Voge DS525X vibration at 4,000 rpm and TPMS dropouts explained

Owner reports rather than a manufacturer bulletin. Neither has been linked to a mechanical failure, and the manual contains the procedure that resolves the second.

Vibration around 4,000 rpm

Owners report a buzz through the handlebars and footrests in a narrow band around 4,000 rpm. The DS525X engine is a 494 cc parallel twin, 68 mm by 68 mm, producing 35 kW at 8,500 rpm and 44.5 Nm at 7,000 rpm. A band in the lower middle of that range falls, unfortunately, close to a normal cruising speed in top gear.

Telling a characteristic from a fault:

• A characteristic is smooth on either side of the band, repeatable, and unchanged since the motorcycle was new.
• A fault worsens over time, appears at one road speed rather than one engine speed, or arrives with a noise.

Where it is a characteristic, bar-end weights and a softer grip compound take the edge off. Where it has changed recently, three things are checked before the engine is suspected:

• The chain. The DS525X manual specifies 20 to 30 mm of slack, with the adjuster nuts at 22 Nm and the rear axle at 95 Nm. A tight chain transmits every irregularity of the drive into the frame. The method is in chain slack, adjustment and lubrication.
• Wheel balance, particularly after a tyre change.
• The fasteners listed in the torque table, on the DS525X torque specifications page.

What the tyre pressure display is doing

The DS525X instrument uses a single pair of thresholds for both wheels: when the pressure is 1.9 bar or less, or 2.9 bar or more, the tyre symbol and its F or R marker flash and the warning appears.

The manual's recommended pressures are 2.2 bar front and rear for a solo rider and 2.5 bar front and rear with a passenger. The warning therefore does not appear until a tyre is 0.3 bar below the solo figure, so a gauge remains necessary. The recommended pressures for every model are in tyre pressures by model.

When a sensor drops out

The display occasionally loses one wheel and shows no reading.

The sensor battery. The sensors are sealed units with a battery life measured in years, and a dropout that becomes more frequent is usually a battery nearing its end.

The motorcycle has been standing. Sensors report when the motorcycle is moving; the DS900X manual gives 25 km/h as the threshold for that model. A missing reading in the garage that appears after a few hundred metres is normal.

The wheel or tyre has been changed. A sensor disturbed during a tyre fitting can lose its pairing with the instrument, and the manual describes how to pair it again.

The matching procedure in the manual

1. Long-press the confirm button to enter the settings menu, and select tyre pressure matching. The front and rear markers flash together.
2. Short-press the down button to select the front or the rear wheel.
3. Short-press confirm to begin matching. A 60-second countdown starts.
4. During the countdown, let some air out of that tyre, which causes the sensor to transmit. The instrument confirms when the match succeeds.
5. Where the match fails within the 60 seconds, short-press confirm to try again.
6. Return to the tyre markers and exit to save.

The tyre is then reinflated to the correct pressure with a gauge, since the reading taken during matching is not a setting.

A dropout that persists at road speed on a warm motorcycle after matching is worth a dealer visit.

Related pages

The same kind of display on the DS900X, with its separate front and rear thresholds, is covered in DS900X red tyre warning.