Which material damps vibration best - steel or aluminium?

[Horse]

An aid to lessening vibration on KX500s was something called a Bar Snake which although I've never tried or even seen one up close didn't seem a kick in the arse off a bit of flexible pipe filled with builders silicone.

Not tried it but its cheap enough to have a go.

Wasn't there a product call 'Bar Snake', a flexible weighted ... thing ... that was pushed along the length of the 'bars?

Edit: there still is: https://www.barsnake.com/index.php/about-barsnake

[demographic]

Ha, beaten to the interwebz.
Still, I gave a budget conscious alternative.

[mangocrazy]

Thanks for all the comments - it really has helped and clarified in my mind what the best (?) course of action should be. The ideal solution would be to step into a time machine, go back a couple of months and retro-fit the OE Aprilia damper system to the steel bars I've had made up. But as I've unaccountably mislaid the time-space coordinates to my TM, this will have to do.

Plan A - fit the OE Falco bar inserts/dampers into the new steel bars. This is baseline stuff; if it works, great, if not go to Plan B (or C or D). One thing is definite - I will not be going back to the previous bars. The riding position would kill me. I am deeply, deeply happy with the riding position afforded by the new bar arrangement and, in one format or another, it's staying.

So Plan A requires that I remove the steel bars from the Falco and take them back to the UK with me (the Falco is staying in France when we go back). I need to measure the OE bars and see how they compare in terms of i.d. with the steel bars. I'm hopeful that I can just tap the appropriate thread into the bar ends on the steel bars and bolt everything up. If not some kind of machined insert will be required (but that's OK as I have a tame engineering firm only about a mile away from the place in Sheffield).

Plan B will probably also run parallel with Plan A in that I intend to get an aluminium copy of the steel bars made up so that when I return in Spring next year I have a (modified) set of steel bars to try and also a set of aluminium bars which will also accept the Falco anti-vibe gubbins. Whichever damps the vibrations out the best will be the Winner.

If both are crap, then it will be Plan C. Plan C is currently being formulated. No, I can't tell you what it will involve. It's confidential.

The Bar Snake idea sounds plausible (in spite of the dreadful spelling on the website) except for the fact that the bars in question are not a single continuous piece of tube. They're 5 pieces of tube welded together and the furthest you can push anything in is about 200mm, so not sure how much benefit that would provide. I'll add it to Plan C...

As for whether the OE Falco anti-vibe arrangemet is tunable in standard form, I don't believe so. It would be possible to get different lengths of rod machined up and try varying sizes and lengths of rubber sleeve, so I guess that could be Plan D. But don't quote me on that.

[Screwdriver]

Tip some lead shot and candle wax in there. It's bound to do something...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I like plan E...stop pissing about trying to make the Falco into a naked upright bike and buy a Tuono

[mangocrazy]

I like plan E...stop pissing about trying to make the Falco into a naked upright bike and buy a Tuono

Nah, if I was going to do that it would be a V4 Tuono, but I'm still not convinced by the reliability of the V4 motor. The V60 Rotax motor in my generation of Aprilias is about as bombproof as you can get.

It's interesting to note that on the Falco forums and FB groups, 10-15 years ago it was all about performance mods, suspension upgrades etc., now it's all about raising the bars and making the bikes more suitable for ageing old gits like me. There may not be many Falcos about but they do have a fiercely loyal fanbase and owners want to hang on to them, while at the same time improving the ergonomics.

I've also owned the bike from new and know it inside out. It has all the performance I need/want and more than I can use. I also much prefer the looks of the Falco to the Tuono (and the RSV Mille, for that matter). As it stands, with the revised bar arrangement it's pretty much perfect for me. These vibration niggles are just that - niggles, and they can and will be fixed.

One other thing also occurs to me; in doing the bar/riser mods I had to fit different, longer throttle cables and remove the choke/fast idle cable and bar controls. In doing that I may have disturbed the throttle body synchronisation which could also exacerbate the vibey symptoms. Just a thought...

[Rockburner]

One other thing also occurs to me; in doing the bar/riser mods I had to fit different, longer throttle cables and remove the choke/fast idle cable and bar controls. In doing that I may have disturbed the throttle body synchronisation which could also exacerbate the vibey symptoms. Just a thought...

It's a good point - on the Rockster a good service (valves, end-float and TB-balance) will change the vibes at the bars significantly.

[mangocrazy]

One other thing also occurs to me; in doing the bar/riser mods I had to fit different, longer throttle cables and remove the choke/fast idle cable and bar controls. In doing that I may have disturbed the throttle body synchronisation which could also exacerbate the vibey symptoms. Just a thought...

It's a good point - on the Rockster a good service (valves, end-float and TB-balance) will change the vibes at the bars significantly.

Yes. It will be heading back to the UK next spring, and will get booked into Griff Wooley's emporium for a TB sync and CO levels check. Twins (whether they be parallel, V or opposed) do need accurate TB/carb synchronisation.

[Horse]

FWIW the guy who used to service my bikes always put focus on achieving best balance at lower revs / part throttle.

[Rockburner]

FWIW the guy who used to service my bikes always put focus on achieving best balance at lower revs / part throttle.

It's where most of your riding is done. (statistically)

[Horse]

FWIW the guy who used to service my bikes always put focus on achieving best balance at lower revs / part throttle.

It's where most of your riding is done. (statistically)

Yup, that was his reasoning.

And if you're FWO at high revs, vibration is the least of concerns

[JackyJoll]

something called a Bar Snake

I could tell some stories about them.

Take my advice- finish your drink and leave.