I just purchased a factory BRP belt tensioner for $ 34.00. Took about 30 minutes to install. Took it for a test drive an the difference is amazing. No more belt vibration . I will attach photos.
Glad it's working for you. Just don't expect it to last a long time.
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Why are people installing this? I don’t feel vibration and it’s expensive.
This vibration seems to occur in most cases between 70 and 75 mph. If your belt doesn't vibrate around those speeds, then you have no need for this damper. Be happy and enjoy.
I just purchased a factory BRP belt tensioner for $ 34.00. Took about 30 minutes to install. Took it for a test drive an the difference is amazing. No more belt vibration . I will attach photos.
Keep a very close eye on the BRP vibration dampener. They have a history of not lasting very long at all. Doc Humphrey at Roadster Renovation had a box FULL of the BRP failures with low miles. I seen him change one last year at the Maggie Valley rally that had either ( 400 or 4000 ) miles on it and it was SHOT. It was to the point of destroying the mans drive belt.
I never want to wish anything bad on anyone, i hope yours last a long time, BUT, as history has proven, keep an eye on it.
The one that Doc Humphreys sells from Roadster Renovation sells will last a LOOOONG time.
Keep a very close eye on the BRP vibration dampener. They have a history of not lasting very long at all. Doc Humphrey at Roadster Renovation had a box FULL of the BRP failures with low miles. I seen him change one last year at the Maggie Valley rally that had either ( 400 or 4000 ) miles on it and it was SHOT. It was to the point of destroying the mans drive belt.
I never want to wish anything bad on anyone, i hope yours last a long time, BUT, as history has proven, keep an eye on it.
The one that Doc Humphreys sells from Roadster Renovation sells will last a LOOOONG time.
You have to ask why BRP would sell something with a 2 year warranty in U.K. if they fail in just a few hundred miles. Must be costing them a fortune in belt replacement. Sounds a bit like sour grapes from the aftermarket industry.
I just purchased a factory BRP belt tensioner for $ 34.00. Took about 30 minutes to install. Took it for a test drive an the difference is amazing. No more belt vibration . I will attach photos.
Do you have any whining noise from it? I had one installed yesterday and it has, what I describe as a whining noise. The tech said it would get better over the next week, and it has improved some already.
You have to ask why BRP would sell something with a 2 year warranty in U.K. if they fail in just a few hundred miles. Must be costing them a fortune in belt replacement. Sounds a bit like sour grapes from the aftermarket industry.
This is the video that I took from the Maggie Valley one. Also, earlier that day a ryder came in that had a ruined belt from the BRP unit's roller falling off. You will hear no sour grapes from me. I would like everyone to experience how much smoother their byke is on the highway. That way if/when the unit fails, they will want one that will last longer and that is usually us. We have dropped the price on both units; the F3 is $120 and the RT is now $165. Does not include shipping.
One caution; in order for that 2 year warranty to be good, it has to be installed by the dealer. At least that is the way it is in the States.
I wonder if the premature failures of the BRP unit may be due to them not being properly aligned with the belt? I could see that causing it to fail quick if it's not parallel to the belt and sideloading it.
I've had mine on now, with Doc's brackets, for several hundred miles and it's holding up great so far. If it ever fails I like that I can buy Doc's kit to add the rest of the kit onto his bracket I already have.
One caution; in order for that 2 year warranty to be good, it has to be installed by the dealer. At least that is the way it is in the States.
The dealer did install it. The wheel is smooth and the belt is ribbed, which is where I suspect the noise is coming from. Unless the ribs disappear, not sure how the noise will stop. Of course he did say get quieter, not stop.
I wonder if the premature failures of the BRP unit may be due to them not being properly aligned with the belt? I could see that causing it to fail quick if it's not parallel to the belt and sideloading it.
I looked and the roller is parallel with the belt. The outside of the roller is even with the belt, the inside hands over about 1/8 of a inch.
I looked and the roller is parallel with the belt. The outside of the roller is even with the belt, the inside hands over about 1/8 of a inch.
Mark, the BRP unit has very little adjustment area. Just within the holes, which are slightly larger than the bolts. Since not every belt is going to be exactly aligned the same, we added slots to our brackets so they can be finer tuned to be trued with the belt in the position it was in. We also then added an adjustment block that you sit on top of the belt, butting it against the roller and the arm. This allows you to feel on the inside edge with your finger to make sure the block edge and belt edge are the same, front to back. It is really a very simple, yet very effective system to make sure everything is trued.
In the almost 2 years of producing these, we have yet to have a roller or bearings fail. Based upon our sales and figuring an average of 10,000 miles per ryder, that puts us well past 5 million total miles without a roller or bearing failure.
As one of the other posters was talking about using an adapter to run the BRP unit on their RT, we will always continue to support those that have the RTBK adapter from way back when. I hate waste and I see it pointless to make something that cannot be used if a person upgrades.
My take on why some of the BRP units are failing? I think it is a quality control issue. If they are selling units for $35 they probably are paying $10-15 each. A manufacturer selling to them are not going to put a lot of money into this product or else they will loose money. Just my take.
Just in case anyone is interested, here are the Green Instructions. Ryders can get $10 off their order by going paperless.
