Too Many Vibes

[darrsi]

There's always been some kind of vibration or another coming from the front fairing area over the years, but since i changed back to my old Quill exhaust which has a deeper rumble to it the noise has been getting progressively worse, especially over the last week or so.
So i just stood outside my home revving the nuts off the bike at different levels of RPM, no doubt pissing off the neighbours, so i could try and recreate the mental buzzing sound that is driving me nuts, and it is coming from the clutch side headlight housing.
If i put pressure on to the wired plug that the bulb pushes into it stops all the noise.
I just tried slightly bending the bulb blades to see if it might stop it, but that didn't work.
The question is, how do i stop it vibrating?
Any ideas?
It really is the most annoying buzzing noise and i really have to get it sorted.

[bandit]

Simples I know,but have you checked the bulb is firmly fixed into the headlight with the spring clip, I take you have the rubber boots fitted on the back of lights. I had the annoying indicator rattle as on all 98-models,silicone sorted that!.   

[darrsi]

Yeah, the spring is firmly in place.
I can just about rock the bulb vertically by 1 or 2mm, but that's obviously enough to buzz me off.
I've got such sensitive hearing that i can tell when things are wrong on my bike by sound alone, but this is just overkill for me, it's honestly like having a wasp in my ear.
My neighbour has suggested maybe putting some silicone onto the metal plate part of the bulb to stop the vibes, but i was quite confident this has happened to other people on here that may have a different solution?

[bandit]

Insulation tape on base of bulb to pack it out,slightly bend clip or rap said tape around it or try another brand of bulb may differ in design!.   

[darrsi]

Insulation tape on base of bulb to pack it out,slightly bend clip or rap said tape around it or try another brand of bulb may differ in design!.

It's gonna get hot there, i don't think the stickiness will hold out, but i think you're on the right lines.
Now i know for sure where it's coming from i'll see if there's any goodies at work i can get my hands on.
In fact even a thin flat piece of rubber with heat proof glue would probably do the job too.
I've got some ideas now, the ball is well and truly rolling 

[bandit]

If you can disconnect the clip what about some heat shrink tubeing.

[darrsi]

If you can disconnect the clip what about some heat shrink tubeing.

Oooh, now your talking, that's one thing i have mountains of seeing as i make cables at work. 
I'll have to give it a proper look and see where the pressure points are?
The thing is, i don't believe it's the clip vibrating, i think it's the bulb itself against the housing where it fit's into the hole, it's a plastic on plastic buzzing sound, not metallic. But it may hold the bulb a bit tighter with heat shrink on the spring. Saying that, if there was something between the bulb and the housing that would definitely stop the noise.
That's a good idea though, i'll certainly look into it, thanks.   

[Orangegrump]

see Hot Poop
Curing rattling 'bit' in LH (H1) light - pre-02 models

[darrsi]

see Hot Poop
Curing rattling 'bit' in LH (H1) light - pre-02 models

Nice work, i knew it would be another common problem, and yes, it does drive you nuts!
I think i'll go down the glue road to try and stop it buzzing.
Cheers for that 

[darrsi]

I've just had a brainwave 
I've got some self amalgamating tape, i'll see if i can wrap that round the bulb thinly enough and see if that does the job.
If it works i'll post a photo. 

[darrsi]

Think i've sorted it, the amalgamating tape has a spongy rubber feel to it when new so when i clipped the bulb back in it sat quite snug with a firm but flexible mount.
I revved the bike through the range and couldn't hear the dreaded buzzing anyway. 

[darrsi]

Rode to work this morning, and the bike now buzzes at 2500rpm instead of 3500rpm after the the little mod, although it's certainly not as loud.


Then i looked at the above picture earlier and realised that it's possible that those 4 black plastic prongs, or whatever you want to call them, actually sit very near or even touch the headlight housing so i've put some amalgamating tape around the ends of each one and i'll learn tomorrow morning if that stops the buzzing.


If that doesn't work then it must be the housing itself that's vibrating, so i'll have to put up with it. 
It is bloody annoying though

[packie]

slap soft ear plugs in....problem solved!....you won't even hear your engine dying a death!! 

