26000 miles of fun and the first real problem

[Fatcycledaddy]

Well it finally happened. After little over 26,000 miles of fun, my wife and I were on a ride last night when I noticed that after stopping at a stop light, I heard a loud clunk 3 or 4 times. Shortly after that we noticed that the bike was bottoming out when we hit a bump, and the ride was horrible. I went to add air to the bag and got the dreaded "manual" on the display.
I pulled into a gas station, turned it off, let it set for a bit, restarted the bike, put it in gear, turned the parking brake off, and got the clunk noise again, then nothing. Waited about 30 seconds after that and the "manual" popped on the display again.
I manually added air but at the next stop sign the system let a little air out, and after 3 or more stops we were bottoming out again.
Dealer told me I could unplug the sensor for the air adjustment, add air to the bag, and then ride it until the compressor he ordered came in. Was told it should be about 1 week to get it and bike would be down one day for the replacement. First he is checking to see if the BEST warranty covers the compressor. I did have the compressor getting louder a few months ago and when I took it in they said it was OK and replaced an airline that was leaking.

That sounds reasonable to me, but do any of you know if there are any problems with unplugging the sensor and riding or if will truly hold air that way?

[Fatcycledaddy]

Well I am testing it out. I unplugged the switch added air and it is holding. Going on a ride to see how it works.
Will post results.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

IMHO , the bag should hold air for a lot longer than you experienced ..... Yes it may be the compressor ( if you don't hear it kick on ) .... Doc Humphries invented the Air Bag protector because the bottom gets tiny stones between it and the frame it's mounted on ..... look at His site for this item & explanation .......Mike

[Fatcycledaddy]

IMHO , the bag should hold air for a lot longer than you experienced ..... Yes it may be the compressor ( if you don't hear it kick on ) .... Doc Humphries invented the Air Bag protector because the bottom gets tiny stones between it and the frame it's mounted on ..... look at His site for this item & explanation .......Mike

If I put air in the air bag and let it set overnight it doesn't lose any air. The weird part is even now with that switch disconnected when I hit the brakes causing the back end of the bike to raise or pick up on the back end of the bike I hear the air releasing in little spurts. It looks like that switch is not the only thing that controls the air.

[Peter Aawen]

..... That sounds reasonable to me, but do any of you know if there are any problems with unplugging the sensor and riding or if will truly hold air that way?

Doing this Works fine!

Well, it did for me, anyway.... for over 3000 kms!! YMMV, but if the bag's not leaking & the valve is still OK, you should be fine for as long as you need to be, or until one of those other things gives up the ghost!

Good Luck!

Ps, are you sure you want to replace the pretty basic BRP compressor with another one just as likely to burn out if it hasta run for 5 mins?? I'd recommend one of the VIAIR 95 replacements, almost completely a 'form, fit, & function' replacement; the only exceptions being the 95's round vs BRP's flattened cross section, easily fixed with 2 longer & readily available screws; & the orientation of the outlet & valve on top of the pump, also easily fixed by 'clocking' the pump section thru 15 or 45 mins on the top of the motor, to swing the outlet & valve around to the same aspect as that of the OE compressor.... over there, (where you are) the VIAIR is available cheaper'n the OE unit; and it is not only rated for higher pressures than the OE unit,, but it's also rated to run CONTINUOUSLY too, so if you plumb it in the right way & it'll pump your Spyder tires up (good pressure, but only a smallish volume of air moved by the pump, so it'll take a minute, but it does it!) and even your 42" truck tires if you want to wait for it (note the small volume comment, but it WILL do it - eventually!) cos it just keeps on running! The VIAIR unit won't ever fail just cos it ran too often or for too long like the OE Compressor does!

[Fatcycledaddy]

Doing this Works fine!

Well, it did for me, anyway.... for over 3000 kms!! YMMV, but if the bag's not leaking & the valve is still OK, you should be fine for as long as you need to be, or until one of those other things gives up the ghost!

Good Luck!

Ps, are you sure you want to replace the pretty basic BRP compressor with another one just as likely to burn out if it hasta run for 5 mins?? I'd recommend one of the VIAIR 95 replacements, almost completely a 'form, fit, & function' replacement; the only exceptions being the 95's round vs BRP's flattened cross section, easily fixed with 2 longer & readily available screws; & the orientation of the outlet & valve on top of the pump, also easily fixed by 'clocking' the pump section thru 15 or 45 mins on the top of the motor, to swing the outlet & valve around to the same aspect as that of the OE compressor.... over there, (where you are) the VIAIR is available cheaper'n the OE unit; and it is not only rated for higher pressures than the OE unit,, but it's also rated to run CONTINUOUSLY too, so if you plumb it in the right way & it'll pump your Spyder tires up (good pressure, but only a smallish volume of air moved by the pump, so it'll take a minute, but it does it!) and even your 42" truck tires if you want to wait for it (note the small volume comment, but it WILL do it - eventually!) cos it just keeps on running! The VIAIR unit won't ever fail just cos it ran too often or for too long like the OE Compressor does!

I have read the reviews on that compressor and was thinking about that. My only thing is if it is replaced under warranty then I don't want to pay for one. I am cheap

[PW2013STL]

I have read the reviews on that compressor and was thinking about that. My only thing is if it is replaced under warranty then I don't want to pay for one. I am cheap

Mine was covered by the BEST warranty, but it's not free as there is a $50 deductible.

[Fatcycledaddy]

Mine was covered by the BEST warranty, but it's not free as there is a $50 deductible.

Yeah I was aware of that. I wonder if having it in for problems with a noisy compressed before the factory warranty expired in July will have any bearing on it.

[Fatcycledaddy]

Well I added air to the system at 8:30 last night, this morning at 7:00 it had lost 2 pounds. I can't say all of that leaked out, there was a 30 degree temp swing in my garage from last night to this morning that could have contributed to that also.
I still don't understand why air would be releasing when the back is raised with the position sensor unplugged.

[Fatcycledaddy]

I was reading about the air system and see that when a position sensor is replaced you have to re calibrate it in the BUDS system.
Does anyone know then if the last position the sensor was at when the bike was shut off placed in memory?
When I disconnected the position sensor the bike had only 16 PSI in the bag, could that be why it is letting air out when a run it up to 70 PSI now?
Could that be why I am hearing the solenoid valve release air now even with the sensor unplugged?
It is not a steady leak, but a click spurt, click spurt like it is trying to level the bike.

[larryd]

You need to unplug the dump valve (a 2 wire plug under the right center panel) and the air system will work manually on the RTS & RTL bikes...When you put air in the system thru the under the seat valve it should stay in unless you have a leak...When my air comp. failed this is what I did and I rode my Spyder for 2 weeks until the park came in...

[Fatcycledaddy]

You need to unplug the dump valve (a 2 wire plug under the right center panel) and the air system will work manually on the RTS & RTL bikes...When you put air in the system thru the under the seat valve it should stay in unless you have a leak...When my air comp. failed this is what I did and I rode my Spyder for 2 weeks until the park came in...

THANKS MUCH!!! LARRYD to the rescue, I will plug the position sensor back in and unplug the dump valve.

Why didn't I think of that!

I didn't want to lose these last warm riding days we are having in Michigan.

[irvin48]

just curious. how do you get to the dump valve connector? you refer to the center console.
i assume you era talking about the switches console. just trying to get ready for the inevitable. on the air sensor, are you disconnecting the height sensor on the left side?
never had the problem yet but if im on the road , i want to be able to do something about it.
thank you for any and all help.

[Fatcycledaddy]

just curious. how do you get to the dump valve connector? you refer to the center console.
i assume you era talking about the switches console. just trying to get ready for the inevitable. on the air sensor, are you disconnecting the height sensor on the left side?
never had the problem yet but if im on the road , i want to be able to do something about it.
thank you for any and all help.

He said right center panel not console, so looking at the schematic below, I take it that the switch is under the center or side panel on the right side. Looking at the second schematic I am assuming that valve he is talking about is what I I marked in yellow. That is the only other wires I see other than the compressor and positioning sensor.
Positioning sensor is on the left side just to the inside and slightly above the drive belt, slightly in front of the rear wheel.
I will takes some pics and post them when I disconnect it.
I know that if this happened once it can happen again, and I like you want to be able to do something to keep me going until I can get it fixed. Information like that can be invaluable when on a trip.

[irvin48]

thank you, kind sir.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Well I added air to the system at 8:30 last night, this morning at 7:00 it had lost 2 pounds. I can't say all of that leaked out, there was a 30 degree temp swing in my garage from last night to this morning that could have contributed to that also.
I still don't understand why air would be releasing when the back is raised with the position sensor unplugged.

I have a 14 RT with the cheapo manual fill ( ie. no compressor ) I rarely need to add air, unless I need to change it to accommodate increased weight ........ Mike

[Fatcycledaddy]

I have a 14 RT with the cheapo manual fill ( ie. no compressor ) I rarely need to add air, unless I need to change it to accommodate increased weight ........ Mike

Increased weight from all those ribs you make me drool over?
I read those recipes and it makes me go toss something on the smoker to eat. Yep, my weight went up a little lately, smoked turkey breast, goose breast, pork butt........hmmmmm good!


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[larryd]

He said right center panel not console, so looking at the schematic below, I take it that the switch is under the center or side panel on the right side. Looking at the second schematic I am assuming that valve he is talking about is what I I marked in yellow. That is the only other wires I see other than the compressor and positioning sensor.
Positioning sensor is on the left side just to the inside and slightly above the drive belt, slightly in front of the rear wheel.
I will takes some pics and post them when I disconnect it.
I know that if this happened once it can happen again, and I like you want to be able to do something to keep me going until I can get it fixed. Information like that can be invaluable when on a trip.

That's it...I ended up cutting the ground wire going to the dump valve and put a quick disconnect under the seat just in case I have a failure on the road...I just unplug the insulated quick disconnect and air up the bag with my portable 12 volt air compressor and ride on...(Hopefully) larryd