LAser Alignmet

[Bogie]

AS I am waiting for the warmer weather here in Michigan, I am planning on road trip to get a laser alignment.
My question to the group is where is the nearest dealer that does them?
Thanks,
Bogie

[PW2013STL]

AS I am waiting for the warmer weather here in Michigan, I am planning on road trip to get a laser alignment.
My question to the group is where is the nearest dealer that does them?
Thanks,
Bogie

None listed for Michigan. How about checking this and see if anyone is close.


http://www.spydercomfort.com/dealers.htm

[Chupaca]

get some ryders together and get in touch with Squared Away....they will travel to your area...:thumbup:

[vondalyn]

If you don't have a place that does laser alignments nearby, you may want to consider this before you pull the trigger on it.

I had it done earlier this year by someone who was willing to come to Colorado and do it for a group of people who needed it done. The alignment was great and I was really happy with it.

Then I needed a new back tire, so I got the new tire at the dealership (who doesn't do laser alignments). All of a sudden I had vibration show up when I was going about 45 mph. Sometimes it was mild and I could speed up or slow down to get through it. Sometimes it got bad enough that the tires bounced and the whole spyder shimmied. It was very disconcerting and I nearly pulled over when this happened. I mentioned it to the dealership when I went in for regular service (had to get the new back tire before my regular service interval) so they did their "regular" alignment and said that the front tires were worn differently and there was still a little vibration in that same mph range and would likely continue until the tire wear changed enough. Since they did their alignment I haven't ever experienced the tire bounce again, but there is still a bit of vibration around 45 just like they said there would be. Nothing major or scary.

My lesson learned from this is that I probably want to stick with my dealership's alignment unless I have regular access to the laser alignment. Your mileage/experience may vary.

If I had new tires all the way around or at least a new back tire, I'd probably do the laser alignment, but I will definitely be keeping this in mind going forward.

[Cruzr Joe]

If you don't have a place that does laser alignments nearby, you may want to consider this before you pull the trigger on it.

I had it done earlier this year by someone who was willing to come to Colorado and do it for a group of people who needed it done. The alignment was great and I was really happy with it.

Then I needed a new back tire, so I got the new tire at the dealership (who doesn't do laser alignments). All of a sudden I had vibration show up when I was going about 45 mph. Sometimes it was mild and I could speed up or slow down to get through it. Sometimes it got bad enough that the tires bounced and the whole spyder shimmied. It was very disconcerting and I nearly pulled over when this happened. I mentioned it to the dealership when I went in for regular service (had to get the new back tire before my regular service interval) so they did their "regular" alignment and said that the front tires were worn differently and there was still a little vibration in that same mph range and would likely continue until the tire wear changed enough. Since they did their alignment I haven't ever experienced the tire bounce again, but there is still a bit of vibration around 45 just like they said there would be. Nothing major or scary.

My lesson learned from this is that I probably want to stick with my dealership's alignment unless I have regular access to the laser alignment. Your mileage/experience may vary.

If I had new tires all the way around or at least a new back tire, I'd probably do the laser alignment, but I will definitely be keeping this in mind going forward.



This sounds strange to me because i had a rear tire changed long after my Laser Alignment and never had any of the problems that you mentioned. Not doubting your experience just stating mine.


Cruzr Joe

[pitzerwm]

Just a thought, the uneven wear on the front tires should cause some issue by themselves wouldn't they? I don't see what a new back tire would play into it, but maybe the new back tire wasn't quite aligned right and after the dealer "adjusted" it, you were back to near normal.

[vondalyn]

I have no ideas on why the new back tire would change things, I'm just saying what happened. I also know that the "normal" alignment that the dealership does have a different toe-in/toe-out measurement (which you'd expect). This would cause the front tires to wear differently than they had previously.

I just know that it has caused me to re-evaluate whether I'll get a laser alignment on tires that are part/most of the way through their life cycle since I don't have easy access to a laser alignment whenever I want one.

[Gray Ghost]

I have no ideas on why the new back tire would change things, I'm just saying what happened.

Laser alignment is done off the back wheel, not the frame. If the back wheel was not back in the same alignment as when you had the alignment done, it would change your alignment.

[robmorg]

Laser alignment is done off the back wheel, not the frame. If the back wheel was not back in the same alignment as when you had the alignment done, it would change your alignment. When they do a laser alignment, don't they make sure the rear wheel is properly aligned first? If not, and a laser alignment simply aligns the front wheels to the back, then does that mean that if your back wheel is not aligned properly when they do the procedure, then all three wheels end up out of alignment? :shocked:

That doesn't make sense, so what am I missing here?