[darrsi]

slap soft ear plugs in....problem solved!....you won't even hear your engine dying a death!! 

Or put the Moto GP exhaust back on!
Couldn't really hear sod all with that on.
It's the tone of the Quill exhaust that's the problem, it's more of a deep bass hum compared to the raw popping of the Moto GP.
But buzzing aside, it's much easier on the ears, a noisy exhaust is a must have novelty at first but it gets a bit annoying and tiresome after a while.
Although from a safety point of view, normally oblivious people do know when you're about.

[darrsi]

Aaaaaarrrrgh.........it's still buzzing, probably 60% less but still enough to annoy! 
 
It must be the bulb housing that's moving, back to the drawing board! 

[reillypadraig]

I had the same problem, that curling rattle bit in the hot poop section, I tried to clamp it down but still loose so I bent back the clips and let it fall into the headlight and took it out on the headlight(right) side, no more rattle, for me it made the light far better , nothing amazing just slightly better. Just see if the 2 clips on the top and bottom are tight, if there loose you might see like I did that the light shakes a lot on rough ground

[darrsi]

I had the same problem, that curling rattle bit in the hot poop section, I tried to clamp it down but still loose so I bent back the clips and let it fall into the headlight and took it out on the headlight(right) side, no more rattle, for me it made the light far better , nothing amazing just slightly better. Just see if the 2 clips on the top and bottom are tight, if there loose you might see like I did that the light shakes a lot on rough ground

Okay, cheers, i'll have a proper root around tomorrow and see what i find.

[Dead Eye]

This thread has actually helped me out as well! That left hand metal thingy over the bulb has lost one its legs so just hangs on to the bulb - can't be good for heat transfer since its now touching and bouncing around on top of the bulb, plus I get a very loud and annoying buzz at 5k RPM. I tried to take it out the other week but couldn't so figured I'd just leave it, but now I know how to get to the bugger!

Edit: 5 minutes in the garage and I'm done

[darrsi]

I've just read the instructions in Hot Poop again and it suggests removing the cowl, i'm presuming the cowl is the black thing with the legs in the photo', but that's what the clip pushes onto to hold the bulb in place.
Sooooo, would it not make sense to cut the ends of the legs off by a few mm instead, so they don't touch the headlight housing at all? 
At the moment i've wrapped amalgamating tape around the ends of the legs to cushion the vibrations, but obviously that means it is still in contact with the housing.
If there's no contact at all it should stop the vibes shouldn't it?
They're only a tenner to replace if it all goes tits up, although there's a 5-7 day wait if one is ordered which could be a problem.
Am i on the right tracks here?
Anyone else tried it?

[darrsi]

Decided to put a few more layers of amalgamating tape on the silver disc part, as in the above photo', to build it up a bit more.
Then when i put the bulb back in and clipped it into place i could see from the front that the locating pins were in the correct place but the added tape moved them back by about another 1mm so that they weren't actually in contact with the housing.
Then after giving the bike a good clean up and a bit of TLC i went for a quick spin up the road.


Now i don't know if it's the same for you, but every time i clean the bike it feels better than normal, but this time it felt particularly good, and then i realised........NO BUZZING 


So, this is the fix for any buzzing headlights out there.
Get yourself some self amalgamating tape and wrap it round a few times, as in the above photo', and it will act as a cushion, and because of its rubber properties will counteract any vibrations. It's really useful stuff anyway, and doesn't go off, and a roll lasts for absolutely ages. You just stretch it then it sticks to itself, and is heat resistant and waterproof.
The difference in noise to me was very noticeable, and now it just sounds sweeeeet   

[Dead Eye]

Good to hear darrsi

Self amalgamating tape is incredibly useful stuff! It held on my wing mirror on my old car for thousands of miles 

[riz]

fixed a split turbo pipe on my mondeo for quite a while.

[packie]

Decided to put a few more layers of amalgamating tape on the silver disc part, as in the above photo', to build it up a bit more.

One thing I wanted to ask you and it is very critical that you answer about a technique in your above photo.....who manicures your nails! 

[darrsi]

Ha ha ha, it's all my own work.........with an angle grinder and some wet 'n' dry.