Mark, the BRP unit has very little adjustment area. Just within the holes, which are slightly larger than the bolts. Since not every belt is going to be exactly aligned the same, we added slots to our brackets so they can be finer tuned to be trued with the belt in the position it was in. We also then added an adjustment block that you sit on top of the belt, butting it against the roller and the arm. This allows you to feel on the inside edge with your finger to make sure the block edge and belt edge are the same, front to back. It is really a very simple, yet very effective system to make sure everything is trued.
In the almost 2 years of producing these, we have yet to have a roller or bearings fail. Based upon our sales and figuring an average of 10,000 miles per ryder, that puts us well past 5 million total miles without a roller or bearing failure.
As one of the other posters was talking about using an adapter to run the BRP unit on their RT, we will always continue to support those that have the RTBK adapter from way back when. I hate waste and I see it pointless to make something that cannot be used if a person upgrades.
My take on why some of the BRP units are failing? I think it is a quality control issue. If they are selling units for $35 they probably are paying $10-15 each. A manufacturer selling to them are not going to put a lot of money into this product or else they will loose money. Just my take.
Just in case anyone is interested, here are the Green Instructions. Ryders can get $10 off their order by going paperless.
I do not doubt the quality of your product at all, waaaaay too many happy customers on this forum for me to question it. I have a question though, if the roller is smooth and the belt ribbed, it seems that noise will always be generated? I noticed in pictures that some belts are smooth, some have the ridges. Is there something different about the roller you use that eliminates the noise?
The vibration is gone, which is nice, but I would rather have that than the noise. If it doesn't diminish considerably, I will be taking it back and having them remove it.
I do not doubt the quality of your product at all, waaaaay too many happy customers on this forum for me to question it. I have a question though, if the roller is smooth and the belt ribbed, it seems that noise will always be generated? I noticed in pictures that some belts are smooth, some have the ridges. Is there something different about the roller you use that eliminates the noise?
The vibration is gone, which is nice, but I would rather have that than the noise. If it doesn't diminish considerably, I will be taking it back and having them remove it.
About a year ago we started tackling that problem. All the 998's have the outer ribbed belt. What we came up with is a roller that has been milled to resemble and old style wooden thread thimble. We then load a total of 12 O rings; 10 of a smaller diameter and two larger in the center. We have had good results, and it does completely stop the buzzing speeding up or slowing down. You will have to periodically replace the O rings. We are still testing different ones to try and find that perfect match, but due to the nature of the ribbed belt, there has to be some give in the O rings, and that will cause them to wear. We are still experimenting. The length of time they last varies from ryder to ryder. The style of ryding, the speeds they travel, road conditions, etc.
The noise was too much, it almost sounded like a bearing going bad. I took it back and had the dealer remove the tensioner. They did not charge for that. Also, the tech said that he will hang on to the tensioner and sell it for me if someone comes in and wants one. The vibration is back, but much nicer ride without the noise.
As soon as Kathy gets better, and they get settled back home, I will get Doc's belt tensioner.
Will the roller from the doc's fit the BRP bracket ,and will he sell just the roller ?
No, on both counts. Doc sells the complete unit and does this so he can stand behind it and warranty any problems that may come up. The only time I know of that he has sold the roller separately was fairly early on when someone had a bit of play in the bearing …. Doc improved and sent just the roller.
All the best …. Ann
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Will the roller from the doc's fit the BRP bracket ,and will he sell just the roller ?
Mike, I believe I saw a post (or something) from Lamont very recently where they are offering a vastly upgraded roller to fit the BRP bracket.....I’ll see if I can find it.
Hmmmmmm. I’m starting to wonder if I imagined it.....I can’t find anything anywhere
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Mike, I believe I saw a post (or something) from Lamont very recently where they are offering a vastly upgraded roller to fit the BRP bracket.....I’ll see if I can find it.
Pete
Saw that too but that won't address the other issue with the BRP unit. And that is a weak spring that fails. I had actually felt the return of the vibs (tho lower intensity). My roller & bearings were in pristine condition on mine but the spring had no tension when I went to investigate it. I could lift the unit up and it would barely return so I had to replace it! Now I could have gotten a spring I'm sure etc etc but at that point of having to pull it out anyway I just bit the bullet and replaced it with something that was more well developed than the BRP unit.
Now if you were putting Lamont's on as your first idler he decides to upgrade the spring as well.... could be a good route.
'15 F3-S Pure Magnesium Metallic - Mad Max Edition
'15 Mclaren 650S Coupe - Aurora Blue
"You Were Really Flyin', When I Passed You Back There!"
Chuck
2015 F3-S , Pure Magnesium Metallic/Steel Black Metallic
I must have gotten a good one, I have over 17,000 miles on my BRP tensioner and it's still going strong.
Yeah, that is the prob. These things are all over the place when it comes to reliability and the ways that they fail! Again, not much development time on them.... But for 35.00 it did the job for as long as it did and I was happy with it....
'15 F3-S Pure Magnesium Metallic - Mad Max Edition
'15 Mclaren 650S Coupe - Aurora Blue
"You Were Really Flyin', When I Passed You Back There!"
Chuck
2015 F3-S , Pure Magnesium Metallic/Steel Black Metallic
Google 606 2rs & 626 2rs bearings and order 1 each. Remove idler roller and press single bearing from roller. Install the 606 bearing in place of the original, The roller has a step in the bore that fits the 626 bearing. Install a 1/4 inch spacer between the bearings and get a 6mm bolt about 10mm longer. assemble and reinstall. You now have a durable roller assy.
The 2 bearings should cost less than $2 each.