[Hammer & Anvil]

Detailed Review of the Carberry Motorcycles- Vibration Reduction Plate

Detailed Feedback

After a long discussion on the theoretical benefits of the Carberry VRPlate with my close biking community, I decided to spend the 3000-odd on the plate and put it down to some money spent in the belief that someone could engineer a good quality add-on to a UCE engine. Both for the 350 as well as the 500.
Vinod, my go-to mechanic at Kalina, helped install it in under an hour on my TB350, and the first start up and idle- itself had me nodding- 'this sounds nice.'
Here is the review after riding about 55Km around the city.

The first start- idle, itself was steady and you realise that the key ring that usually sits and jitters while idling was steady and just sat there while the bike idled. The engine sound was muted and gone was the shake at every thump. My first reaction was as if some Japanese guys worked on the engine and made it super smooth. Yes. The handle bar ends and mirrors vibrate if left free- telling you that the pipe used for the handle must be some really cheap thin pipe thickness- that the rest of the bike sits there still- worth watching.
Getting out of the Kalina area and then the SCLR traffic, I was just loving the easy engine and have never been so content riding between 40 and 60KmpH and the engine so smooth at about a sahde over 2500rpm.

Once on the Eastern Express Highway, I was remembering- bike is smooth between 60 and 90--- must see what that is about. So at the first signal, I let it fly and the honest opinion is I missed the cues--- the engine ran to 4000 in first, and then touched 5000rpm in 2, 3 and 4th- by the time I was approaching the next signal, I was praying for a red light. In disbelief, I again gunned the bike, something that sounds so awful on a stock UCE- and noted the rpm- that the vibrations were felt (almost as a rev limiter) at the 4000 and 5000 levels. The bike was at an easy 100kmph- at under 4000- possibly more like between 3500-3750 and very easy.
At low speeds the bike engine is what a delight to ride.
At higher rpms, if you like that, then you have yourself a whole new bike.

As far as a recommendation goes, i can only ask you to get the following done- oil + oil filter change at the same time- if under 10K with company stock, and if above 10k then semi- or fully synthetic oil- and BUY the plate. You will love the engine all over again.
A few things that were different from the video- the magnet did not come off as easy as they showed, and needed some force and (err- lever force) to prise it off the shaft. The Shaft had a small 'chavi' or key, that easily fell into the oil, and will make a mess of things if you dont put it back on. If the chavi position on the shaft is facing downwards, then put the kick back on the open bike, and gently push the kick down to rotate the shaft till you see the key slot on the shaft.
After that its pretty much idiot proof, and follow the instructions- removing the dowels (two of them) and then placing the 4 parts in the sequence given on the paper in the box.
Please wash the front sprocket area and lubricate your chain while at it. Please use a new gasket for sealing the case when you are done. IF changing oil, then fill after putting the case cover back. If not changing oil, then check oil level, the oil lost is minimal and you many not even need to top up- but please check the window.

Ride well- and my closing thought was - had I kept my Classic 500- oh Boy! how it would have run.
#royalenfield #carberrymotocycles#vibrationreductionplate #thunderbird350

PS- For videos, there are about 20 of them, and its really no rocket science to fit it

[Sutripta]

^^^
Did you
a) take any pictures of the plate fitted on your bike?
b) have to remove and discard the locating dowels, as was shown in the original video.

Regards
Sutripta

[Hammer & Anvil]

The photos are all over the net and there are multiple videos of the same. It's a simple fit and needs just the right tools and the gasket when you close the case back again.
I have removed the two dowels and kept them and the original plate with me.

[Jeroen]

So if this is such an improvement, why doesn't RE install it as standard?
Jeroen

[rideon74]

Why not just ask RE to make reliable, vibration free motorcycles? Oh wait...that has been what the consumers have been asking for years, right?

[sausi007]

Would be keen to see a long term review of this piece of metal. Definitely have a lot of respect for what Carberry has been trying to achieve for decades, but would have been more confident if they would have published some Vibe figures to go along with their product.
Knowing the technical prowess of Carberry, I am pretty sure that it is not a big deal for them to test and publish the "pre" and "post" Vibe figures. It would have just helped alleviating some of the negativity around the product.
I hope it works well for you and your steed!

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So if this is such an improvement, why doesn't RE install it as standard?
Jeroen

Eicher might be viewing their older domestic RE motorcycles (Std 350, Electra, Classics, Thunderbirds etc.) as cash cows. If it ain't broke, don't fix it could be their mantra. No matter what, the junta seems to buying these motorcycles anyway.

