2016 F3-S Vibration first long drive!!!!

[VinnyMac]

So yesterday me and the wife went for are first long drive, when in 5th or 6th gear between 55-65 mph if the motor isent on engine brake on im not accelerating i feel this vibration in the back wheel. I called my dealer and they said its normal my spyder has aprox 400 miles on it. any advise or imput would be great thank you.

[Nyparrothead]

So ysterday me and the wife went for are first long drive, when in 5th or 6th gear between 55-65 mph if the motor isent on engine brake on im not accelerating i feel this vibration in the back wheel. I called my dealer and they said its normal my spyder has aprox 400 miles on it. any advise or imput would be great thank you.

This is a well documented engineering DEFECT in the F3. Mother BRP is not going to solve it because so many owners refuse to openly admit there is a problem and instead explain it away. They did come up with a BS bandaid of tightening the belt and some have done it with mixed results. In my opinion this will only add extra stress to the output shaft, pully, and bearings.

if you want to address it yourself, there are a couple different odd on belt tension devices on the market the acts like an idler pully and stops most of the vibrations. Yes I know you just spent 20k plus for your new ride but in order to make it rideable, it is going to cost you another 300-400 dollars... OR

You can do what the apologist do and pretend there isn't a defect or say " just don't ride in the speed range where it vibrates"..... Yea I know how it sounds, sad isn't it

mark

[VinnyMac]

so is there a way to make sure it never happens? i dont mind spending 300-400$ to make it go away lol.

[trikermutha]

Don't worry about it..Ride the Spyder. Later on on your next service have them recheck the belt tension..

[Chupaca]

Not quite clear on the vibration your feeling. Your explanation of engine not on brake not on etc is a bit confusing. They made a longer swing arm adding to the length of the belt and this is causing a lot of the vibration but mostly felt in the pegs and seat. There are some tensioners that can help that. There are some harmonic vibrations that you live with but if your vibration is in the back wheel you may need to have them check it for balance, tire defect, air pressure or bearings ( not likely)...

[VinnyMac]

well my wife was sitting on the back and it felt like it was happening more arround the 55-65 mph while cornering was the worst but again if i was speeding out or letting the bike use its engine brake could not feel anything but while turning and coasting you could feel it now that you guys said the tensioner makes sense

[Dmartin]

It is a VERY well known problem. BRP tech even have a chart showing the RPM and vibration issues. It shows at what RPM the vibration starts end goes away. I saw the Chart and was blown away. They know the issue but have not fix the problem. I bought my 2016 F3T in May 7th and I have over 6000km on it now. Belt Vibration is at between 3900 rpm to about 4400 rpm. Very ****ing annoying. I have someone in town working on a belt tensioner for me.. will let you know..

Daniel..
Kamloops BC

[zuni]

Another option for the belt tension is from Jim at Smoothspyder. Makes great products and stands behind them! http://www.smoothspyder.com/belt-tensioners/

CJ JAX

[VinnyMac]

well that seems like a quick fix!! and at 200$ not bad at all!

[JkRbbt]

The vibration on my F3 is more in the 65-70+ range. I was hesitant to install a belt tension device because I didn't see that much difference when I installed one on my previous RT. I finally bought the SmoothSpyder belt tensioner for the F3 and it really did make a difference in that speed range. And it was $200, not $3-400. Fairly simple install! Hope it works for you!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

This is a well documented engineering DEFECT in the F3. Mother BRP is not going to solve it because so many owners refuse to openly admit there is a problem and instead explain it away. They did come up with a BS bandaid of tightening the belt and some have done it with mixed results. In my opinion this will only add extra stress to the output shaft, pully, and bearings.

Call it a defect if you want, if that makes you feel better, but it is not a defect. It is a negative consequence of drive system design decisions from the very beginning of the Spyder development. The ONLY way to avoid it is to go to a shaft drive, or install a jack shaft with a double pulley and have two short belts instead of one long one. The vibration issue, or at least the extent of it, may not have even been a known consequence when the design was selected. There have to have been many factors playing into the choice of a belt drive, not the least of which is cost, and you know many people bitch about the cost of the Spyders as is.

The "bandaid" solution, as you call it, of adjusting the tension of the belt is not BS. It's the only solution for the current design. The BRP guideline is to set the tension so that the vibration occurs at a speed range acceptable to the owner. The "bandaid" solution is the belt tensioner, and by and large they do help.

[bscrive]

My wife is currently testing the device on her Spyder for BRP to see how it works.

We went to our dealer a couple of weeks ago to ask about getting the vibration issue fixed, and he told us that BRP had sent him some prototypes, and that they were looking for some riders willing to test it. We agreed, and then signed a bunch of release papers in French, and they installed it a week ago. My wife says that it really does reduce the amount of vibrations almost to nothing. BRP will be in contact with her soon we are told to get her opinion. I assume that once they feel that this is a viable solution they will put it on the F3.

Sorry, I can't say more, but the papers were in French, and I am not sure if there was a non disclosure clause in the papers my wife signed, so I don't want to get her in trouble.

[james8luc8]

My wife is currently testing the device on her Spyder for BRP to see how it works.

We went to our dealer a couple of weeks ago to ask about getting the vibration issue fixed, and he told us that BRP had sent him some prototypes, and that they were looking for some riders willing to test it. We agreed, and then signed a bunch of release papers in French, and they installed it a week ago. My wife says that it really does reduce the amount of vibrations almost to nothing. BRP will be in contact with her soon we are told to get her opinion. I assume that once they feel that this is a viable solution they will put it on the F3.

