What does it feel like when the Nanny takes over?

[Snoking1127]

I wonder if this isn't where the problem lies! The day before the first time I had an issue, I had been riding in a little rain! With the front wheels off the ground everything turns quite freely. However there is no load on the ball joint when it is jacked up. At any rate the ball joint needs to be replaced. While I wait for a ball joint I am tempted to spray some lube in it and take it for another test ride. Something like this WD-40 Specialist White Lithium Grease Spray with SMART STRAW SPRAYS 2 WAYS, 10 OZ Sprays on evenly as a liquid and sets dry with a thick, protective coating that won't run off. Safe from 0° F to 300° F for unbeatable protection

[Snoking1127]

Well I headed out on a test ride to Canyon Lake, think lots of twisties! AND I turned back shortly into the twisties! What is now occurring is that it goes into corner fine, however as I straighten out it is notchy with two or three notches as it straightens out. New ball joint is on order. Now to start studying how hard is it going to be to remove the lower A-arm. May be my first frunk removal exercise!

Question for someone that has maybe replaced one. If I remove the shock and steering knuckle(and getting it out of the way) would I be able to press it out and a new one in without removing the A-arm. Looking on buying something like this one.https://www.amazon.com/OrionMotorTec...e%2C166&sr=1-9

[Snoking1127]

Well my ball joint press showed up today, and I looked at all the components in the kit and then again reviewed the section in the service manual on R&R the lower ball joint. Seem to be pretty easy. It will be a week or so before the new ball joint arrives. Fingers crossed that it solves the steering problem.

[BajaRon]

I'm not so sure I wouldn't replace them both. One is bad. The other may not be far behind.

[Snoking1127]

Problem is only in left turns where there is more loading on the right front wheel. And that is the one with rubber boot failure. The other three boots look ok. But yes the second one will be easier, if needed.

[Snoking1127]

As part of the big ride from Az to Wa the new Vredestein Quatrac tires showed up today. Date code on both is 4323, so it appears that they were still producing this model tire 5 months ago.

I still have the 2013 RS blade style wheels with the Kenda's that came on Hookio the Asphalt grey one, I think I will move the Federal Formoza's to those wheels and junk the Kenda tires, and keep that set was spares or sell them to some that wants to upgrade from 14 rims. That or order another set of PPA chrome wheels. As I have never really liked the starfish wheel that are back on Hooker the Champagne one with the Federals.

[Snoking1127]

Well I replaced the lower right ball joint today, not an easy task for a guy that is going to be 80 this summer. The second set of PPA Orb wheels showed up also, so now Hooker is not jealous for Hookie having her Orb wheels and Vredestein Quartac tires, as she has new wheels and tires now. Rode around the RV resort doing zig zags and could not get the steering condition to raise it head. Going to rain for the next couple days, so no road test planned at this time.

[Snoking1127]

Well, I took Hooker for a test ride this morning on the twisties to Canyon Lake and could not get the steering act up. So hopefully the new ball joint fixed it. The new Vredesteins on new PPA wheels run smoothly without being balanced at 17 PSI (accounting for the extra weight that is going to be in the frunk).

Came home and changed the oil using Rotella T-6 5W-40. Planning on a 300-mile ride Wednesday with simulated weight of the BRP roller suitcase in the Frunk, as I continue to prep it for the ride from AZ to WA via Northern California coast (highway 1 and 101) and Oregon coast.

I have a fuel filter not yet installed.
And I am thinking about new coolant.

[Snoking1127]

Well, went for another ride today and still feel a slight notchy bind when straightening out the steering from a corner going really slow. So, it was not the right-hand ball joint. Pushed it in the fast twisties quite hard without issues. Going to take a long ride tomorrow.

[Snoking1127]

Still fighting steering issues. Did a 251 mile loop in the valley yesterday, and towards the end started having steering issues again. In a corner it feels like the DPS maybe is not working and then kicks in. It is like all of a sudden is oversteers in a corner, and I got the notchy feeling going slow and turning. Going to take the battery to be load tested and check over all the cabling carefully today. Also order another ball joint for the left side. I really wanted to ride this one to Washington in May! My have just come back with the trailer to get it. DPS is now $1689, so it will be expensive replace that with the required calibration with buds after installing it.

Reading other posts, it seems this is not an easy issue to naildown.

