Lost Front Sprocket.....AGAIN!

[SpyderF3-s]

I have a 2015 F3-S SE6 and I am on my second sprocket. The first one made it to 28,000 miles. Mine also broke at a stop light. NO WARNING! I now check mine for issues at least once a month. Someone on the forum had told me to look for aluminum shavings as a sign of it failing.

[zuni]

Did you look between the couch cushions?

??

[zuni]

That was me. Didn't save me this time. I thought I felt something and kept looking. Figured I was gun shy from the previous failure. Then WHURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

CJ JAX

I have a 2015 F3-S SE6 and I am on my second sprocket. The first one made it to 28,000 miles. Mine also broke at a stop light. NO WARNING! I now check mine for issues at least once a month. Someone on the forum had told me to look for aluminum shavings as a sign of it failing.

[Rogue Hawk]

??

I often find things I lost in the couch.

[Wildrice]

How is the belt vibration? Wondering if that might have something to do with it. When I first got my 17' Daytona the belt vibration was terrible. In the same month I purchased the byke, BRP came out with their idler kit. I put that on and it immediately helped a great deal. As most of the members know, we then created our Vibration Damper and I started testing it on the Daytona. That now is a little over 10k miles ago, (9k on our unit and 1k on BRP's) and I have yet to see the reddish coating around the front sprocket. And if it is a lb to torque issue that is causing this then it should have happened to me. I occasionally will spin my rear tire, drift occasionally, and I am not a little person. Those of you that know me will also agree that is so. So, if is not a torque issue, then could it be a vibration issue?
Interested to know if you were running a vibration damper either the first time or now and at what tension you were keeping the belt at?
When I replaced my rear tire (spinning a bit) at 9k I reduced my belt tension to about 90 lbs off the ground. This gives me about 160 lbs with the wheel on the ground.

Hope you figure out what is going on.

Bottom line is that if we find it is vibration causing this we are going to be selling a lot of the Vibration Dampers........

Doc---have you considered a liquid engine/trans mount on the drive sprocket side in lieu of damping the vibration on the belt???
Darrell

[Wildrice]

We have a guy here in Vegas with a 2015 F3 lost the third front sprocket. Now the dealer is changing the output shaft.

This front sprocket issue really encourages me to increase the power of my 1330 engine--instead of 8000 mi sprocket failure it will be 4000 miles Too tight belt tension seems like a logical cause of poor quality metal failure.

[zuni]

The belt tension could be a contributing factor but there are far too many F3's on the road for this to be the specific reason. Otherwise shops would be overflowing with Spyders in for repair. I have come across about 10 that have posted about having issues on SL another 4 on FB. I learned of six more in Florida that aren't on either list so I am sure there may be more but a few thousand? It may just be a "perfect storm" situation of tension, vibration, alignment, and bad luck. I will continue to email and message all I can find to collect details and see what I can and can't eliminate for a cause. The great thing is while BRP may not know why it is happening to some, they are not blinking and jump right on the repairs without delay.

CJ JAX

This front sprocket issue really encourages me to increase the power of my 1330 engine--instead of 8000 mi sprocket failure it will be 4000 miles Too tight belt tension seems like a logical cause of poor quality metal failure.

[PapaHotel]

Glad to have heard about this issue, as I have now experienced it first hand. I was on a group ride today into the middle of nowhere Minnesota. My 2015 RTL has 30,000 miles on it. When I was pulling into the motel parking lot, I got a sound BRRRRP, like a Screw gun and no further motion. Other than the inconvenience of a breakdown 100+ miles from home, it couldn't have happened at a better spot.

[oneway]

Sounds like my front sprocket just went out today. Just over 10,000 miles not a happy camper here. This is my fourth Spyder and probably my last. On the way to the shop tonight. Just glad it happened close to home. Three weeks ago I was heading back from Boston.

[old Timer]

Don't understand......

Belt drive sprockets on belt drive motorcycles like HD's and Indians seem to last easily up to 100,000 miles or so.

Do these bikes have different Belt material or are the sprockets made of a more robust material.

How do the sprockets on the Slingshot hold up with much more HP and weight????

[Ex-Rocket]

Does it seem to be happening to F3's more?

[Firefly]

Does it seem to be happening to F3's more?

Yes. it does seem to be more prevalent on the F3's.. although many of us had it happen on our 2008 GS models. They had some issues back then as well.

I've had mine checked a few times and they keep saying it's okay... just hoping I don't get stranded.

I used to carry an extra sprocket for my GS when I travelled.....