Head Steady: Vibration

I would very much like to get rid of the stock head steady and upgrade, not so much for any better handling as
I am a moderate putter, but more so to help quell vibration.
Mine is a 73 850 and maybe I got the harder iso rubbers year ago, it will not smooth out until almost 4000rpm
regardless of the amount of iso slack.

A number of choices regarding headsteadies and I have done the search and reading.
is there a clear consensus on which one does the best job as regards vibration?

Consensus?!?! Be still my heart. Not likely. Whaddaya tryin' to do, start an oil thread? :lol:

Me, I use an Old Britts one and I'm quite pleased with it. You'll undoubtedly here more from fans of Dave Taylor, Norvil, with springs, without springs, stock is the best why would you change, etc. Read 'em all, live and learn. Some opinions are worth a bit more than others. Our mod would be one of them, I won't piss off a lot of people by reciting others and surely omitting someone. Best of luck.

With my 850 Mk2, I fitted the Mk3 spring head steady (well I modified the original to take the bracket) and I reckon it was the best upgrade to improve the Iso vibration under $40 and there is a marginal improvement in handling. The many variation of top Iso mounts can range from home made stuff to extravagantly engineered products which are really about eliminating lateral movement to firm up the handling, not neccesarily quelling vibration. The Mk3 spring pulls up the motor, relieving some weight off the 2 main Iso's.

Mick

I'm using an 850 box section head steady bracket on my '72 750 as the stock 750 has a tendency to crack. I don't know if that's the best or even if a different headsteady can improve the effects of engine vibration to the frame. The NOC Service Notes page 38 mentions "the Norvil headsteady whilst improving handling, will, when shimmed up correctly, cause more vibration to be transmitted through the frame." I have no complaints about my isolastics, it runs very smooth after replacing all the parts in 1997 and keeping the shimmed gap to around .010".

If you only want to cut down on vibration, probably stock mkiii set up springs and all, I found my rod type head steady even with springs was a bit more buzzy, but it transformed the handling.Very easy to build[aimost as easy as a clutch cable] :shock:

highdesert said:

I would very much like to get rid of the stock head steady and upgrade, not so much for any better handling as I am a moderate putter, but more so to help quell vibration.
Mine is a 73 850 and maybe I got the harder iso rubbers year ago, it will not smooth out until almost 4000rpm
regardless of the amount of iso slack.

A number of choices regarding headsteadies and I have done the search and reading.
is there a clear consensus on which one does the best job as regards vibration?

Click to expand...

I think this could be a situation where we are asking the Commando frame to do things it simply isn't able to do. If you had a platform that was substantially more rigid you could expect the kind of results people strive for by making any of the mods one can mention. If you put a Commando frame on a frame table supported at the headstock and the rear Iso you can bend the front Iso easily with your bare hand, (one hand). There is no lateral support there. I once dated a girl studying to be an architect. She showed me flier that read, " Abandon All Hope Those Who Enter Here That Would Place A Bending Load On An Unsupported Beam. Your Only Friends Here Are Tension And Compression." Look at this picture.
http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/ss18 ... derear.jpg


The front Iso is way off from the loadpath and it is positioned there by nearly two feet of thinwalled tubing, with no reinforcement. It was mentioned in a post a while back about nickle plating a Commando frame. Kawasaki used to do that to stock racing frames to see where they flex. The plating came off there. I don't know where there wouldn't be missing nickle on a Commando frame. My point is that vibration and handling issues on the Commando are caused by the frame and there isn't that much to be done about it but ride through the resonance freq of the frame and accept that it's never going to track like it's on rails. I still love'em anyway.

splatt said:

If you only want to cut down on vibration, probably stock mkiii set up springs and all, I found my rod type head steady even with springs was a bit more buzzy, but it transformed the handling.Very easy to build[aimost as easy as a clutch cable] :shock:

Click to expand...

Hi I would agree with splatt having had all 3 types on my 850 Stock, Norvil/Oldbrits and DT/CNW types. I tried to get a thread going about personal experience with these headsteadies in particular from owners who have made the swap from Norvil type to Dave Taylor type but it started to go the way of all the threads about head steadies, lots of tech talk frame design, mass damped oscillatory systems, and maintenance discussion... (Not complaining some very interesting and knowledgeable info being given.)
Anyway i am going to stick my neck out (foolish me) having just made the swap to the Dave Taylor type from the Norvil type.The Dave Taylor I fitted with the MK III spring or without gives more lumpy vibration around 2000 (my vibration has moved as the head steady has bedded in from 2000 to 2250)and definetely buzzy at some revs.. The handling with the DT is much better with the bike keeping a tighter line and is more responsive. However I had a Norvil type fitted for many years and the handling was never unpredictable my bike is my only form of transport so had been used in London a lot (I have moved to the country recently.) if I was still in London I would put the Norvil one back on.All IMHO.