[BajaRon]

Still fighting steering issues. Did a 251 mile loop in the valley yesterday, and towards the end started having steering issues again. In a corner it feels like the DPS maybe is not working and then kicks in. It is like all of a sudden is oversteers in a corner, and I got the notchy feeling going slow and turning. Going to take the battery to be load tested and check over all the cabling carefully today. Also order another ball joint for the left side. I really wanted to ride this one to Washington in May! My have just come back with the trailer to get it. DPS is now $1689, so it will be expensive replace that with the required calibration with buds after installing it.

Reading other posts, it seems this is not an easy issue to naildown.

No need to take the battery out for a load test. If you have a multi-meter (everyone should have one of these. Cheap and easy to use). Simply hook the multi-meter to the correct battery connections (you have a 50/50 chance of getting this right! ). Then check voltage as you start the bike. If it falls below 11 volts, then you definitely have a weak battery. Eazy-Peazy!

[Snoking1127]

No need to take the battery out for a load test. If you have a multi-meter (everyone should have one of these. Cheap and easy to use). Simply hook the multi-meter to the correct battery connections (you have a 50/50 chance of getting this right! ). Then check voltage as you start the bike. If it falls below 11 volts, then you definitely have a weak battery. Eazy-Peazy!

That worked really well with old analog meters, however digital meters generally are slower to react to quick changes to voltage(at least on the display). The service manual says to hook your meter (I have several); start motor; turn the steering to lock momentarily left then right; and the voltage should not drop below 12V. They show a Fluke 111 meter that can log min and max volts. Back in my working days we had some really nice high end Fluke meters. I actually did some real-world testing on a new product they were developing for data communications, as they were in South Everett and I was in the banks data center in downtown Seattle.

Taking the battery out might make it easier to check the electrical connections to the DPS, as the instructions for removal state it is removed through the battery area.

Also, my digital meter/dual usb ports on the switch console stays pretty steady at 14.2 volts when out on the road.

[Peter Aawen]

That worked really well with old analog meters, however digital meters generally are slower to react to quick changes to voltage(at least on the display). The service manual says to hook your meter (I have several); start motor; turn the steering to lock momentarily left then right; and the voltage should not drop below 12V. They show a Fluke 111 meter that can log min and max volts. Back in my working days we had some really nice high end Fluke meters. I actually did some real-world testing on a new product they were developing for data communications, as they were in South Everett and I was in the banks data center in downtown Seattle.

Taking the battery out might make it easier to check the electrical connections to the DPS, as the instructions for removal state it is removed through the battery area.

Also, my digital meter/dual usb ports on the switch console stays pretty steady at 14.2 volts when out on the road.

For those who don't realise, that 2nd bold bit ^ just means your alternator/charging system is working fine, and theoretically, once your bike is started, you could pull the battery out of the bike completely and it'd still keep running fine on the power supplied by just the alternator - but I don't like your chances of starting it again if you do that!!

Do NOT try this ^ on a V-Twin Spyder, they have a Magneto Charging System & not an alternator like there is in the 1330 powered Spyders, and it won't work/isn't smart to try on Magneto Charged vehicles!!

Snoking, do note that first bold '12 volts' bit - it doesn't matter if you're doing the load test yourself with any sort of multi-meter; if you're doing it with a proper 'load-tester'; or even if you're getting it done for you by any retailer, most other vehicle batteries would still be considered to be OK if they didn't drop below 11 volts or maybe even 10.5 volts - BUT NOT A SPYDER BATTERY!!

Our Spyders are power hungry and put a LOT of demand on the battery, especially when starting and there's all sorts of power demands being made on the battery at once, many of them happening IMMEDIATELY BEFORE the alternator kicks in and right when the cranking load is at its highest - so if your Spyder battery EVER drops below 12 volts under load, it's time for a new one!! Preferably, get one that fits; that meets or exceeds the 350 CCA & 21 A/hrs over 10 hours specifications; and DO NOT install it without making sure it's been properly/fully charged for at least 8 hours prior to installation using a proper battery charger, not just a battery tender!

Yeah, I'm sounding like a cracked record (for those who remember those things! ) but the number of people I see/speak to who have all sorts of issues that all come back to dead or dying batteries would astound you!! . These are often issues that their local dealers can't or won't find - or is that 'can't be bothered to find just yet, and won't, not while this sucker is prepared to keep on paying us good money to faff around NOT diagnosing such a basic problem!'

