Need help with my 2014 RTS Vibrating at 45-60mph

[spyder-dude]

I have had a major vibration since going to Springfield MO for Spyderfest. It seems to be at speeds 45-60mph and coming from the front tires that are wobbling bad on the roads.

I just had my new local dealer replace both front tires under warranty thinking they were defective kenda tires. It did seem to get a little better after this but still really bad at 50-55.

I swapped tires and rims with my buddy who has the identical bike with no difference in the vibrations.

I had Elka shocks put on at Spyderfest and today swapped back to stock shocks to try to eliminate the problem but it didn't fix it....it didn't vibrate as bad though.

The only other thing I am going to do is have the belt adjusted again by the dealer as it does seem to be a bit tight by the feel of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their 13 or 14 RT and if so what fixed it?????

[cuznjohn]

i have never felt any vibration on my 13 rt/s even when i put my elkas on it still ran fine. i wonder if something in the suspension is lose i was going to say that a wheel might be damaged or a defective tire but being you swapped tires and wheels with a friend it can't be that, i would say let the dealer ride the bike at speeds and see what they think. good luck

[wis2013rtltd]

a sticking brake caliper, just a thought... If it is sticking, it may have distorted the rotor and if it still sticking it could perhaps cause your vibration??

[Bob Denman]

It seems as if you've eliminated tires and rims from the list: :thumbup:
That leaves:
Bearings
Brakes
Ball-joints (Or whatever it is that holds the hub to the A-arms)
The A-arms
Please let us know what you find; good luck! :2thumbs:

[kyspyder]

Might also want to have the alignment checked as well as the mechanical parts of the front end.

KYSPYDER

[Guzzi]

I have had a major vibration since going to Springfield MO for Spyderfest. It seems to be at speeds 45-60mph and coming from the front tires that are wobbling bad on the roads.

I just had my new local dealer replace both front tires under warranty thinking they were defective kenda tires. It did seem to get a little better after this but still really bad at 50-55.

I swapped tires and rims with my buddy who has the identical bike with no difference in the vibrations.

I had Elka shocks put on at Spyderfest and today swapped back to stock shocks to try to eliminate the problem but it didn't fix it....it didn't vibrate as bad though.

The only other thing I am going to do is have the belt adjusted again by the dealer as it does seem to be a bit tight by the feel of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their 13 or 14 RT and if so what fixed it?????
Shawn! Check out my link in the RT SHOP TALK under ROAD FORCE BALANCING. GUZZI

[spyder-dude]

Yeah I saw that and will have to see if I can find a place that has one of those around here.....

I am actually going to adjust my belt tomorrow as I bought a dayco pocket gauge and tested on mine and my buddies and mine was way tighter than his.

[rbob]

I too notice a slight vibration lasting only a few seconds and recurring randomly at highway speeds. I likened it to driving over rumble strips only muted.
With only 2500 kms on the machine I was going to mention it to the dealer on my first oil change.
Bob

[KX5062]

Might also want to have the alignment checked as well as the mechanical parts of the front end.

KYSPYDER

That would be my suggestion too. I had no idea my 08 was out of alignment at first, but then noticed weird and premature tire wear. Got the ROLO alignment (thanks again to Squared Away!) and was amazed at the difference. Fast forward. I now have a 2014 RT and immediately noticed the alignment is out, as based upon my previous experiences. I noticed that by way of vibration through the bars at certain speeds and driving conditions. I now have an appointment with Squared Away (Joe and Anne) for the ROLO method. ;)

[spyder-dude]

Got a phone call from my dealer today. They already replaced the front tires previously and it didn't fix it. They ended up getting approval to take a brand new set of tires and rims from a spyder they just un-crated.

Guess what.....Vibration problem is fixed according to them! I am waiting for my new Kumo rear tire to arrive next Tuesday and will confirm this when I test drive it.

Also heard about a campaign that BRP will be issuing soon about their crappy kenda tires related to this issue. I wish BRP would learn to stop using junk parts on their spyders as it is affecting their name and reputation with the spyders! I know a lot of car manufacturers that use to use crap tires and it affected their reputation and now they use some of the best tires and their customers are much happier!

[wis2013rtltd]

Got a phone call from my dealer today. They already replaced the front tires previously and it didn't fix it. They ended up getting approval to take a brand new set of tires and rims from a spyder they just un-crated.

Guess what.....Vibration problem is fixed according to them! I am waiting for my new Kumo rear tire to arrive next Tuesday and will confirm this when I test drive it.

Also heard about a campaign that BRP will be issuing soon about their crappy kenda tires related to this issue. I wish BRP would learn to stop using junk parts on their spyders as it is affecting their name and reputation with the spyders! I know a lot of car manufacturers that use to use crap tires and it affected their reputation and now they use some of the best tires and their customers are much happier!

continue to follow the campaign on the tires. DO you have any further knowledge of the campaign on the tires? I complained to my dealer that the silver colored wheel weights that encompass half the circumference of both of my front tires are visually not appealing on the black rims and makes me wonder about the OEM rim and tire quality. I will continue to follow, and thanks for the update..

[Bob Denman]

Got a phone call from my dealer today. They already replaced the front tires previously and it didn't fix it. They ended up getting approval to take a brand new set of tires and rims from a spyder they just un-crated.

