Hey guys, I'm relatively new here. Love my bike... but it started buzzing in the IP at about 300 miles from 2500 to 4000 rpm. I've read the threads about the first gen bike buzz, but not much on the 2nd gen.

Since it looks like they both share the same IP i figured it was the buttons vibrating in the IP as posted by E-nigma in this post..
http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums...ead.php?t=6904

I tried this but it still didn't fix my buzz??

So i dug into my front end and this is what i found and how i fixed it!

Tool / supplies
Scissors, Pliers, 10mm socket with short extension and wrench, 4mm Allen wrench, Phillips screwdriver, small standard screwdriver, optional exact-o knife.

Sticky back foam 1/2 inch and 3/16 inch, double sided foam tape, electrical tape.







Dissassembly:

Seat off.

Remove Phillips screw from black trim under seat.


Gently pull loose stud and grommet connectors.


Remove the two 4mm Allen screws from the forward cowling ( lower middle, near IP) Gently pull loose grommet and stud connectors and slide forward. (There is a forward facing metal tang at the front of the body panel)



Remove rubber fastener connecting front IP plastic and forward plastic cowling cover. remove wind screen and rubber fasteners, remove all 4 press rivets. Remove the two 10mm nuts (one on each side behind the headlight) from the bottom of the forward plastic cowling. The cowling has one stud and grommet to pull loose in the top center.




Cowling removed




Remove the two bolts and two nuts holding on the headlight and pull loose.


There are also two Philips screws on the headlight bezel to remove before the bezel can be snapped off.


Bezel off. 3/16 sticky foam placed in 4 spots where the bezel touches the headlight (top. bottom and each side)

Part 2 ( Too new to post more than 20 pics at a time)



Back of IP. Unsnap spedo/tach cable under boot, pull loose relay? on left.

Remove the two 10mm bolts holding on the IP surround





The two captured nuts on the back of the tray seemed to slide around easily. I popped them out an covered them with electrical tape for a snugger fit. Then popped them back in





Remove the three Phillips screws that hold in the spedo / tach cluster.



I oppened up my IP and did the "button fix" noted above. But i also used the double sided foam tape on the inside of the back of the IP housing on the screw posts. I did this to "snug up" the electronics. Then reassembled the spedo/tach cluster.



I also placed double sided foam tape to the two mounting points for the IP tray.


My first try at this i only used 1 set / layer of 1/2 foam on the bottom the IP tray, however, after a test ride i still had a slight buzz.. so i doubled up the foam by adding strips to the back of the IP to match up with the strips in the tray. Effectively doubling the foam.



I believe at least one source of the buzzing was that the three screws that mount the IP to the tray via the rubber grommets. They are bottomed out on the IP when fully tightened and seemed to be transmitting vibration from the cowling frame to the IP.

With the doubled up foam there is more tension on these three screws and they don't have to be "bottomed out" when tightened to stay secure.



Tighten screws to the point that there is still a 1 to 2mm gap between the screw and rubber grommet when the foam is compressed / squeezed by hand. When you let pressure off the screws should still be secure.



I believe this and the foam tape i added the the crossbar tray mount above fixed 99% of the original problem.

Now start resembling the bike. With each part i re-attached i did a test ride to make sure the buzz was gone and to isolate the source if it did still buzz.


This fixed all my vibration sounds and buzzing!

With any luck this may fix yours too!

YMMV,
Sean

Very good.

I too have just fixed a buzz from my console area. In your first post, fifth pic from the bottom, see the two tabs ? I put some numberplate double sided sticky tape there and the buzz has gone.

this is good stuff, thanks

I wear a full face and ear plugs and never hear the buzz. But recently did an msf demo on my bike (no ear plugs) and could hear it.

gonna look into this. thnx again.

thank you for the detailed informations
I will try what you have posted in the second position

Stick this post. Thanks for pictures. I have already made headlight fix - same as you did.
Time for cosnole fix

Thanks guys..

One update:

I added some tape to the back of the instrument panel screws just to make sure they don't back out being not all the way seated..

Electrical tape over these


Sean

Good photos of removing everything. I did similar Saturday morning teardown to fix the buzzing dash about 6 months ago. I found all of mine was in the speedo buttons and the main screws that you added tape to the square nuts to snug. I just placed nylon washers under those two screws so they would snug up a little better. I did not use any foam tape but that is good insurance while you are in there!

I found the buzz coming off the head lamp bezel is at the latching and tab points. Noticed the worn marks ingrained into the plastics (dark discoloration)


For all the these points, I use rubber that came off tire tubes and glue it to the points on the bezel with Dunlop Contact Adhesive.



I didn't remove the frontal fairings to access the Bezel. Lightly deform the bezel at the snap fit locations (4X) and it comes off easily. Loosening the frontal fairing would make it easier for the Bezel to come off. Remove that bolt on bottom pic.



After re-installing the bezel, the fit was snug and no more free play on the bezel. Buzz free now!

Great topic!!!

Awesome fix man! I just followed your pictures step by step and the buzz is gone! FINALLY! I've been annoyed with this damn buzz for the last 2000 miles. Not anymore!

Would be SO easy for Kawasaki (and other brands) to just put some dampening in those areas where plastic vibrate and charge 20$ extra per bike for the extra padding...why could we send people on the moon in the 60s and still not produce buzz-free bikes in 2013?

Good point! Kawasaki has got to know about this. I reported it to them in my satisfaction technical survey a few months after purchase. I assume that others have as well. It is truly amazing how the twin sounds between 3.8 - 5.2k rpms now without the buzz. It is like a different motorcycle!

I assume that Kawasaki still has not fixed the Doohickey on their KLR's either and they must be aware of those!

The "second-generation" KLRs have an improved 'doohickey', but the one from 'Eagle Mike' (along with his torsion spring) fits way better!

I am not real familiar with the doohickey. Saw some Craigslist ads that said "new doohickey" and I had to do a bit of research to figure out it was a wear item with the KLR. Glad to know that Kawasaki listened and upgraded the part!

Dang! What an informative bunch of Versys freaks on this forum! Thanks for the time y'all take to help those of us who are technically challenged!

The original "doohickey" was a welded-up from two piece device, that was adjusted by a spring under tension, to take up slack on the chain to the balancer. Trouble was that they BROKE often, sometimes with catastrophic results. The new one (from Kawi) is one-piece, machined, but STILL with the same type spring, and fits rather 'sloppy'.

Eagle Mike's "doo" is a thing of beauty that fits WELL, and the torsion spring is a totally different design that should never break. (Had my '04 KLR for about 50,000 miles, including Alaska twice.)

Thanks for the clarification!

Thank you soooo much!

Today I spent my 4 hours for trying to fix buzzing noise with following your steps.
%99 buzzing noise has been gone..

Here is the picture of my naked V..