Sorry, I can't say more, but the papers were in French, and I am not sure if there was a non disclosure clause in the papers my wife signed, so I don't want to get her in trouble.

I know you can't say much but is this prototype device a belt tensioner or something else they installed that removed the vibration?

[TnT]

We have a 2015 RT-S and it had the vibration at 68-73 mph (3850-4000 rpm). Installed the smooth spyder tensioner and that vibration is not gone. But a new problem has appeared - before when doubles up she knew how fast we were going based in the vibration. Now she doesn't know so she leans at the speedo and then smacks me in the helmet when she sees 90


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tt408]

This is what I have and it works fine. Eliminated my vibes.
http://www.bakerbuilt.com/bbairwings/f3bs.html

[Peteoz]

We have a 2015 RT-S and it had the vibration at 68-73 mph (3850-4000 rpm). Installed the smooth spyder tensioner and that vibration is not gone. But a new problem has appeared - before when doubles up she knew how fast we were going based in the vibration. Now she doesn't know so she leans at the speedo and then smacks me in the helmet when she sees
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So when you say the 'vibration is NOT gone", should that read the "vibration is NOW gone", probably due to predictive text ?
Pete

[TnT]

So when you say the 'vibration is NOT gone", should that read the "vibration is NOW gone", probably due to predictive text ?
Pete

Small screen mistake. The vibration is now gone.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jcthorne]

well that seems like a quick fix!! and at 200$ not bad at all!

I can verify that if the vibration bothers you, the Smoothspyder tensioner does indeed fix the problem. Well made product that works as advertised.

[T-Mac]

It is a VERY well known problem. BRP tech even have a chart showing the RPM and vibration issues. It shows at what RPM the vibration starts end goes away. I saw the Chart and was blown away. They know the issue but have not fix the problem. I bought my 2016 F3T in May 7th and I have over 6000km on it now. Belt Vibration is at between 3900 rpm to about 4400 rpm. Very ****ing annoying. I have someone in town working on a belt tensioner for me.. will let you know..

Daniel..
Kamloops BC

Daniel from Kamloops, I'm in Kelowna & am in the market for a belt tensioner for my F3S, but can't logically spend $200.00 plus shipping (& exchange) with our Canadian money not worth much more than Monopoly money. It's just ridiculous to spend that kind of cash for such a small piece of equipment. If your friend could make one for my F3S for a decent price, please let me know.

I own the FB page "British Columbia Spyder Web." You could let me know there plus, post your friend's information there to get the word out. Some good, FREE advertising!

Cheers!
TC MacBean (Tanya)
Kelowna

[T-Mac]

well that seems like a quick fix!! and at 200$ not bad at all!

Not if you're in Canada. $200.00 + shipping & the current exchange rate of 1.34 = a mortgage payment. I wish we had a Canadian distributor, or hey, I wish Can Am would SUPPLY the part, since it's obviously a design flaw.

[Steven Young]

Well us boys with an F3 Limited are just going to have to wait for the SMOOTHSPYDER model. Jim has it in the works (pending). My new 2016 F3 LMT shakes like a Dog Passing a Peach Pit from 60-73 mph. Unbelievable a $28,000+ machine would do this. Right at the speed I want to be with the friends. It's truly a design flaw. No it's not the RPM (engine), it's the friggen belt. I'm very disappointed with this machine at this point, and I can only hope BRP is listening and has a fix. Yes the tire pressure 18 front & 28 rear, yes the tension is ok. Sorry, guess I'm used to airplanes, were this would be a "Grounding" unaxeptable flaw and problem for this kind of vibration. Regretfully I'm starting to feel like I've made a big mistake with this purchase.

[Ron2andia]

I get it at 71 but roll on and off and it usually solves the issue ... But is a pain in the butt to have to do at 71 each and every time... Sounds like BRP is working on a recall? Taking that from one of the posts above...

[Sydermon]

I have both a 2008 RS & F3S and both are fitted with smoothspyder belt tensioners from capt Jim. The first was bought a few years ago after I got fed up with the vibration on my RS and it solved all vibration. When I bought my F3 I knew I would have the same problem and promptly contacted Capt Jim who sent me one. When it arrived it would not fit as we realised the UK spec F3 has a smaller rear sprocket and slightly different swing arm. He said sent it back and he would work something out. He shipped a re-worked tensioner out to me before he had received the original one back. Fitted it to the F3, works perfect! He sells a first class product of high quality that does what it says on the tin.

[Dmartin]

Daniel from Kamloops, I'm in Kelowna & am in the market for a belt tensioner for my F3S, but can't logically spend $200.00 plus shipping (& exchange) with our Canadian money not worth much more than Monopoly money. It's just ridiculous to spend that kind of cash for such a small piece of equipment. If your friend could make one for my F3S for a decent price, please let me know.

I own the FB page "British Columbia Spyder Web." You could let me know there plus, post your friend's information there to get the word out. Some good, FREE advertising!

Cheers!
TC MacBean (Tanya)
Kelowna

No problem. He is working on mine right now and I will test it and let you know.. Also I went to your web page. how do you become a member?? Ty..

Daniel Martin
Kamloops BC