Rear tire alignment issues

[Dirt_Dad]

Recently changed the rear tire using Lamonsters method. That went well, but for some reason the alignment is no longer the same. I've tried to tweak it according to the service manual, but not getting the desired results. If I set the belt to have 1mm of space from the pulley, the belt walks pretty far off the pulley when the bike travels any distance in reverse. To keep the belt mostly on the pulley when reversed the belt is right up against the pulley. I've measured the distance on both sides of the axle and they are both the same distance from the back of the swing arm. What is the trick to getting this aligned properly?

Belt location after riding forward.
40181

below location after riding backwards for a distance.
40183

40182

[NancysToy]

I wouldn't look at the belt alignment in reverse. In reverse or in turns, the alignment can and will change. The best method of checking is to jack the Spyder up and run or roll the tire forward, adjusting to the spec. You can roll the entire Spyder forward, but you should roll it straight. If the change in reverse is huge, or you can't maintain the set alignment, inspect for front sprocket/output shaft looseness and wear, or for a rear hub that is not seated correctly.

[Dirt_Dad]

Interesting. I did have to ride it backwards in a circle, so sounds like that could have contributed to the amount it was off.

[arntufun]

I agree with Scotty, but also make sure your rear sprocket is seated flush on the wheel dampeners.

[bobbobtar]

I also replaced my rear tire on the RT and after putting everything back together the belt was not tracking correctly, the RT was still on the jack so I just loosened the axle nut and spun the tire by hand while adjusting the screws, till I had it tracking correctly.

[Dirt_Dad]

I agree with Scotty, but also make sure your rear sprocket is seated flush on the wheel dampeners.

This is not what I consider to be flush. So you're saying I need to take it apart and try again?

40184

40185

[arntufun]

Is it the same gap all the way around or does the width of the gap change as you spin the tire ??? If there is a difference, that might be your problem. Mine was a pain in the azz to get straight.

[Dirt_Dad]

I believe it's the same all the way around, but will need to confirm that tomorrow afternoon.

[arntufun]

I believe it's the same all the way around, but will need to confirm that tomorrow afternoon.

If it is the same, that is not the issue and continue on with Scotty advice. :thumbup:

[Firefly]

As Scotty said--- don't sweat reverse. I always check it- but forward is the main goal when aligning the belt. Easiest way to do it is on the fly while running on stands.

[Wattsmyname]

It was a very time consuming project getting my belt realigned, another post suggested raising the rear of the bike and adjusting with it running in 1st gear then into reverse until you get it into the proper position. That worked fairly well but was still a major pain in the rear. I know most people think these belts are great and I agree it is better than a chain but I have never had one single alignment, tension or other issue with the single sided swingarm/shaft drive on my BMW R1200GS. Oh how I wish I could transplant one of those engine/drivetrains into a Spyder....maybe someday. Good Luck on that project and be patient, it takes some time.


Recently changed the rear tire using Lamonsters method. That went well, but for some reason the alignment is no longer the same. I've tried to tweak it according to the service manual, but not getting the desired results. If I set the belt to have 1mm of space from the pulley, the belt walks pretty far off the pulley when the bike travels any distance in reverse. To keep the belt mostly on the pulley when reversed the belt is right up against the pulley. I've measured the distance on both sides of the axle and they are both the same distance from the back of the swing arm. What is the trick to getting this aligned properly?

Belt location after riding forward.
40181

below location after riding backwards for a distance.
40183

40182

[capt.jim]

As Scotty and Firefly stated, It is easier to get the back wheel off the ground a couple of inches and run it in first or second, just make sure it is secure and chocked. The hub doesn't fit flush, but the crack should be even. The belt will tend to ride to the outside in reverse, probably even more so if you went in a circle. Don't forget to tighten the axle bolts when your done, easy to forget when your frustrated or get a phone call.

[Dirt_Dad]

...easy to forget when your frustrated or get a phone call.

I've learned repeatedly how bad distractions can be while working on bikes. I'll give this another shot after work today. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[Firefly]

I run mine in 3rd gear when doing alignment.. pretty sure I read that in the service manual... and in the event you drop the bike--- if in 3rd she will stall.

I just use my ATV jack and bring the whole thing up in the air.

[Dirt_Dad]

Not going well so far. The space around the pulley was uniform, so good there. But even with it up in the air and running the belt either wants to hug the inside of the pulley, or head towards way off to the outside. I cannot get it to stay 1 to 5 mm away from the inside of the pulley. Small adjustments and waiting with the engine spinning the tire don't appear to do much of anything, then all of a sudden it just quickly starts heading to the outside, even when it's been a while since I turned the adjuster. I don't get the sense it's responding to my input, but rather randomly taking off.

I'm obviously doing something wrong, but not sure what it is?

[NancysToy]

That is a classic sign of a bad front sprocket, but it could also indicate bad rear wheel or sprocket bearings.

[Dirt_Dad]

That is a classic sign of a bad front sprocket, but it could also indicate bad rear wheel or sprocket bearings.

Do any of those go bad with only 8500 miles? I know when the dealer (non-selling dealer) did the 600 mile service he said the original tension was set extremely tight. But he did correct that at the 600 mile service.

I made more attempts this evening. I finally got it pretty stable while up on the jack. As soon as I took it down a rode it straight the belt went out to the outside of the pulley. Repeated this process several times always with the same result, good on the jack, off when on the ground. So I adjusted it to be up against the inside of the pulley. On the ground it says on the pulley now, but does not have the 1mm of clearance.

[NancysToy]

Do any of those go bad with only 8500 miles? I know when the dealer (non-selling dealer) did the 600 mile service he said the original tension was set extremely tight. But he did correct that at the 600 mile service.

I made more attempts this evening. I finally got it pretty stable while up on the jack. As soon as I took it down a rode it straight the belt went out to the outside of the pulley. Repeated this process several times always with the same result, good on the jack, off when on the ground. So I adjusted it to be up against the inside of the pulley. On the ground it says on the pulley now, but does not have the 1mm of clearance.
Yes, they have gone bad with less. especially with the belt too tight. There are two service bulletin tasks that should be done on every early Spyder...lowering the belt tension to the latest spec, and retorquing the front sprocket at 6,000 miles. If these are skipped, the chances of front sprocket damage greatly increase. If you have sprocket damage, and are lucky, only the sprocket will be bad. If the output shaft splines are worn, too, the repairs are more extensive. BTW, are you sure you are tightening the axle nut securely?

[teadave]

when i lowered my belt tension, i had the spyder supported at the rear shock. ran it in 3rd gear(up to 60mph) and made that belt track perfectly. well, after many tries it did. took it out on the road, at the first stop sign(1 mile) the belt is so far over it is almost off! turn around, go home, repeat process. three times! every time it would be perfect on the jack, but go away from the flange as soon as i rode it. i finally threw the tools in the frunk and kept stopping at the side of the road doing 1/6 of a turn adjustments until i got it 1mm from the flange. stayed there for about 200 miles & went back against flange. screw it, drive it like i stole it for now, will play some more when the weather gets nicer out!

[spyryder]

If your belt was tracking properly before you changed the tire, then it would seem pretty obvious that it was an installation or adjustment problem since the tire change, so keep trying, I'm sure you'll get it. :pray:

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

MAYBE YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY ??? ....THE REAR ADJUSTERS IMHO LEAVE A LOT TO BE DESIRED AS FAR AS ACCURACY GOES !!!...THERE IS A LOT OF FREE PLAY INSIDE WHER THE ADJUSTER DOES THE ADJUSTING, SO IT IS EASY TO GET THE WHEEL OFF CENTER....AND ALL YOU NEED IS 1 MM TO SCREW THINGS UP ROYALLY....I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE MADE A MORE POSITIVE MECHANISM BACK THERE ....EVERYBODY ELSE SEEMS TO HAVE DONE IT....MIKE....GOOD LUCK...:thumbup:

[Dirt_Dad]

Yes, they have gone bad with less. especially with the belt too tight. There are two service bulletin tasks that should be done on every early Spyder...lowering the belt tension to the latest spec, and retorquing the front sprocket at 6,000 miles. If these are skipped, the chances of front sprocket damage greatly increase. If you have sprocket damage, and are lucky, only the sprocket will be bad. If the output shaft splines are worn, too, the repairs are more extensive. BTW, are you sure you are tightening the axle nut securely?

Was that service bulletin after May 2011? That was my 600 mile check, and the mechanic said everythign was up to date at that point.

Can I eyeball the front to see if it has a problem? How would I recognize an issue on that pulley?

It was tracking straight before the tire change. I do realize there is a lot of play in the tenionsers. If I loosen them I use a rubber mallet and stick to tap the tire forward to get it back in place. I've been tightening the axle nut back to 92 lbs as per the specs.

[NancysToy]

Was that service bulletin after May 2011? That was my 600 mile check, and the mechanic said everythign was up to date at that point.

Can I eyeball the front to see if it has a problem? How would I recognize an issue on that pulley?

