Help Me !! My sissy bar is vibrating so much I cant ride

[choppercon]

I have buell X1 Lightening in a rigid frame. I built it about 10 years ago. I wanted a tall sissybar so I made one using 5/8 round stock. Its approximately 36" from the fender . The problem is this thing has too much vibration . Eventually the welds will fail. Of course the tail light will not last long either. I have seen photos on this site of some bikes with similar sissy bars. Don't they do the same thing ? I even added gussets to the bars to help but it just laughed and did the hippy hippy shake . I realize my engine has a lot of horse power and it was designed to be rubber mounted but Damn this is crazy. Any input is appreciated.

[SyndicateChoppers]

use multiple mounting points for it and make it out of tubing instead of solid rod
buell engine doesn't have that much horsepower that it will break a sissybar

[choppercon]

Never really considered tubing. Not concerned about the actual hp breaking the bar. Just maybe more hp causing more vibration. I've had shovels , ironheads , evo and didn't have this much vibration. Are you suggesting tubing to make it lighter and maybe reduce the tuning fork effect ? Any suggestions on the type tubing to use. I want it to safely support my wife.

[Sky]

We need pics
What angle is it mounted at?
How else is the fender supported?
What material and gauge is the fender?
What air press do you run in what size rear tire?
Does your front suspension work well?
Try doing some rigidizing girder-type reinforcements

[Clockwork444]

tubing will always work better than solid stock mostly because the weight of the solid stock going all the way up will give the bar that much more mass to move around. ive seen some pretty big bars made out of small tubing and they seem to do pretty well.

[ruckus2115]

vibrating more then an ironhead? you sure you do not have a lose motor mount?

[choppercon]

Well Its been a while since I've had an iron head and it didn't have a tall sissy bar like this so that's really not a good statement to make on my behalf. I will check the motor mounts though . I think is just the weight of the 5/8 round steel combined with the length that is the problem. I'll get some pics up this weekend if I can. I have it off the bike now so I can ride. Its not an urgent issue because I am ridding but the input from the group is appreciated.

[WhiteFox]

I used 1/2" stainless round stock to make mine, which is about 48" tall from the fender. It vibrates back and forth when I ride, not bad though. The sissy seat dampens the vibrations somewhat..... Mine has broken several times due to overpacking my gear while riding two up, but it welds back together fine. Stainless is a much more harder steel than regular cold rolled steel (CRS) and won't bend easily. It's more prove to metal fatigue as a result, but I always tell everyone, stainless is where it's at for big sissybars. I would do 5/8" next time around. 1/2" is slightly undersized.

[goofyfoot2001]

Hey, my 95 sportster will vibrate the teeth out of your head but my giant sissybar is fine. I think something else is wrong yo. My bars is solid 1/4 inch steal. Sucker weighs a ton

[nerdsports]

My sissy bar is 1/2 stainless and is about my height (5'11") mounted on the bike. I wouldn't say mine vibrates but it definitely wobbles back and forth on bumps or rough pavement. On idle it does a little dance but nothing that scares me enough to worry about it. My gf doesn't like to lean on it because it flexes so much and I don't blame her. Next time I'm going with 5/8 solid rod... or maybe tubing.

[Ato]

It sounds more like an engine problem than a sissy bar problem, but just out of curiosity, is the bar made of hot or cold rolled?

[Clockwork444]

I bought a gasbox sissy bar the other day, iam in the process of modifying it to bolt a sissy bar pad on, and i drilled the mounts out to match the look of my bike. The bar is 1/2" solid stock and i can tell that it will vibrate a little bit with the bike, but my bike is a swingarm bike and it shouldnt be bad. seeing this bar, at only 14" above the seat i would definately go with 5/8 at least if i were doing a tall bar with a ridgid bike.