front end death wobble

My 2010 RT SE5 has always had a slight wobble at 43 mph. I was told that this was a characteristic to that model. Either slowing down slightly or going slight faster always stopped the wobble.

Fast forward to April 19, 2018. While riding on a straight level road at 40 mph the front end started to wobble a bit. Thinking that this was just its normal quirk, I gave it some throttle and increased the speed to 46 mph. The wobble got progressively worse to the point that I was fighting with the bars to not go into oncoming traffic or the ditch. Both front wheels were vibrating at least 6 inches from vertical. I then slowly let off on the throttle and the horrendous wobble didn't stop until 36 mph.

I immediately took it to my dealer and his tech was able to replicate the malfunction in less than a mile. They have had it now for 4 business days and cannot find the cause. The service manager has opened a case with Can-Am.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how was it rectified? All suggestions/ideas appreciated.:helpsmilie:
And BTW, the bike has less than 17,000 miles on it and has always been garaged.
Thanks.

Vibrations we see alot but the wobble you are experiencing is something else. Hard to say but they should be able to find something that crazy. Many front end components that could cause or allow this to occur. But to mention a few....tire air pressure, tire balance, tires themselves, DPS, all the suspension and steering joints etc. Glad they were able to duplicate the problem as so many times they make it seem you are the only one that has the problem...Let us know what they find....:gaah:

Did it go into Limp Mode? Did you try to pull up a code before you shut down the engine? Sounds to me like the Yaw Positioning Sensor has bit the dust. I think the code is C0063. My Spyder did a similar thing, but only once at about 75 mph, and that was enough for me. Thought I was gonna have to change my shorts.

What tires do you have on the front and how many miles on them? If your dealer has a Spyder with 14” wheels there I’d ask them to try them on your Spyder and see if that takes care of the problem. When i had my 10RT it was fine one day then the next day I had the wobble and shaking at 45 mph. New tires took care of the issue. Your tread may look fine but if the tires are cupping you need new ones.

:agree: Check to see what a different set of front tires do!! Even if you can't see or feel any irregularities on the current tires, there can still be irregularities in their construction/manufacture that result in just what you describe.... :yikes:

Sadly, the OE Kenda tires seem to be more prone to this sort of issue than just about any other tire!! I take it that at 17,000 miles you are still on the original front Kendas?? Might be a good time to toss them & fit something better.... and IMO, just about ANY other tire appropriately sized, load, & speed rated tire WILL be better in all respects! :shocked:

I've heard of a few with ball joints issues... just something to add to the list of potential culprits...

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Originally Posted by Peter Aawen

:agree: Check to see what a different set of front tires do!! Even if you can't see or feel any irregularities on the current tires, there can still be irregularities in their construction/manufacture that result in just what you describe.... :yikes:

Sadly, the OE Kenda tires seem to be more prone to this sort of issue than just about any other tire!! I take it that at 17,000 miles you are still on the original front Kendas?? Might be a good time to toss them & fit something better.... and IMO, just about ANY other tire appropriately sized, load, & speed rated tire WILL be better in all respects! :shocked:

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:agree::agree::agree: .... I think one or both tires have some sort of internal belt issue ......... It is well known here that the Kenda tires have an unusually large number of defective tires compared to Auto tires .... I just purchased and mounted 8 tires ( for my truck ) ...the only balancing I did was to line the Red dot with the Valve stem on the wheel .... they run true and NO Vibes ....... Mike :thumbup:

This could be so many different things. With what they described sounds like bad tires, or if it has done it from new could be a defective rim. Has seen this on a auto one time. Found a bad casting in the rim. Tried to balance just the rim and never would balance out with normal weights. Sure hope they post what was found doing this. I once had a back tire on a auto that was real bad and would make my steering wheel go crazy. Would have thought without a doubt it was in the front end. Once the bad tire was replaced and balanced drove like a new car.
David

Definitely sounds like a Tire/Wheel problems. :coffee: Let us know what you find. :thumbup:

Ok, here is a list of things to check:
tires, pressure, wear, cupping.
Lugnuts tight?
Jack up front end, grab and shake front wheels to check ball joints.
check tie rods jam nuts for tightness.
Jack up back end, spin wheel to check alignment. If belt walks more than 3/16”, it needs to be aligned.
Have a shop with Rolo laser alignment system check the front end alignment.
Check for bent frame.
Or, bring it to Spyderfest next week and I’ll do all that for you! Joe

The condition you describe is obviously dangerous. After looking at your bike for 4 days and not being able to diagnose such an obvious condition speaks loudly about your dealer. I assume your dealer has checked the condition of the mechanics for your suspension and steering systems. With all of that being OK, the next place to look is at the tires. Tread and/or belt separation sometimes cannot be seen just by looking. However, that separation can produce the condition you are experiencing. I had tread separation on my OEM Kenda front tires at less than 10K miles. If you search you will find this is not an uncommon problem and an informed mechanic should be well aware of this. Keep us posted and good luck.....

Any news on the Spyder RYDE Wobble? :coffee: Tires? Wheels? :thumbup: Something else?

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Originally Posted by SilverSpyder

My 2010 RT SE5 has always had a slight wobble at 43 mph. I was told that this was a characteristic to that model. Either slowing down slightly or going slight faster always stopped the wobble.

Fast forward to April 19, 2018. While riding on a straight level road at 40 mph the front end started to wobble a bit. Thinking that this was just its normal quirk, I gave it some throttle and increased the speed to 46 mph. The wobble got progressively worse to the point that I was fighting with the bars to not go into oncoming traffic or the ditch. Both front wheels were vibrating at least 6 inches from vertical. I then slowly let off on the throttle and the horrendous wobble didn't stop until 36 mph.

I immediately took it to my dealer and his tech was able to replicate the malfunction in less than a mile. They have had it now for 4 business days and cannot find the cause. The service manager has opened a case with Can-Am.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how was it rectified? All suggestions/ideas appreciated.:helpsmilie:
And BTW, the bike has less than 17,000 miles on it and has always been garaged.
Thanks.

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Not sure if this is your problem, but I had this happen once on a vehicle and it only happened after I was in stop and go or using the brakes a lot. Other than that no issue at all. I took it into the shop and they could not make it happen, and it happened again when I had stop and go traffic and braking a lot. Went back to garage we simulated the condition and it happened again. We found out it was the calipers sticking when brakes used a lot. Had to replace the calipers.

Let me tell you it was all I could do to hold the steering and the whole front end was shaking.

The dealer called me on Saturday and said that the bike was all fixed and ready to go. No charge

It seems that the new DPS module (to the tune of $2,200) they had installed the week before had either not been programmed correctly or had dumped its programming!

Seems like hog-wash, but what do I know? When I asked what more could go wrong I was told that the fuel pump could die! Since I recently had a new battery and rear tire installed, I'm not overly fond of the hits I've taken to my budget. Regardless, I don't trust that bike any more - it's been in the shop more in the past year than I've been able to ride it.

Now looking at the 2018 RT Ltd. Would appreciate any comments/suggestions/advice you have for me.

Thanks,
Allana

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Originally Posted by Little Blue

Any news on the Spyder RYDE Wobble? :coffee: Tires? Wheels? :thumbup: Something else?

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They said that when they replaced the DPS 2 weeks prior that either it had been calibrated wrong or that the new DPS had lost its calibration.

Been busy :coffee: but Thanks for the Update. I hope that you can find something else that will work for you. :thumbup: