vibrations. Have you ever reached out and held your crash bars on acceleration from 1000rpm -> 6000rpm? I'd be curious if you could feel a rev range where it seems to hit resonance. No matter what, any crash bars are going to add *some* degree of vibration--it just may not be enough for the rider to feel. That's where I'd eventually like to get with the SW-Motech's.
I appreciate the response. I'd love to ride someone's V Strom with another set of crash bars on to truly compare it to mine. I just did 1300 miles without issue, just a little knocking right at 75mph in 6th. My friend that owns a 2018 V Strom 650 rode my bike for ~40 miles, and said he didn't feel the knocks I was complaining about. Maybe I'm just being a baby.
@@matttriestodothings actually, after watching your video, while riding to work this morning, I grabbed the bars to see if they're vibrating (@100 kph ~ 62 mph, 6th gear so I assume ~4k rpm) and they were vibrating but it seems not enough to get a feedback to the bike. But main thing is, in general, I didn't notice any difference to before having them and I forgot to mention, I have a 2019 650, basically identical to yours (also yellow :) ). And yeah, testing different configurations by yourself is the best because all opinions are subjective :). As a side note, the dealership were I got it from also runs a racing team so maybe they are a bit more knowledgeable in how to properly set up a bike, they also mounted the bars since I don't have the space/necessary tools to do that myself.
Thanks ! Great video , it’s good people take time to help others 👍
Just passing along the information I learned from people smarter than me.
yeah the bastards, talk how good they are and never mention vibration, figured it might be the crash bars, so gonna take them off, and see if it vibration disappears, but now i will match your video, hope it will help. exactly what I was thinking, because the motor is connected to chassis, I reckon the engine should have been mounted way better to remove connection between motor and frame.
I think your video is exactly what i was after. brilliant mate.
Well it wasn't my idea to check it out--just following the advice of people smarter than me! But the crash bars definitely are a cause of vibration. I don't think you can ever really eliminate that. It's essentially attaching two big tuning forks to a V-Twin. About all you can do is limit the intensity of resonance.
Hi Matt, it won’t help you but it might help others.
I have GIVI crash bars on my 2017 VStrom 650. No vibrations whatsoever.
That's good to know. Hopefully that's most people's experience with them as well.
Just a quick question.... why does the thrust adjuster need to be removed all of the way only to be immediately reinstalled? Why not just tighten it up, install the lock nut and then install the engine mount bolt and nut.
The thrust adjuster does *not* need to be uninstalled. Sorry if the video isn't clear about this. The picture I printed out of a thrust adjuster was from someone else's bike so I could better understand what it was.
Hi pal…thanks for the marvellous videos and explanation. Appreciate if you could snap pictures of the manual related to this process and link it here bcoz I won’t be able to get the manuals in my part of the world…thanks again…cheers. 😊😊
Hayden--if you have anything specific you want me to shoot pictures of, let me know.
Where did you get the book from? Took a new 1050 v strom for a ride, had crash bars on, but were not connected through the front, and the ride was smooth, and it also looked cooler. So what if you remove the bar across the front., or take the joiner off completely and see how it goes.
The manual I ordered from genuinesuzukimanuals.com. First time I ever bought the paperback factory service manual (as opposed to a Clymer). In regards to the cross bar on the engine guards, I imagine you could remove them by chopping off the support; however, I think you'd severely limit the strength of the device. It'd be far more likely to bend and snap the frame connection points in a tip-over which may actually be worse than having no crash bars at all. I'm content with the little vibration I feel now at 5600rpm. I wasn't content prior to re-torquing though.
I'll check out what the 1050 Suzuki crash bars look like. Curious how they're going about it without a connecting point between the two sides.
@@matttriestodothings well I checked my bottom thrust adjuster, and it was loose, so tightened up, and way better, great video share, thanks a lot.
@@rrssmooth6643 That's great to hear it helped out.
Love the hat. Go Blue! I get a vibration but it only happens in rapid acceleration and lasts just a second or two. It's annoying af but I can't justify all that work for a few annoying seconds. Was yours a sustained vibration?
Go Blue! It's sustained vibration. I can find it in any gear--just changes the speed I'm running at. It's at indicated 68 (5th) and 75 (6th) on my vstrom, and if I'm remembering correctly, around 5,600rpm. I have a similar thing on my Suzuki Bandit right at 5,100rpm--but it's hardly noteworthy. I can just tell the bike reaches resonance there. Unfortunately, when we attach big tuning forks (crash bars) or luggage racks, it amplifies small vibrations.
After re-torqueing the thrust adjusters and adding a rubber spacer to the SW Motech connection point, it's only something I notice because I remember how bad it used to be. I could cruise in the resonance spot without any physical discomfort for an hour. It's more mental that I wish I could remove it completely. Prior to those two "fixes" though, it was pretty bad. If I wanted to get even more involved into trying to remove it, I'd probably fill the crash bars with foam. But I'm content with where it's at now.
@@matttriestodothings Turns out mine was the Givi crash bars. They mate in the middle about where the oil filter sits. Apparently this is a common issue. The fix is to remove the bolt that connects the two halves, take out the spacer, grind off a mm or 2, and voila - problem solved.
Hey there! Great Vid! going through the same issues! Quick question, am I understanding correctly that for your bike's model year you could have tightened the thrust adjuster it with a 12 point 19mm socket (no need for special tool?) Thanks in advance!
On this 2018, you do need a special tool to adjust the thrust adjuster locking piece. You can buy the motion pro one I mentioned OR you can make once out of a spare socket by grinding 4 teeth into it.
The 12pt 19mm socket was for the thrust adjuster itself (not the locking bit).
I'm trying to think of a better way to explain it... I'll see if I can get to a parts sheet diagram when I'm near a computer. But you DO need that special tool/need to make one.
Got it, thanks!
What Motion Pro tool was used for this fix? They make several similar versions. Thank you.
Motion Pro Spanner Nut Socket Suzuki 08-0568 for $47.31 according to my Amazon order history.
Thanks! I’m going to give it a try.
Can't you remove the "Crash bars". Then redo the thrust adjuster and reinstall the crash bars.?
Theoretically yes. The crash bars (at least these SW Motech ones) use the engine mount "ears", so you'd need to uninstall one side at a time while balancing the engine and reinstall the OEM bolts (shorter). You're not really gaining much outside of making some access a little bit easier.
It's been a minute since I've done this, so I'm trying to remember. But if you remove both crash bars at the same time without balancing the engine, you're going to drop the engine forward.
Thx!
Sure thing man.
Thanks for this video from Amsterdam! Just to be sure: do I or do I not need to unscrew the thrust adjusters (and thus have to buy the expensive special tool) to be able to install crashbars? I already tried to unscrew the engine bolts without succes. Probably locktite. Did you have any problems with getting them bolts to move at first?
You do *not* need to touch the thrust adjusters in order to install crashbars. I installed my crash bars months before I had the special tool. However, it sounds like some people (like me) experience buzzing that can be dampened by properly torquing the thrust adjusters that are used to mount the engine. If the bike was properly torqued from the get-go, there is no need to mess with the thrust adjusters.
I remember having some trouble getting several of the bolts out used to mount the SW-Motech bars. If I'm remembering correctly, you don't actually touch the large engine mount bolts; but rather, the bolts that attach the frame "ears" on that the engine bolt runs through. They are super, super tight. Find the best allen key that fits and probably a pipe to use as an extension to get some more leverage to loosen up those bolts.
I'd also recommend putting a jack under the side of the engine you're working on. It just gave me more peace of mind.
Apologies if some of that was vague.. working off memory and some pictures I'm looking at now. I didn't take enough pictures of the actual installation.
Matt Tries to Do Things Thanks! I have the OEM bars and for them you do need to replace the long engine bolts. I feel kinda hesitant to apply a piped wrench to the bolt though... afraid that I break something. Maybe I'll have to warm the locktite first with a hairblower. I am considering to pay a mechanic to do this.
@@vergaarpotpourri I remember really struggling with a few of them, and I put gloves on and found the best fitting allen key I had for fear of rounding the bolts. I'm not sure if that is a better approach than a high quality impact wrench bit and impact wrench--I've only just gotten one of those and haven't used it yet.. but I bought it for those types of applications.
If you think you're going to round the bolts, definitely consider your other options like taking to a dealer. At least ask them what the cost would be to help make a risk/reward decision. I'm curious though, you mention OEM bars.. Are you replacing OEM crash bars with SW-Motech crash bars? If so, why?
@@matttriestodothings Exactly my fear: rounding the bolts. My V-Strom doesn't have any bars right now. So I plan to put some Suzuki bars (sorry, OEM is confusing) on them which I already bought. I already checked at one place and they told me it should cost around 150-200 euros to install them. That's why I am still considering to do it myself :-) Especially since I do not have a nice garage like you. Mine is on the street with a cover over it.
@@marceloosterwijk8512 I'm not positive that the OEM bars mount to the exact same places as the SW-Motech's I have. The procedure will be pretty similar regardless. One thing you may want to do before making a decision is to check out stromtrooper.com, find your bike's specific forum, and read through the appropriate "Crash Bar" thread. OEM, Givi, SW-Motech, Happy Trails, etc. Everybody that installed one of those had to remove some of these bolts. See if you can find other people that struggled to remove them and how they resolved it. Might be some good tips in there. It's a really useful forum.
I think I just said fuck it at some point and gave it the muscle with the extension, and they came loose. If rounding those bolts is simply not an option, then I would take it to the dealer and have them installed. If I did end up rounding them... oof. That would really have not been good. Those wouldn't be fun to drill out. Make sure your allen key fits super snug.
good luck whichever way you go with it.
Thanks for your sharing bro, does sw crash bar for v-strom650 has spot light rack to fix/secure spot light? As i notice there is a narrow space between the bike and sw bar, usually a spot light width is 8 to 10cm, if i fix it on the top of sw bar, my another concern is if bike fall down will the spot light touch the ground? Thank you for your answer! I am also consider to have v-strom650 as my fifth bike
Hey Kroos--as far as I know, there is no "dedicated" spot to mount a spotlight; however, there's certainly plenty of spaces to get creative. I've never fitted spotlights myself, so I never gave it much thought. If there's a spot you'd want me to measure out, let me know what you're looking for, and i can post some pictures with a tape measure.
Matt Tries to Do Things hi Matt i ordered a 2020 vstrom650 from my local dealer and my spot light and crash bar is still on the way in shipping. Will share it with you when it all done, thank you bro!
Thanks Matt. I don't even have a V-strom, I have a DR but several observations. The nomenclature (thrust adjuster???) of this part is so effed up, it's laughable. "Thrust" is a propulsive force acting on a component, there is no thrust. What the hell is Suzuki thinking? The whole reason why I clicked on this video was to find out what you're talking about! I wish I better understood what is going on behind that threaded part; is there a bushing in there, a rubber grommet, something else? Obviously you are joining components or two surfaces together where the compressive force is important. That compressive force is controlled by the TORQUE you apply to that threaded device and it sure as hell is not a thrust adjuster. By definition, the running engine creates a torque or rotational moment acting on the motor mounts, where these "thrust adjusters" are. So I suspect the thrust adjuster torque specification is there to control a dampening device associated with this adjuster and not so much to prevent stripping threads and such. This contention is probably accurate because you are compressing two surfaces or components together) and the end result is reduced vibration. I just wished I knew what the hell was in that whole assembly. I'm as confused as the nomenclature.
"Thrust Adjuster" definitely threw me through a loop for quite a while. I could hardly find any information about what it was. I don't believe there is anything behind the threaded part--I think it butts right up against the motor. I'm guessing "Torque Adjuster" would cause additional confusion because it sounds like a dynamic setting as opposed to the static setting you put on by manipulating these thrust adjusters.
i.imgur.com/pB3uYu0.jpg
I should have pulled the whole thing out when I was in there and taken pictures/video. I just didn't even know what I was getting into when I started, so I didn't bother at the time because I'd have been talking nonsense. And after I'd successfully gotten it back together and reduced a lot of the vibration, I wasn't in a hurry to start taking it all back apart.
Awesome man! Thanks!
Thanks Ryan--hopefully it's useful for some people.
hey, I have two quick questions, first what does the thrust adjuster thread into and second did you keep your bottle jacks at the same point when doing both the upper and the lower?
The thrust adjuster essentially adjusts the distance (and therefore, torque) that can be applied to the engine bolt that connects the engine to the frame of the bike. Think about it this way--if you needed to put the engine into the bike, you'd need to lift the engine up into it, and you'd need some clearance on either side to be able to maneuver it in. Even if you tightened up the engine bolts super tight, there would still be some clearance, and the engine would vibrate like crazy. The thrust adjusters work like threaded spacers to take up that empty space and ultimately affect how tight the engine can be mounted to the bike.
I can't really remember on the bottle jacks. However, since the pivot position will be different based on if you're removing the top(front) or rear(bottom), you'll just want to make sure you're in a spot that's properly supporting the engine so it doesn't swing. It never felt like it was going to pivot on me, but better safe than sorry.
hmmm... thx for the video. I am having similar issues on versys-x with givi crash bar. kawasaki oem crash bar was weak but no such issue...
Interesting. I'm not sure how the motor on the Versys-x is mounted compared to this DL650, so I couldn't tell you if it's a related problem. If it's happening with the Givi's but didn't happen with the OEM, and they're both installed on the same bike... I'd suspect the issue was with the Givi bars themselves or how they were installed.
Thank you . I will try this
Hope it proves useful. It wasn't my discovery--smarter people than me figured it out. I'm just a messenger.
Hi, how much NM need the 4 engine mounting brackits?
Do you mean the frame ears that hold the engine mounting bolts? I think those were surprisingly low. I'm struggling to find the SW-Motech recommendation now, but I thought it was 16.5ft-lb. Don't take my word on that though.. if I stumble across the value I'll update you.
If you're talking about the engine through bolt nut and bolt specs, there are several different torque values depending on the component. I just snapped a pic of the most relevant factory service manual for ya. i.imgur.com/NxivG7s.jpg
New question, how/to what hand tool do you attach the special motion pro tool?
Standard 3/8 ratchet, but you'll need at least a small standard 3/8 extension.
imgur.com/a/D6De85B
@@matttriestodothings got it, thanks a lot!!
@@jaimecruz3591 no problem man. Hope it proves useful!
what manual are you using?
This one is the big ole factory one. Like 600 pages and not cheap. I usually get the Haynes or Clymer but sprung for the factory one here.
Hi does it fixed your issue for good ?
It drastically cut down the vibration on my bike. There's still resonance and a little light knocking I can feel at 5600rpm, but it's probably 80% better than before torquing the thrust adjusters.
Hi Matt, your video is very interesting, I also have a 2020 vstrom 650 xt, I saw that you have the service manual, do you know how to get it?
Thank you so much
Saludos desde España
Paco.
I paid $90+12.50 for the hard copy shipped in the states at genuinesuzukimanuals.com
I like having a paper copy. If you're just looking for the PDF, you may be able to find it on a vstrom-specific discussion forum as well.
@@matttriestodothingsOk, I'm going to see it.
Thanks for the prompt response,
I had the same problem, the scraping sound Around 5 rpm. That was the reason. 🤬😤
It's definitely annoying that it even is a problem straight from the factory. It's not the only explanation for vibrations, but it sounds like it has been at least for a fair amount of people. Hopefully you've gotten yours all straightened out!
Did anyone else try that on their bike and can confirm that the solution presented reduces the vibrations?
I don't know if you'll get a response from anyone else on here for a while. Results seem to be mixed on stromtrooper.com as to whether adjusting the thrust adjusters cut down on the vibration. There are quite a few factors that could contribute to it, and this is just one of them. Some people bolt them on and claim no vibration difference at all from stock. I've seen other stories of welds actually cracking.
If you haven't yet, I'd recommend hopping on stromtrooper and searching "Crash bar vibration" or "engine bar vibration". This thrust adjuster retorque isn't a magic bullet, but it was a big contributing factor on mine.
Why you not do than talk ?
I ask myself that question every morning.