[Gator37]

Why doesn't Can Am do a proper alignmet in the factory before they put out a product? Seems like it's not finished till it's properly aligned and ready to go.

[Orange Spyder Man]

Why doesn't Can Am do a proper alignmet in the factory before they put out a product? Seems like it's not finished till it's properly aligned and ready to go.

because they can get away without aligning spyders... (in other words they save money)

osm

[SpyderAnn01]

If you don't have a place that does laser alignments nearby, you may want to consider this before you pull the trigger on it.

I had it done earlier this year by someone who was willing to come to Colorado and do it for a group of people who needed it done. The alignment was great and I was really happy with it.

Then I needed a new back tire, so I got the new tire at the dealership (who doesn't do laser alignments). All of a sudden I had vibration show up when I was going about 45 mph. Sometimes it was mild and I could speed up or slow down to get through it. Sometimes it got bad enough that the tires bounced and the whole spyder shimmied. It was very disconcerting and I nearly pulled over when this happened. I mentioned it to the dealership when I went in for regular service (had to get the new back tire before my regular service interval) so they did their "regular" alignment and said that the front tires were worn differently and there was still a little vibration in that same mph range and would likely continue until the tire wear changed enough. Since they did their alignment I haven't ever experienced the tire bounce again, but there is still a bit of vibration around 45 just like they said there would be. Nothing major or scary.

My lesson learned from this is that I probably want to stick with my dealership's alignment unless I have regular access to the laser alignment. Your mileage/experience may vary.

If I had new tires all the way around or at least a new back tire, I'd probably do the laser alignment, but I will definitely be keeping this in mind going forward.

What year is your Spyder? Also, how many miles did you have on the front tires when you had the alignment done or how many miles between it and when you had the rear tire changed? I ask because it sounds to me like your front tires were probably cupping and may have been when you had the alignment done. I had cupping tires on my first Spyder and it was like one day they were fine and the next I had a horrible vibration at 45. Just like you said it was scary.


Just a thought, the uneven wear on the front tires should cause some issue by themselves wouldn't they? I don't see what a new back tire would play into it, but maybe the new back tire wasn't quite aligned right and after the dealer "adjusted" it, you were back to near normal. And if the front tires were already worn unevenly when the alignment was done that could be very true.


When they do a laser alignment, don't they make sure the rear wheel is properly aligned first? If not, and a laser alignment simply aligns the front wheels to the back, then does that mean that if your back wheel is not aligned properly when they do the procedure, then all three wheels end up out of alignment? :shocked:

That doesn't make sense, so what am I missing here?

I can't speak for the other people who do alignments but when Squared Away does them we jack up each Spyder and spin the rear wheel to make sure that it is aligned. If not we adjust the belt.

I'll ask Joe to chime in on this thread, he is in continuing education for Motorcycle Safety Instructor this weekend so it may me Sunday evening before he does.

[GloryRyders]

My suggestion would be if you are not ryding your Spyder very much this winter, make plans to come to Spyderfest and there will be several vendors in house that can do it for you!:yes::2thumbs:

[cptjam]

The folks who installed the rear tire might have installed it a bit off, or, the tire wear in the front got to a point where it impacted on handling. The laser alignment was fine until someone else did something afterward. Not sure how the timeline crunches out, but the culprit here seems to be the folks who did the rear tire. If the dealership did a 4 hour outdated frame referenced alignment, and charged you for it, I can see the problem. If they claim they aligned it for free, then they simply aligned the rear wheel in the swing arm. Which is part of that process.

[Gray Ghost]

When they do a laser alignment, don't they make sure the rear wheel is properly aligned first? If not, and a laser alignment simply aligns the front wheels to the back, then does that mean that if your back wheel is not aligned properly when they do the procedure, then all three wheels end up out of alignment? :shocked:

That doesn't make sense, so what am I missing here?

Originally BRP aligned the fronts to the frame using a cumbersome procedure. That would be great if the rear wheel was in a fixed position, but it isn't. You have adjusters on each side to allow for tensioning the belt and getting it to sit properly on the sprockets. There is also a tolerance to the specifications. So in almost every case the rear wheel is not going to be perfectly aligned with the frame. To help visualizing this put three pencils or something similar in a Y configuration, parallel to each other. Then slightly cock the rear one to either side. If that was your Spyder, you can see how one front is toe-in and the other is toe-out referenced to the rear wheel.

So, let's say that the centers of your front hubs are 66" apart (just for illustration). I am going to set up targets 75" forward and 75" aft of the center of the hubs. By measuring over from the sides of the rear wheel, I can set the zero point on the targets 66" apart to that I now know where to set the angle of the front wheels so the vehicle is properly aligned. For most people this is done when the tie-rods are adjusted so that the laser hits the rear target 1/4" outboard of the zero point in respect to the rear wheel. This also puts the laser 1/4" inboard in respect to the front wheels, giving an overall toe-in of 1".

So, now that your Spyder is in alignment and tracking well, you need to remove your rear wheel for whatever reason. If you don't get it put back on exactly as it was set up before you have now changed the angle of the rear wheel to the fronts. I have realigned mine after dealers have had the rear off, and also when I have had the rear off. In all cases the difference was small, in the one case where I couldn't do the check for a couple of days, I didn't notice a difference in handling.

Added note: And I notice now that SpyderAnne and Joe type faster than I do.

[vondalyn]

I'm sold on the idea of the laser alignment, but we don't have anyone nearby. Can anyone give me advice on how we'd get what we need for this to do it ourselves. I see where to get the laser part, but how do you get access to BUDS and learn what to do?

[spyderbirds]

I'm sold on the idea of the laser alignment, but we don't have anyone nearby. Can anyone give me advice on how we'd get what we need for this to do it ourselves. I see where to get the laser part, but how do you get access to BUDS and learn what to do?

The same folks that supply the laser setup can assist you getting a seat of BUDS.

[Gator37]

What is the cost of a laser Alignment?

[STELLING MAN]

I called my dealer last week to see about getting a laser alignment done, he quoted me $125.00 to do mine. I want to get It done before Spyder Fest, hopefully within the next month or so..

[spyderbirds]

What is the cost of a laser Alignment?

Have heard of them priced from $75 to $150. Depends on by whom and where you get one.

[SpyderAnn01]

Vondalyn, you could get a lot of alignments done for the cost of the equipment and BUDS.

[vondalyn]

Vondalyn, you could get a lot of alignments done for the cost of the equipment and BUDS.
Yes, but if we get the equipment and get used to doing it, we could possibly offer that for folks in this area. Can't do it as a full time business, but we already have a business so it wouldn't be difficult to add that as a part time service to Spyders in the northern CO/southern WY area.

[Lamonster]

I've lost track of how many alignments I've done but I can tell you if you had a bounce after having the tires done it was the tires not the alignment unless the alignment was done wrong.

[vondalyn]

I've lost track of how many alignments I've done but I can tell you if you had a bounce after having the tires done it was the tires not the alignment unless the alignment was done wrong.

sequence of events:

1. laser alignment done (front tires less than halfway through their life, back tire most of the way through its life)
2. back tire replaced -- no alignment done to my knowledge -- not sure exactly what the tire replacement procedure is, but the paperwork did not mention an alignment
3. noticed vibration at approx 45 mph, sometimes with bounce
4. dealer did "old fashioned" alignment, some slight vibration still exists but minor and no bounce

[Lamonster]

sequence of events:

1. laser alignment done (front tires less than halfway through their life, back tire most of the way through its life)
2. back tire replaced -- no alignment done to my knowledge -- not sure exactly what the tire replacement procedure is, but the paperwork did not mention an alignment
3. noticed vibration at approx 45 mph, sometimes with bounce
4. dealer did "old fashioned" alignment, some slight vibration still exists but minor and no bounce

I've done both alignment procedures and the laser alignment is a approve procedure by BRP. So saying the old way verses the new way is better is just wrong. Going off the frame will only work if the frame is square with the wheels and I can tell you in most cases they are not. You know how they align them from the factory? Lasers off the wheels. The only reason there is an old way off the frame is because there wasn't a new way at the time aligning with the rear wheel.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=72804&d=1375127713

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=72934&d=1375294531

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=72936&d=1375294532

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=72937&d=1375294533

[vondalyn]

I've done both alignment procedures and the laser alignment is a approve procedure by BRP. So saying the old way verses the new way is better is just wrong. Going off the frame will only work if the frame is square with the wheels and I can tell you in most cases they are not. You know how they align them from the factory? Lasers off the wheels. The only reason there is an old way off the frame is because there wasn't a new way at the time aligning with the rear wheel.

I'm sorry if you or anyone else misunderstood -- I never said the old way was wrong, nor did I say the laser was wrong. All I said was that I have reconsidered whether I would do a "random" laser alignment just because it was suddenly available in my area. Random meaning part way through the life of my tires.

If I had regular access to a laser alignment, I'd do it with each tire change. Since I don't have access to it (my dealer does not have the equipment yet and I have no idea whether they plan to, even though I ask them about it every time the topic comes up), I'm thinking that I might be better off just sticking to the "old fashioned" alignment so I don't run into what happened again.

[Lamonster]

I'm sorry if you or anyone else misunderstood -- I never said the old way was wrong, nor did I say the laser was wrong. All I said was that I have reconsidered whether I would do a "random" laser alignment just because it was suddenly available in my area. Random meaning part way through the life of my tires.

If I had regular access to a laser alignment, I'd do it with each tire change. Since I don't have access to it (my dealer does not have the equipment yet and I have no idea whether they plan to, even though I ask them about it every time the topic comes up), I'm thinking that I might be better off just sticking to the "old fashioned" alignment so I don't run into what happened again.

There is no reason to do an alignment each time the tire is changed. The only reason to do an alignment after it was aligned right would be if a major front component was changed or compromised by and accident.

[latony007]

There is no reason to do an alignment each time the tire is changed. The only reason to do an alignment after it was aligned right would be if a major front component was changed or compromised by and accident.


So unlike a car the alignment is a one time thing? I find it hard to believe that with the 2nd largest population in the country and 12 months a year riding weather the closest place to southern california that does this is over 350 miles away.

[hillrider]

So - - will a 1/2 turn adjustment on the belt tracking/tension adjustment screw (one side only) cause a far enough deviation in rear wheel alignment to warrant the cost of a new laser adjustment?

thanks

Chuck

[Ronbo]

If you don't have a place that does laser alignments nearby, you may want to consider this before you pull the trigger on it.

I had it done earlier this year by someone who was willing to come to Colorado and do it for a group of people who needed it done. The alignment was great and I was really happy with it.

Then I needed a new back tire, so I got the new tire at the dealership (who doesn't do laser alignments). All of a sudden I had vibration show up when I was going about 45 mph. Sometimes it was mild and I could speed up or slow down to get through it. Sometimes it got bad enough that the tires bounced and the whole spyder shimmied. It was very disconcerting and I nearly pulled over when this happened. I mentioned it to the dealership when I went in for regular service (had to get the new back tire before my regular service interval) so they did their "regular" alignment and said that the front tires were worn differently and there was still a little vibration in that same mph range and would likely continue until the tire wear changed enough. Since they did their alignment I haven't ever experienced the tire bounce again, but there is still a bit of vibration around 45 just like they said there would be. Nothing major or scary.

My lesson learned from this is that I probably want to stick with my dealership's alignment unless I have regular access to the laser alignment. Your mileage/experience may vary.

If I had new tires all the way around or at least a new back tire, I'd probably do the laser alignment, but I will definitely be keeping this in mind going forward.

I had my rear tire replaced, no changes in ride and didn't have to have new laser alignment. Possibly new tire out of round? I can't get your situation to make sense to me. I'd sure get a second opinion from another source. Others on here may have suggestions on where to go. IMHO....GOOD LUCK!

Ron

[Orange Spyder Man]

Laser alignment is done off the back wheel, not the frame. If the back wheel was not back in the same alignment as when you had the alignment done, it would change your alignment.

I thinking about laser alignment for my 2014 RT with just a tick over 900 miles... my concern.. when tire replacement is needed... is laser alignment needed again ? what is the correct procedure to insure that alignment is preserved ?

osm

[Cruzr Joe]

I thinking about laser alignment for my 2014 RT with just a tick over 900 miles... my concern.. when tire replacement is needed... is laser alignment needed again ? what is the correct procedure to insure that alignment is preserved ?

osm


Had laser alignment done about 8 months ago, three new tires 10 days ago, no need for realignment as far as i can tell.


Cruzr Joe

[GunDoctor]

We obviously need some folks here in Ca. to offer laser alignment. Sounds like lots of potential customers are falling through the cracks.


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]

[SpyderAnn01]

We obviously need some folks here in Ca. to offer laser alignment. Sounds like lots of potential customers are falling through the cracks.


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]

Squared Away would be happy to come to Los Angeles to do alignments. We are looking at doing something in conjunction with the Bert's Mega Mall ride in May. We need 10 to 15 Spyders to make the trip.

[GunDoctor]

About 20 miles out from Bert's . We have 2 F3's


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]