Modern Vespa

I noticed a few people had larger bar ends on their GT200's today. What would be the purpose?

Did these friends have the topcase? I know that with that the large ends are needed. Not sure why other than for keeping balance even. Other than that I am not sure, Beale.

They did both have the top case.

I purchased case for my GT yesterday and it came with heavier longer bar ends for balance.

rgds

I also noticed those bar ends on the GT's at the SM Vespa shop and didn't think much about a purpose but they sure do look cool. I'd like a pair for my LX. Do they sell them without the top case?

Ebay as usual

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vespa-GT-200-Grand-Turismo-Heavy-Chrome-Bar-End-Weights_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35610QQitemZ4591756167QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Do they actually make any real difference? I cannot imagine how a little bit of extra weight on the bar ends is going to change much - especially with my 250 lbs sitting in between the bars and the topcase...

Hmmm, maybe those of lesser girth may be more in need of this mod

Cheers,
Bob

P.S. Seriously, those that have them - do they make a difference to stability or head-shake etc?

Bob not sure as to if they make a difference or not. My bike came with them on it, the small bar ends were in a bag. I have not tried them on it. The dealer said to leave the bigger ends on with the topcase. So I guess I have just done that. Sorry could not help more, Beale.

Bar end weights have been used for years to damp vibrations at the hand grips in motorcycles. The BMW F650, a very smooth single cylinder, needed them. Most harleys need them.

Bigger is not always better. The weights are sized to properly interfere with the natural vibrational period of the handlebars as they react with the engine and the rest of the bike. It is reasonable that adding a mass to the back end of the scooter would change the vibes of the whole and require larger weights (remember, you are talking about the LOADED mass of the box.)

My question would be, is there a difference between the handling with the lighter and heavier weights with no box on? Heavier weights would affect the rotational inertia of the bars and tend to make it steer slower.

Big uncompensated singles (dirt bikes) and out of phase twins (Harleys) have the potential to cause carpal tunnel syndrome from the bad vibes. There was a product called the Bar Snake which looked like a rubber hose filled with lead shot. You just slipped it down the bars to damp the vibes. Worked pretty well, but you could feel it in the loss of quickness of steering.

Good point re: the vibration.

I do notice the left mirror vibrates quite badly when the bike is idling on the centrestand and have had it come loose a few times (done up real well now with locktite!).

I shall experiment with some extra weight on the end and see if it makes a difference to that.

Thanks!

Bob

I didn't notice any major difference when I added the top case and the bar-end weights. At least, not enough of a difference for me to remember all of two months later.

This might be endemic to the GT. My left mirror vibrates at idle (and always has, pre- and post-topcase) while the right mirror is relatively stable.

Weird.

Handlebar vibrations are most noticeable because of their inherent design. In mechanical design, a handlebar is what's known as a cantilever. For illustration, a diving board is a cantilever. The left and right halves of a handlebar can be thought of as two diving boards. Cantilevers are springy, simply because one end is unsupported and the other end is fixed.

Handlebar vibrations can be dampened (both in amplitude, and in frequency) by increasing their weight. It is most effective to add weight to the unsupported end of a cantilever. For instance, adding weight only to the center of a handlebar, where it joins with the fork, would have negligible effect on dampening handlebar vibrations.

I thought you guys were talking Bar-End mirrors. Scoots look soooo much better with the bar-end mirrors. My friend and I drilled and tapped the handle bars of my ET and installed Third-Eye bicycle mirrors. Fantastic!
I got the idea from the old tech from Santa Monica, Victor, aka twobitscooterwhore.

There's more "stuff" (throttle) on the handlebar's right hand side.