But RE might well be sensing the heat from competitors and new entrants IMO because I'm seeing a couple of leading indicators -
1) Since 2017 or so, RE has silently upped their manufacturer's warranty to 2 years/20,000 Km, from the earlier 1 year/10,000 Km.
2) I see a concerted customer-orientation, or what the industry calls a service mindset, in their company owned showrooms and service centers. And this is a new thing, compared to a couple of years ago, when service centers were run like government offices where the customer had to beg the proud service advisors to do a fair job. Right now, in the company operated service center that I go to, I walk in and get a water bottle immediately. Everyone is courteous, there's a customer lounge, there's transparency into the service queue by way of TV screens that display motorcycles, their current statuses and the names of the responsible advisors.

It'll be great if the competition turns up the heat even more, so that as you said, RE can itself fix the 'agricultural pumpset' vibrations that their motorcycles are known for.

I own a 2017 Electra myself and the Carberry fitting is on my mind, for 2 years down the line when the warranty runs out.

[rdst_1]

This is only for the UCE models, right. Any idea if it can be used on a CI engine as well. I don't feel any major vibrations at low speeds of 40-50 but the vibrations past 80 are just insane.

[MadRasTan4986]

Off late have been seeing some reviews on this plate. Results seem to be mixed, maybe because of improper fitting. Glad to see it made a difference to your ride. Looking forward to more updates on this plate. Cheers and ride safe.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Hammer & Anvil

The photos are all over the net and there are multiple videos of the same. It's a simple fit and needs just the right tools and the gasket when you close the case back again.
I have removed the two dowels and kept them and the original plate with me.

Sure, pictures are there all over the net, including on TBhp
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4343896

It was on seeing these pictures that I felt it was a work in progress, not a finished product. What you have got should be very new. So wanted to compare the pictures.

Dowels are also related to the work in progress aspect.

To all the Bulleteers here: Has anyone actually checked out how well balanced all the rotating masses connected to the crank are?

Regards
Sutripta

[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by Hammer & Anvil

The photos are all over the net and there are multiple videos of the same. It's a simple fit and needs just the right tools and the gasket when you close the case back again.
I have removed the two dowels and kept them and the original plate with me.

Why start a thread when you want BHpians to go to net looking for info.
If you are starting a new thread, the motive should be to provide as much info as possible for benefit of all.
Else just make a post with appropriate LINKS in some already running RE thread.

Regards-Sonu
P.s.: I am not a biker but did an inspection of RE factories & Oragadam & Tiruvottiyur in December and hence got interested.

[MadRasTan4986]

Originally Posted by ariesonu

Why start a thread when you want BHpians to go to net looking for info.
If you are starting a new thread, the motive should be to provide as much info as possible for benefit of all.
Else just make a post with appropriate LINKS in some already running RE thread.

Though I understand your stance and the logic behind your statement. I still feel it is unfair to the owner of this Thread. I think it's good enough that the gentleman has atleast given us the feedback. Maybe they didn't have time to post all the links and videos. (There's a ton of them on youtube about this vibration plate and it takes time to go through all of them and pick the right one.)

The feedback given by the owner of the thread is sufficient and he has mentioned his riding experience after installing them. Maybe there'll be updates later, maybe not. Depends on how good or bad the plate performs. Considering this is quite a change to the internal mechanism of the bike and it's for a beloved brand. I don't see a problem in starting a seperate thread for this. Because I feel there is a lot that can be learnt from the experiences of fellow riders and drivers on installing such kits.

No offence intended to anyone. Peace!

Note to Mods: Please feel free to correct me if I've stepped out of bounds and if you feel the thread is redundant.

[ALTIMAed]

If any of you follow "Ride with Raj" on Youtube, there is a video where in his friend installed this Carberry plate with no success at all. As a matter of fact, in their case, there was a weird sound coming from the engine after installation. Could be a faulty way of installing the plate.

[sajjt]

Anybody tried this with the new Thunderbird X? If this is a clean fit for it, am ready to take the plunge AFAIK, there's not much changes with the older version of TBTS.

Fed up of the useless mirrors post 60Kph, mine is due for the 6000Km second service. If its a worthy work around am interested to proceed with. Please update guys.

[sajjt]

Sorry for the duplicate entry,

Guys please come forward with the reviews