Severe tank vibration

[IronHorse]

Hi all posting for a fellow raider rider. He purchased an 09 raider recently that needed some tlc we fixed that. I believe he needs to replace his fuel pump as he has issues that I read on here match that. The only thing that’s got me stumped is his bike has a lot and I mean a lot of vibration around the fuel tank. When starting the bike the tank rumbles and shakes violently and any time you reb the throttle. How ever it does not shake as bad when cruising and gently rolling on the throttle. But the bike noticeable vibrates and nowhere as smooth as my own raider. Any thoughts on this he is quickly developing a bad taste for the raider and I would like to save it.

[RoadStarRaider]

[Dirtiegirtie]

My question would have to be; do you think the vibration is the issue or do you think the tank is rattling more than usual?

I can't help with the vibration. If you think the engine is vibrating more than yours then I would just make sure you are comparing apples to apples; does your bike have the Ivan flash and his does not?

If it's the tank; there aren't a ton of places to look. Assuming you took the tank off for whatever 'issues' you had to correct, then you may have not tightened a bolt or left one of the rubber vibration isolating gaskets off. I remember the two screws in the front of the tank were kinda difficult to tighten down so maybe you just forgot to tighten one? I would remove the tank, make sure the rubber gaskets are all there and seated, and put it back together good 'n tight... do the simple first.

[Ares X]

My tank rattled like crazy when one of the plug connections came loose. It was the one under the frame and was hard to get seated. It popped loose as I was riding. I would check all plug connections to make sure they're tight.  I assume he's already changed out the plugs.

[the urban legend]

There's also the possibility that the right side coils are connected backwards. IIRC that was an issue with certain '09s. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
FYI cylinder #1 is the rear one.

[Clayton]

The tank has rubber grommets it sits on. Make sure the tank is not touching anything else! I had to put a couple washers under mine on the rear mounting points so the bottom of tank wouldn’t touch anything else after I had removed it to to mod my air box! Mine virberated after I did that cause it’s was touching around the air box lid!

[IronHorse]

Sorry for the delay in following up I had surgery recently and had a bad drug reaction. I should have added the tank is where you see it most when you standing beside it however, when I ride it I can feel the extreme vibration through the seat and it is definitely not normal. I got off the bike a little tender. My 2014 scl rides super smooth so that was a tip off. The thought crossed my mind to check rubber parts and I can look into the other mentioned issue as well. Thanks for the responses and again apologies for the delayed response.

[IronHorse]

We both have the flash mine vibrates a little I know some is normal his looks like it has a slide hammer in it bouncing around. If I get a chance I’ll have him send me a video of it.

[the urban legend]

Another thought. Do you know if the engine has ever been opened up? The balancer shafts may have been reinstalled out of sync. That would definitely create a lot of vibration.

[RangerRick]

Throttle body Sync/valve adjustment 

[Coldfinger]

I was also thinking sync and valves.   

How many miles does it have?

[IronHorse]

 Found part of the issue was a cracked fuel pump finally repaired it via plastic wield. Vibration is still there and starts still a rough but not as bad as before and it runs a little better with occasional back firing. it has 26,000 miles on it. I wondered myself about the balancers Ill mention it to him. its been a slow process getting it fixed but i will update for future readers when I can.

[Dirtiegirtie]

Found part of the issue was a cracked fuel pump finally repaired it via plastic wield. Vibration is still there and starts still a rough but not as bad as before and it runs a little better with occasional back firing. it has 26,000 miles on it. I wondered myself about the balancers Ill mention it to him. its been a slow process getting it fixed but i will update for future readers when I can.

Good luck to you. I don't think I've read of someone fixing the fuel pump plastic crack and having it last very long. Hopefully you fair better than others.

[Fiddles]

Found part of the issue was a cracked fuel pump finally repaired it via plastic wield. Vibration is still there and starts still a rough but not as bad as before and it runs a little better with occasional back firing. it has 26,000 miles on it. I wondered myself about the balancers Ill mention it to him. its been a slow process getting it fixed but i will update for future readers when I can.

if the rubber pads got moved while the tank was off that could be part of the tank vibration,  they are insulators that keep the tank from vibrating so much