Floorboards 2014 RT SM6

I posted about this a while back but I'm still having some issues so I thought I'd ask for some more help. My previous issue was / is that if I tighten up the the LHS floorboard so that there is zero movement, the gear shift lever also becomes tight, so I have to leave it slightly loose. Since these (Rivco) floorboards fit in exactly the same way that the original pegs do, I'm at a loss to come up with some reason for this. I have no issues with the RHS board.

My dealer isn't happy with the setup and wants me to put the pegs back on but for physical reasons I would find it difficult to ride on pegs. In any case, given that they both fit the same way, why wouldn't the same issue occur, whether I had boards or pegs?

I'm sure that there are others out there who have fitted these boards without issues, so I don't blame the manufacturer but I'd really like to know what I have done wrong. Maybe I've lost a part?

The gear shift mechanism rotates around the bolt which holds the pegs/boards and under the head of the bolt there is a flat washer which sits against the gear change mechanism, so the bolt has to be left slightly loose to avoid tightening the gear shift mechanism. I have spoken to Rivco and to be fair, they offered to let me speak to their owner but I had to decline because my hearing is just not good enough for phone conversations; since then I haven't heard anything from them.

I'm raising this again more in hope than expectation but any input is more than welcome.

Robert

I have the web mini boards, and the bolt holding the peg had to be removed to install the heel toe shifter. That caused me the same issue that you mentioned. I had to loosen my peg also. I will be just keeping an eye on it, and probably adding locktite once I find the perfect tq. for the bolt.

Thanks for that reply. Whilst I'm not happy that you have the same issue, it's good to feel that I'm not alone!

Robert

Hi!
I'm not familiar with the SM-5 setup... :opps:
But if the shifter pivots on the mounting bolt for the pegs; it must have some sort of collar that the bolt goes through...
Could you take a file to that collar, and make it just a wee bit shorter? Would that give you the clearance that you need for the floorboards? :dontknow:

Or would that just create other problems? :shocked:

If the shifter has a collar (inside) you may need to lengthen it so that it has free space at it's ends as you tighten the bolt.
My thoughts based on my floorboard installation - a spacer fell out and my brake pedal got tight.
Tip

Can somebody please post a picture of this are of the bike? It might help us figure out what needs to be done.

I don't have a picture right now, but there is a bushing on the heel toe shifter that is different from the one on the stock shifter. But there is a thick rubber washer that is compressed when you tighten the peg mount bolt (which goes through the shifter also). If you tighten it too much and compress the washer too much, then the shifter will not return like it should. After loosening the nut to where the rubber washer was compressed a little, everything was fine. I will keep an eye on it though.

If what you're calling a "Bushing", and what I called a "collar" are the same thing... this is easy! :thumbup:
Just file the ends down on the bushing/collar thingie, so that it is not as wide. Once it has a little more free space; you should be able to tighten things down, without it binding...

Thanks for all the helpful replies. At the moment, I can't get under the bike to take a photo (bad back) but what is frustrating is that I can't find a drawing of the manual shift lever and where it connects to the gearbox. If I could, it would help to know what all the parts are and where they should go. I have looked several times but maybe someone else could have a look for the drawing as well?

This should really be no different from the original peg set up as the heel shifter just bolts to the original shifter. There is a type of bushing or collar which sits inside the cylindrical part of the mechanism and the bolt goes through this. The bolt is a loose fit, so taking material out of the bushing won't help. The problem comes about when the washer under the bolt head contacts the end of the cylindrical part and makes the shift lever too tight.

Whew! I hope what I've written is understandable.

Robert

The way that you've described it sure seems to fit with my theory... :thumbup:

It sounds like to me that the bushing or sleeve is not long enough, thus when you tighten it up it binds on the shifter mechanism. I don't have a manual shifter and I'm not real smart sometimes but my suggestion would be that the sleeve or bushing needs to be a little longer perhaps, so when you tighten everything up its makes contact with the bushing/ sleeve rather than binding against the shift mechanism. Hope this makes sense.

Yes l had the same problem, l installed a heel toe shifter then the rivco floorboard on my RTs-sm6. The shifter was stiff and hard to shift. I took it apart and installed flat washer on both sides of shaft or bolt then used stock bolt from right side to install. The rivco bolt seemed to short to me. It fixed my problem, shifts great!