It was tracking straight before the tire change. I do realize there is a lot of play in the tenionsers. If I loosen them I use a rubber mallet and stick to tap the tire forward to get it back in place. I've been tightening the axle nut back to 92 lbs as per the specs.
The TSBs covering those items were in learly 2010, as I recall. If your Spyder is a 2011 model, they do not apply...but the belt should have been correctly tensioned at the 600 mile check, and the sprocket should still be retorqued (IMO) at 6K, although I think they changed the design slightly to make this step unnecessary now. With the newer sprockets with the external flywheel, there is no good way to quickly, visually inspect for signs of play. On the original bare sprockets, obvious looseness or rust around the center bolt were good clues.

I'm not sure what people are saying about the "play" in the adjusters. If the axle starts forward, and is pulled back, there should be no play. There will be some slack if the direction is reversed...as with any such adjuster. The adjustment is very sensitive. One "flat" of the wrench is usually too far. I adjust in half flat increments or less. Is it possible that you are being too critical? The adjustment does tend to wander a little bit during operation. As long as the belt doesn't ride up against either sprocket flange constantly, and the entire belt remains on the rear sprocket, it should be OK. Also be aware that the adjustment can change when tightening the axle nut. It pays to torque the nut in a downward motion instead of fore-aft. It also helps to loosen it as little as possible when adjusting the tension or alignment.

If you are very sure the alignment was OK before, and it is not a matter of you just not having noticed the previous movement, then I would look further in the rear wheel to see if it was reassembled wrong, or has worn/damaged parts, including the hub/bearing fit. The rear wheel/sprocket bearing life is marginal on the Spyder, and there have been some cases of galled or damaged hub bearing sockets. The rubber dampers could also have been misplaced or damaged.

[Dirt_Dad]

My RS SM5 Spyder was a left over 2010 model. But the 600 mile dealer service was done in May 2011. Since that serice was only about 8 months ago I wasn't in a big hurry to get in for the 6K miles service. The dealer that did the 600 mile made it clear he's never seen a Spyder with valves out of spec at 6000 miles, which was main reason I thought the 6K mile check was recommended. Did not realize there was a TSB for something specifically at 6K.

The alignment before the tire change did have the belt about 1mm from the inside of the pulley. Guess maybe I should take the rear wheel apart and look one more time.

[NancysToy]

My RS SM5 Spyder was a left over 2010 model. But the 600 mile dealer service was done in May 2011. Since that serice was only about 8 months ago I wasn't in a big hurry to get in for the 6K miles service. The dealer that did the 600 mile made it clear he's never seen a Spyder with valves out of spec at 6000 miles, which was main reason I thought the 6K mile check was recommended. Did not realize there was a TSB for something specifically at 6K.

The alignment before the tire change did have the belt about 1mm from the inside of the pulley. Guess maybe I should take the rear wheel apart and look one more time.
The belt spec TSB applies to all Spyders, and your dealer erred in setting it too tightly at 600 miles, from what I can see. It does not get tighter by itself. The sprocket retorque would not necessarily apply to your 2010 if it has the black external flywheel attached to the alloy front sprocket. The bare alloy sprockets do need to be retightened at 6K and checked for wear frequently. It doesn't hurt to retorque the later sprockets. I agree that the first valve check at 6K is a waste of time.

[Dirt_Dad]

The belt spec TSB applies to all Spyders, and your dealer erred in setting it too tightly at 600 miles, from what I can see. It does not get tighter by itself. The sprocket retorque would not necessarily apply to your 2010 if it has the black external flywheel attached to the alloy front sprocket. The bare alloy sprockets do need to be retightened at 6K and checked for wear frequently. It doesn't hurt to retorque the later sprockets. I agree that the first valve check at 6K is a waste of time.

I'll double check to see which front sprocket I have.

The too tight belt was from mile 0 to 600. The tech at 600 corrected the situation. Now that you mention it I do remember him saying something about a TBS on the belt tightness.

[Dirt_Dad]

My front pulley.

40237

Is this the problem one?

[NancysToy]

I'll double check to see which front sprocket I have.

The too tight belt was from mile 0 to 600. The tech at 600 corrected the situation. Now that you mention it I do remember him saying something about a TBS on the belt tightness.
:thumbup:


My front pulley.

40237

Is this the problem one?
That's the later one. You should be OK, but it never hurts to retorque it. I'd say your problem is probably elsewhere.

[Dirt_Dad]

Good to know. Thanks.

Although I have been successfully working on my own motorcycles for the last 30+ years, I think I have to admit defeat when working on the Spyder. This is a different animal and I'm struggling more than I should. I think the final straw came when I managed to break the axle nut on the left side free from it's solid connection to the axle. Fortunately it is threaded on that side so I'm still able to torque the axle. Still no 1mm gap but it's not riding up on the rim of the pulley so I'll ride it the 70 miles to the dealership and capitulate. Trying this for over 5 hours has finally beat me.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.