Rear Shock Issues

[BitSlayer]

I have a 2015 RT LTD and have had it back to the dealer 4 separate times for the rear shock. Now I am taking it back for the 5th time.

The issue is at the first of a ride, the shock indicator on the dash shows the compressor/shock setting as expected. Sometime during the ride it switches over to "Manual". You can also feel the difference in the ride as the back definitely bounces more. The first trip to the dealer they replaced the shock as it was blown. The second time they reset the leveling sensors that indicate when the compressor needs to kick in, or air let out. The third time they replaced the compressor. the fourth time they said the shock and compressor were good so they replaced the connector into the compressor. All of these fixes seem to work for a period of time then at some point, I start to get the "manual" indicator for my shock setting.

I had a 2011 RT LTD that I traded for this one. I had to deal with a blown shock once, but after that was replaced, I really had no other issues with the rear shock. We do almost always ride 2-up.

I am now on my way back to the dealer, but wanted to know if this is a known issue or limited to my bike? Any suggestions that you might have would be welcome. I am getting frustrated as this has occurred on a long trip with really no way to get into a dealer. I also know riding with a bad shock is not good on the rear suspension arm as well.

[2dogs]

My problem is the air suspension system. When the spyder first went for repair they couldn't find a problem. On the second trip in they found a pin hole leak in the bladder. It was replaced but the air loss problem still persists. It has been an on going problem since the spyder was new and now BRP is telling my dealer it's out of their hands because the warrantee is up. Someone else here on this site solved their problem buy installing a cut out switch on the purge valve under the seat. They installed a small switch in the ground line that would interrupt the function of the system and stop the air from being released. This would work if your problem is behind the purge valve i.e. compressor or ride height sensor. As far as being a known issue, yep it's a known issue. Good luck.

[BitSlayer]

Thanks for your response. I have an extended warranty just for this reason. After the second trip to the dealer, we picked one up as I was afraid this would occur. On my 2011, the shock went out just after the warranty expired and the price of the shock would have paid for the warranty. We will see what they have to say. I will suggest they not just pressure test the shock, but leave pressure on the shock for a period of time. You may have something there. I know the compressor will kick off if it thinks it cannot fill the bladder sufficiently and thus go into Manual. At least that is my understanding.

[Choir Boy]

I purchased my first 2012 RT with 12,000 miles on it last year. I put another 13,000 on it. I didn't know how the compressor system worked. Turned out it was bad when I bought it. After continually filling the air bag manually I finally discovered that the fill valve was loose. Still kept leaking. I thought that perhaps that made the pump burn out because of the leak. So I decided to replace the compressor and air bag with a used ones. Much cheaper. $120 vs $350 just for the pump.
After getting it apart I found that the motor ran fine but the crank shaft set screw had come loose and the cranks shaft and piston were just lying in the housing. I replaced it anyway with the 'new' 'used' one. The air bag was fine but replaced it also. Now I have an extra set to sell or for back up.

Feb. 2018 I acquired a 2014 RT with 9500 miles on it from a guy in Connecticut and had it shipped to Colorado. It had an extended warranty till April 2018. Very grateful for that!!!
Pump seemed seemed to work okay.. at first. After riding a while, I tried to adjust the suspension and I got the manual warning on the dash. I tried it several times and sometimes worked sometimes not. Into shop it went.
They found that the brass check valve in the air line had a crack in it. Factory over tightened it and didn't do a pressure test. Pump was overheating trying to keep up and then would shut off. Would cool down and then worked till overheated... etc. It certainly had a lot of extra wear on it and may or may not have worked so dealer replaced it under the extended warranty.

Second issue: Handle bars had play in them. Dealer found out that the lower steering column u joint had 8 mm of play in them. Spec was 2 mm. Again, this had to have come from the factory that way. They replaced that under the Extended Warranty also.. again so glad it has it.
All this should have been covered even with out the Extension but... time for original factory warranty was out so I seriously doubt that BRP would have taken care of it.

I have to say their quality control seems to be seriously lacking and would have cost me about $550 in parts and a $1000 in labor for the lack of responsibility.

Even with the problems, I do love the 2012 RT and the 2014 I love even more. Just want to get the BajaRon sway bar and I'm all set.

One question remains???? Do I spend another $600 to extend the warranty again or take a chance??? Any thought about that would be appreciated.
William

[spacetiger]

Thanks for your response. I have an extended warranty just for this reason. After the second trip to the dealer, we picked one up as I was afraid this would occur. On my 2011, the shock went out just after the warranty expired and the price of the shock would have paid for the warranty. We will see what they have to say. I will suggest they not just pressure test the shock, but leave pressure on the shock for a period of time. You may have something there. I know the compressor will kick off if it thinks it cannot fill the bladder sufficiently and thus go into Manual. At least that is my understanding.