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Originally Posted by denniswheat1

Yes l had the same problem, l installed a heel toe shifter then the rivco floorboard on my RTs-sm6. The shifter was stiff and hard to shift. I took it apart and installed flat washer on both sides of shaft or bolt then used stock bolt from right side to install. The rivco bolt seemed to short to me. It fixed my problem, shifts great!

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Sorry, l didn't get the fix worded right. To start with l had to cut a inch off the right side bolt to get it out. Then the rivco bolt was to short so went to store for longer one. So l used the right side rivco bolt for the fix on left side, it worked great for me. Quite happy with floorboards now!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by denniswheat1

Sorry, l didn't get the fix worded right. To start with l had to cut a inch off the right side bolt to get it out. Then the rivco bolt was to short so went to store for longer one. So l used the right side rivco bolt for the fix on left side, it worked great for me. Quite happy with floorboards now!

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Yes, I did exactly what you did, had to cut the bolt on the RHS and bought another one. I think that Rivco don't realise that the 2014s are different from earlier models. When you say that you installed the 2 flat washers at both ends of the "shaft" for want of a better word, how tight did you make the bolt? I find that the flat washers are the same outer diameter as the shaft or cylindrical part and tightening the bolt still makes the shifter too tight. Also, did you install the supplied spring washer (you may know it as a lock washer)? My feeble engineering skills lead me to believe that if I tighten everything enough to flatten the spring washer, the bolt shouldn't back out.

Just to complicate things a bit further, I find that, as the bike heats up from riding, the whole mechanism tightens further, making shifting more difficult so I need to take that into account when tightening the bolt.

Robert

I put flat washer on both ends but no lock washer, did tighten it up quite a bit. Was going to use locktite but didn't want to take apart again as it works fine. Will keep a close eye on the floorboards if it gets loose will use locktite. Hope you can get it working in the near future.

Bob, I think you mean sleeve. Bolts that hold an item that moves go through a sleeve.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by denniswheat1

I put flat washer on both ends but no lock washer, did tighten it up quite a bit. Was going to use locktite but didn't want to take apart again as it works fine. Will keep a close eye on the floorboards if it gets loose will use locktite. Hope you can get it working in the near future.

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Dennis, sorry to keep asking you questions but can you tell me whether you now have any movement in the boards, particularly fore and aft? I have about half an inch both ways on the shifter side but no movement on the brake side.

Also what size are the flat washers?

Robert

OK, my floorboards do not move. They are tight both sides. Maybe the bolt you're using is to long and bottoming out inside the floorboard mount before it tightens up everything. I've been thinking this over and l remember the floorboard mount fits against the framework in only one way, l was very careful when tightening it up so it stayed in position. It could get everything in a bind if not seated properly. The washers may not beenwhat fixed my problem but the correct position of the mount was the fix??? I didn't take it back apart to add loctite because it works fine now, hope it doesn't loosen up down the road. Will carry a whench with me in case!! By the way the washer was the standard size to fit the bolt.

Thanks, Dennis and everyone else for your input. I think I have now tried everything that I reasonably can. I guess, for now, I'll just leave it slightly loose and check it each time before I ride as part of my usual routine. I know the dealer will have kittens again at the next service but I'm not going back to pegs a/ because they don't physically suit me and b/ since the boards and pegs fit the same way, I don't see it helping.

Thanks again to all of you, especially Dennis who I have bombarded with questions over the last week or so.

Robert

We had a shed day here yesterday, where we gather to tell lies and do work on the Spyders of those who aren't experienced in these machines. Anyway, one of our members, Adrian (you may have seen some of his DIY videos), spotted the problem. The 2014s, unlike previous models, have bearings for the gearshifter and the washers that I was using were a fraction too large and were impinging on the rotating part of the mechanism. Smaller washers installed, everything tightened up, zero movement in the floorboards and now the gear changes are perfect. My advice for anyone fitting these Rivco floorboards is - don't use washers any bigger than the head of the bolt.

Makes me wonder how the dealer mechanics couldn't spot this.

Robert

:congrats: Glad to hear that this mystery has been solved! :thumbup:

Glad you got it fixed! I was lucky l must have used the right size washer the first time as l still have a shifter that works fine. Nothing has loosened up on me yet. Now just waiting for good weather to ride . Good luck and safe rideing!! Dennis

Thanks, Dennis. I must have picked up a couple of the wrong size washers off the floor and being such a simple fix makes me feel a bit stupid but sometimes it just takes a fresh pair of eyes. Went on a 400km ride to the magnificent Widden Valley today and it's changing like a new one (or as we sometimes say here, like a bought one).

Robert