Guess what.....Vibration problem is fixed according to them! I am waiting for my new Kumo rear tire to arrive next Tuesday and will confirm this when I test drive it.

Also heard about a campaign that BRP will be issuing soon about their crappy kenda tires related to this issue. I wish BRP would learn to stop using junk parts on their spyders as it is affecting their name and reputation with the spyders! I know a lot of car manufacturers that use to use crap tires and it affected their reputation and now they use some of the best tires and their customers are much happier!

Glad to hear that a solution has been found! :2thumbs:
And waiting to hear more about BRP's response to their tire problem... and ours! :shocked:

[iSpyder]

Got a phone call from my dealer today. They already replaced the front tires previously and it didn't fix it. They ended up getting approval to take a brand new set of tires and rims from a spyder they just un-crated.

Guess what.....Vibration problem is fixed according to them! I am waiting for my new Kumo rear tire to arrive next Tuesday and will confirm this when I test drive it.

Also heard about a campaign that BRP will be issuing soon about their crappy kenda tires related to this issue. I wish BRP would learn to stop using junk parts on their spyders as it is affecting their name and reputation with the spyders! I know a lot of car manufacturers that use to use crap tires and it affected their reputation and now they use some of the best tires and their customers are much happier!

I had a terrible shimmy on my 2012 Spyder. Took it in to the mechanic twice and they aligned. Didn't work. They blamed it on "Harmonic Resonance." I know what that is and this was much worse than that. Finally I took it to another Spyder shop and they measured tread depth. One tire was wearing much worse than the other. I am pretty sure it was because I was not careful enough keeping tires inflated to the same pressure (yes I ordered JT's dual fill device since then :p). They installed a new set of tires and aligned/balanced and it took care of the problem. :agree: BRP ought to put better tires on to start with.

[Ronbo]

I have had a major vibration since going to Springfield MO for Spyderfest. It seems to be at speeds 45-60mph and coming from the front tires that are wobbling bad on the roads.

I just had my new local dealer replace both front tires under warranty thinking they were defective kenda tires. It did seem to get a little better after this but still really bad at 50-55.

I swapped tires and rims with my buddy who has the identical bike with no difference in the vibrations.

I had Elka shocks put on at Spyderfest and today swapped back to stock shocks to try to eliminate the problem but it didn't fix it....it didn't vibrate as bad though.

The only other thing I am going to do is have the belt adjusted again by the dealer as it does seem to be a bit tight by the feel of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their 13 or 14 RT and if so what fixed it?????

Smooth spyder bely tensioner? Belt tensioner

[Ronbo]

I have had a major vibration since going to Springfield MO for Spyderfest. It seems to be at speeds 45-60mph and coming from the front tires that are wobbling bad on the roads.

I just had my new local dealer replace both front tires under warranty thinking they were defective kenda tires. It did seem to get a little better after this but still really bad at 50-55.

I swapped tires and rims with my buddy who has the identical bike with no difference in the vibrations.

I had Elka shocks put on at Spyderfest and today swapped back to stock shocks to try to eliminate the problem but it didn't fix it....it didn't vibrate as bad though.

The only other thing I am going to do is have the belt adjusted again by the dealer as it does seem to be a bit tight by the feel of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their 13 or 14 RT and if so what fixed it?????
Belt tensioner
Smooth spyder bely tensioner?

[spyder-dude]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the front tires and rims defiantly fixed the issue. I actually think it was just the tires that was actually the problem. They ended up putting 2 sets on it but thinking tires with date code prior to 2014-04 (Week 4) are the issues. The new tires/rims have 2014-06. Also the vibration that I thought was belt related at 70-72 is no longer there also.

I did end up putting the Kuhmo tire on the rear and now have no issues. I haven't had the spyder for 3 weeks as waiting for BRP to approve the issue with the dealer and waiting for the a replacement rear tire to arrive.

:) :) :) :) :)

Took my 8 year old son out for a spyder ride to dinner and my wife drove the car last night. I mentioned to him as we where getting ready to leave that it looks like it might rain and he said that is ok. Sure enough we get to the restaurant and it starts heavy raining. Needless to say I ended up riding home on the spyder by myself as he went with his mom :(

[Air Wing Guy]

I have had a major vibration since going to Springfield MO for Spyderfest. It seems to be at speeds 45-60mph and coming from the front tires that are wobbling bad on the roads.

I just had my new local dealer replace both front tires under warranty thinking they were defective kenda tires. It did seem to get a little better after this but still really bad at 50-55.

I swapped tires and rims with my buddy who has the identical bike with no difference in the vibrations.

I had Elka shocks put on at Spyderfest and today swapped back to stock shocks to try to eliminate the problem but it didn't fix it....it didn't vibrate as bad though.

The only other thing I am going to do is have the belt adjusted again by the dealer as it does seem to be a bit tight by the feel of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their 13 or 14 RT and if so what fixed it?????
We have created a belt stabilizer that will solve your vibration problems.
Watch the videos below :)

Thank You

http://youtu.be/MbAu3S1-KRo

http://youtu.be/fPZA4sKHSkY

[spyder-dude]

Just an FYI the belt stabilizer wouldn't have fixed this issue as it was bad tires. BRP has confirmed that they had a large batch of bad tires from the manufacturer and will be doing a bulletin to the dealers soon.

[Bob Denman]

Glad to hear that the source of the problem was found and fixed! :2thumbs: