new member with a vibration question, 2008 nomad

[wtiger]

i posted this in the new members forum, but will post here as it is a mechanical question... thanks in advance

hello all, my wife and i are the proud new owners of a 2008 nomad! we have had it about two months and the more i ride it the more i love it. I came from a dual sport riding background, if i could call it that, and sold a klr to purchase this bike. we got it for 2 up touring adventures. it was something to get use to riding a 800# bike, but we are getting the hang of it. it is Quite the complement to my yamaha wr250r!

I have two questions that i have been searching on here:
1, the backrest vibration, has there been any definitive solution for it? will putting on a scootworks mounting bracket and top box solve this? my wife is having a hard time with the backrest as it is now, and i have an airhawk on the way for her.

2, my fuel light comes on at about 100 miles on the trip, and will take about 3-3.25 gallons. the tank is suppose to be 5.25, is this the norm?

we got the bike used with 34k miles on it. runs great. thanks for any insight you all might have. also if the vibration issue has been deadhorse beaten, could someone share the link to the thread. i havent found it with the search...

[jestephens]

That does seem a bit premature for the fuel light. My '05 would give me the fuel light with just under 1 gal left. ???

Is your backrest/sissy bar the stock assy? I can't say I've heard of vibration issues. If you can take a picture, let's see what you've got.

[recumbentbob]

Put rubber washers on the bolts that hold the back rest to the sissy bar this will help.

[ringadingh]

I can usually get 150 miles before the fuel light comes on.

[tonik]

Originally Posted by wtiger

2, my fuel light comes on at about 100 miles on the trip, and will take about 3-3.25 gallons. the tank is suppose to be 5.25, is this the norm?

Not the norm, but fuel gauge errors are common. And yes 5.3 is the capacity on the tank. Put some Marvel Mystery oil in your gas for the next couple of fill ups. I thought the first person to suggest that was crazy but I tried it and it fixes fuel gauge problems for me all the time. The back of the bottle has instructions for how much to put in gas.

Also check your warranty. A 2008 might very well still be under warranty. I had mine replaced under warranty once...the next year it screwed up again..Marvel Mystery oil has kept it pretty darn accurate ever since. I now do it as regular maintenance.

Definitely use the trip odometer as your real gas gauge. One thing I always do when I get a new bike...I fill it up and then strap a one gallon gas can on the back and hit the freeway and hammer it until I run out. Fast freeway on this bike is usually the worst fuel mileage )for me anyway)....then I know the worst case scenario and use the trip odometer.

Welcome to the club, it is a wonderful bike. If money were no object I still have not seen another bike I would replace this one with. Lots come close but the fit and feel of this bike is wonderful.

And check the below website out, tons of great maintenance tips and tricks for our ride. http://www.gadgetjq.com/

[glwilson]

Marvel Mystery Oil fixing your fuel-tank light??... You better let Marvel know about that one. I have heard of some rather fantastic claims about MMO before... but that one "takes the cake"... no offense intended.

Exactly how does MMO take care of the problem? Does it "oil-it"? Is it because it is stuck?

Seriously; I can't wait to hear how that is possible.

Just asking... ;)

To the part of the original question of backrest vibrations. That problem is a "known-problem" on some bikes.

Rubber washers; adjusting the shock-springs; and shock-air pressure have been suggested in years-past. Don't really know if any of them work... but you could try.

Otherwise, maybe you should capitalize on it!

[glwilson]

Marvel Mystery Oil fixing your fuel-tank light??... You better let Marvel know about that one. I have heard of some rather fantastic claims about MMO before... but that one "takes the cake"... no offense intended.

Exactly how does MMO take care of the problem? Does it "oil-it"? Is it because it is stuck?

Seriously; I can't wait to hear how that is possible.

Just asking... ;)

To the part of the original question of backrest vibrations. That problem is a "known-problem" on some bikes.

Rubber washers; adjusting the shock-springs; and shock-air pressure have been suggested in years-past. Don't really know if any of them work... but you could try.

Otherwise, maybe you should capitalize on it and buy some wine and cheese before riding!

[tonik]

Originally Posted by glwilson

Marvel Mystery Oil fixing your fuel-tank light??... You better let Marvel know about that one.

No need to tell Marvel, they know. So do several forum members here, that's how I got the idea. I make no claim to inventing this idea but who ever did is a genius. I have fixed mine a couple of times with it.

Check this thread out, it is where I learned about it. Several others said it works for them too. There has to be a mechanical float of some sort in there, I would assume it is sticking and freaking out and some good cleaning and lubing from MMO fixes it sometimes.

http://www.vulcanbagger.com/phpBB3/v...=22195&start=0

And in honor of this thread I just went out and put some more in my tank. I will sleep like a baby tonight knowing that when I roll out in the morning my gauge will be working perfectly!!!

[glwilson]

Glad you'll sleep well. ;)

I'm glad lubricating helps

I just watch the mileage... that seems to work quite fine and costs less.

[recumbentbob]

MMO in the gas fixed mine too.

[jestephens]

I bought the MMO tonight and already treated my tank. Let's see what happens!

[scion0]

I use Seafoam in mine quite often (every two or three tanks full) and haven't had any problems.

Also learned to use the mileage as a fuel with my Kawasaki KZ450 after I ran out in the middle of no where for my buddy to bring me some gas. :-)

[deacon1984]

Originally Posted by wtiger

I have two questions that i have been searching on here:
1, the backrest vibration, has there been any definitive solution for it? will putting on a scootworks mounting bracket and top box solve this? my wife is having a hard time with the backrest as it is now, and i have an airhawk on the way for her.

I have a 2008 Nomad with V&H Baggers. My wife couldn't stand the back rest vibration. I started with the rubber washers on every connection between the pipes and the backrest, which made a moderate improvement, not enough to make the wife happy. So, I installed springs on the bracket that holds the pipes, so they can vibrate without the direct connection to the bike. It made big improvement. There is a picture of it here:
http://kawanow.proboards.com/index.c...69&post=367726

[wtiger]

thank you for all the replies. so where does one find this magic mystery oil? sounds intreging.
i will try the springs and rubber washers. do you remember the size of the springs of the top of your head?

Would a top box help at all, or just be an expensive vibrator?

[wtiger]

Springs and hardware ordered... thanks again. i will get it installed when i return home from work (i work on the road).