BitSlayer,

Sorry you are going through all of this. Since you ride mostly 2 up, I would suggest you consider a spring change, the oem spring is not stout enough. If your combined weight is 350-400, you should have a 900 lb/in spring in back. The air compressor set up is for ride height and doesn't help correct for a weak spring. When I had a 2012 RTS, I made this change and didn't have to worry about the air component of the suspension as the shock spring was able to carry the suspensions loads.

I have a 2013 STL now and found since I ride solo mostly, I only needed to add a 0.5" spacer to increase the spring preload. No more bottoming out.

Good luck

Jerry

[DGoebel]

Jerry, Bitslayer, and others that know more than I about the rear shock. Would Spring stiffeners like Roadster Renovations offers correct this issue with the Rear Shock / Spring?
Just wondering?

[spacetiger]

Jerry, Bitslayer, and others that know more than I about the rear shock. Would Spring stiffeners like Roadster Renovations offers correct this issue with the Rear Shock / Spring?
Just wondering?

Depending on where you place them in a coil spring; these devices isolate some spring coils (on the short end) and in effect make the spring rate higher. In the pic from the link above, the lower 2 links (or so) are now isolated; you would be riding on the remaining spring above the devices. These can work on the front springs because (depending on the model year) they are straight rate springs so the coil windings have uniform spacing along the length of the spring. You can place the devices in numerous places (same for both springs) experimenting until you find the rate that works for your riding load. The nice things about these devices is that they do not require you to disasseble the spring from the shock.

I don't think they work well on the rear spring because the rear is a 2 rate spring. The softer rate would be in the tighter spaced coil portion of the spring, the higher rated portion of the spring has the wider spaced coils. I don't think these devices are made to isolate the tighter spaced coils of the rear spring. They might fit in the wider spaced portion of the spring, but that wouldn't help you very much as you would still be left with the weak portion of the spring - you are just stiffening up the upper portion of the spring. The weaker portion of the spring would still be in use over the ~ first half of your suspension travel.

There are devices you can buy that can help you increase the preload on the spring. I'm guessing they run between $100 and $150(?). If you need a modest increase in help and ride solo, these kinds of devices might work for you. They are not cheap, for me I just added a 0.5" spacer to my rear shock from material sourced from Home Depot for a few $'s. To add these devices, you have to disassemble the spring from the shock so you can add that device between the spring and lower spring perch. To me, if you are going to add a device like that, you might as well conside a spring change if you ride 2 up a lot or weigh more than 250 lbs. A good quality spring can be bought for less than $100 (such as Hypercoil which is blue or Eibach which are red).

You can also buy an [expensive] aftermarket shock. They can better match your spring rate to your weight and your rebound and compression damping can be made to match your spring rate. If you want damping adjustability, you can get that too or remote preload adjustability. Prices start around $600 and go to $1,400 or so.

So, now you know enough to be dangerous.

Jerry

[ricford]

I ryde a plain vanilla 2014 RT. NO auto thingy for the rear air bag. My airbag leaks down after a month or so. Is that normal? Or at least tolerable?

[Peter Aawen]

I ryde a plain vanilla 2014 RT. NO auto thingy for the rear air bag. My airbag leaks down after a month or so. Is that normal? Or at least tolerable?

It might not be ideal or even strictly 'normal', but it is quite common, & many (most??) just live with it!!

The reality of it all is that 'air' WILL bleed thru &/or out of 'rubber' products like these bladders, tires, & even balloons over time, some things bleed air quicker than others, & some of the same things will bleed air quicker than others of the same thing!! So you really need to regularly check the pressure & re-inflate anything that needs to hold air over time.

Your re-inflate time-frame might usually be a month; others might find theirs is only a week; but regardless it will need to happen fairly regularly or you could end up dragging the wheel arch on the top of the tire, cos sadly, the stock spring on the rear of the RT's isn't strong enough to keep the back end up high enough to always clear the tire without some air bag assistance even if you always ryde with loads that remain under the listed limits!

Enjoy!

[DGoebel]

Spacetiger (Jerry), I do weigh 250# and have been pretty happy with my 13 RTL's suspension since adding the BR Anti-Sway bar. I do think my wife and I will be doing more 2 up fully loaded longer tours and am wondering if upgrading just the rear spring would benefit me. How Do I tell what spring to replace my stock spring with? Say, at Hypercoils.

[spacetiger]

Spacetiger (Jerry), I do weigh 250# and have been pretty happy with my 13 RTL's suspension since adding the BR Anti-Sway bar. I do think my wife and I will be doing more 2 up fully loaded longer tours and am wondering if upgrading just the rear spring would benefit me. How Do I tell what spring to replace my stock spring with? Say, at Hypercoils.

DGoebel,

Go look under the front of your bike and tell me what you see. This will help guide my advice to you.