Good Luck Snoking!

[Snoking1127]

That 12.2V was from a couple years ago, most likely I had just turned it off and the timer still had the lights on and dash lite up. Also most likely the original battery before I installed a new one. Got a little more cleaning to do to the SxS and then it gets moved out of the center of the carport and I am going to do some test on the spyder. I have a roll of HD black yard waste bags. I am going to make two squares of 6 or 8 layers of the bag material and park the front wheels on them and see if I feel much resistance in turning the wheels back and forth with the trikes weight on them. This might help in telling if the left ball joint that has not yet been replaced is having issues.

However in reading others experiences I sure sounds like I have low voltage to the DPS. So all the electrical will get a look over.

[Snoking1127]

Well turning on the plastic pads was easy, no hang ups without the engine running. Tried it with each wheel raised off the ground also and it was the same on both. Turning to full steering either direction and holding it for a few seconds and the voltage stays right at 14.2 at idle. Tried to unplug and DPS to spray contact cleaner of the terminals and could not figure out the magic combo to release the latch to unplugged, and I was getting tired. So will leave that for another day.

[Snoking1127]

Well I am running out of time to address this steering issue, as I leave AZ on the 30th with the SxS on the trailer. My latest thought is to come back with the trailer and haul it back to Washington and maybe drop it off for Shawn Smoak at Pro Caliber in Vancouver, Wa to work on it or put a new DPS in myself and trailer it down for him to align.

I rode it about 150 yesterday across the Phoenix Valley without an issue. Still going to dig into it and check grounds, unplug the DPS and clean the contacts. Intermittent problems are the hardest to fix. Throwing a $1700 part at it??????

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Well I am running out of time to address this steering issue, as I leave AZ on the 30th with the SxS on the trailer. My latest thought is to come back with the trailer and haul it back to Washington and maybe drop it off for Shawn Smoak at Pro Caliber in Vancouver, Wa to work on it or put a new DPS in myself and trailer it down for him to align.

I rode it about 150 yesterday across the Phoenix Valley without an issue. Still going to dig into it and check grounds, unplug the DPS and clean the contacts. Intermittent problems are the hardest to fix. Throwing a $1700 part at it??????

I've been following this ..... If you haven't had a BUDS diagnosis of what is going on, spending $1700.00 dollars only to discover that the DPS is not the problem .... good luck ...Mike

[Snoking1127]

I've been following this ..... If you haven't had a BUDS diagnosis of what is going on .... spending $ 1700.00 dollars only to discover ....the DPS is not the problem .... good luck ...Mike

Just did at another 100 mile ride and did not have an issue. What is BUDS going to tell? No error codes logged. I know that a new DPS has to be aligned when installed. What would cause this to start happening and be very intermittent? What does BUDS diagnosis that would account for this?

[Snoking1127]

So the single electrical connection to the new Spyder is a 10 conductor double locking plug in a really hard area to reach. I watch an automotive connector type video on how to unplug them, and there it was the same style connector. So you take a small flat blade screwdriver and start the off white lock piece moving off the black plug and pull it off and drop into never never land below. You are now able to push down on the lock tap and the plug comes right off the DPS. I sprayed in with contact cleaner and sprayed the DPS side and put the plug on and then spent 40 minutes looking for and retrieving the secondary white locking piece.

To review: three pins are combined for +12V to the DPS and three are combined for ground. 1 is from fuse F7L(wake up TCM, DPS, Cluster, and DLC) and 2 are can bus + and -.

Going to ride it again tomorrow.

[Peter Aawen]

Just did at another 100 mile ride and did not have an issue. What is BUDS going to tell? No error codes logged. I know that a new DPS has to be aligned when installed. What would cause this to start happening and be very intermittent? What does BUDS diagnosis that would account for this?

BUDS can do A LOT MORE than just show &/or clear codes!

[Snoking1127]

Did a 200 mile ride today without any steering issues!

[Snoking1127]

Just did a 93 mile ride pushing it hard in corners without issue! So I guess I will be riding it to Washington in late May or June!

[Snoking1127]

I went ahead and replaced the other lower ball joint when it arrived. Second one went much faster than the first one. Have not had another case of steering issues.