Doc Humphrey's (Roadster Renovations) Belt Vibration Damper Installed. (No Pics)

[h0gr1der]

Long story short, if you have belt vibrations and the belt is set at the factory recommended 220-250 Lbs, you might ought to look at this vibration Dampener. Here's my take.

Bike came from the dealer with 220+ in the air tension on the belt. Belt was so tight the motor was slewed over, belt against the front left pulley flange and the rear pulley flange (right).

I lowered the tension to 160 lbs with the wheel up, noticed the vibration went from a 70-72 MPH constant teeth chattering harsh vibration down to around 60-65 MPH, with a much less harsh, softer tone to the vibration.

Encouraged by this, I lowered the belt tension to the minimum standard I'd ever seen, 120 Lbs with the wheel up. Vibration came down to 55-60 MPH, with a mild flutter on hills and acceleration. Most time smooth, but came and went with the load.

So I bought and installed a Roadster Renovations vibration damper. This is a top notch piece of equipment, and the installation took about 45 minutes including taking the panels off. He even includes a nice block to align the roller with the belt. Stainless steel arm, steel bracket, grossly overbuilt. Should last forever.

So the instructions say spin the wheel and/or ride it. I figured I couldn't observe the roller in action while riding, so I lifted the bike, parking brake off and in neutral, and used my variable speed 4" belt sander to spin the heck out of the wheel and belt. Hey, no codes! But then again, I was always doing things differently. Had to tweak it after the spin, get it perfect. Took it on my test run route, the miles I test tires and vibration on. No vibration. Smooth as it can be. Of course the engine still has vibration, I still have some tire shimmy, but all or almost all the belt vibration is absent.

So, seriously, my opinion only FWIW. Vibration, lower belt tension + Doc's damper= Problem Solved.

https://www.roadsterrenovations.info/products

[Navydad]

I run 160 set with wheel on the ground and Doc's dampener. I have 18,000 miles on the combination and I am very pleased with it.

[h0gr1der]

I think that was my wheel on the grand grand total, which includes about 8-10 lbs from the dampener.

[JimboRTS]

I just received a Service / Repair Manual for 2018 Spyder RT. The Technical Specifications show Belt Tension at 174lbs plus or minus 33.7 so the range would be 140.03 to 207.7. The post states belt tension range 220 to 250 lbs. So now I’m confused, what should the tension be set at?
Jim

[trikermutha]

DRIVE BELT TENSION (PARTS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE AND REAR OF VEHICLE LIFTED) 1050 N ± 150 N

This is what I pulled from my 2014 RT manual.

I thought I seen a bulletin awhile back that lowered the factory tension a bit?

[h0gr1der]

I've looked and seen pictures of the 2015 TSB, even requested someone to post a full size .pdf, but nothing. The 2018 service manual is missing a bunch of information, recommend upgrading to the 2019. In the drive section on both manuals it lists the 1050N, but in the back under technical specifications for the chassis it lists a lowered tension. According th the TSB this seems to match that they set the belt tension at whatever point the customer "likes" for vibration. The absolute lowest spec is the 140.5 lbs. I'm running 140 Lbs measured with my wheel on the ground and the tensioner on the belt. Smooth, with less bearing stress. We'll see if it damages the belt.

[MeudtPG]

I would like to see pictures of Doc Humphrey's (Roadster Renovations) Belt Vibration Damper Installed on a new 2018 RTL. Does anyone have good pictures of this mounted and happy?
Thanks. Paul

[h0gr1der]

I did not get pictures while all the panels were off, sorry. Pictures from the bottom aren't very enlightening either.

[trikermutha]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCE...ature=youtu.be

Sorry its not a 2018 but really has not changed down there much

[MeudtPG]

Hi Trikermutha. I just got my new Doc Humphreys VIBRATION DAMPER Kit # 3 (FOR ALL RT'S) - UVBD3.1 and the spacer is different (narrower) for the 2018 than in the video and that is why I want to see the latest install picture. They are somewhat different than earlier years as near as I can tell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCE...ature=youtu.be

Sorry its not a 2018 but really has not changed down there much

[stmike 1800]

On my 2018 rt the vibration was scary ,i thought the belt would explode .As per this forum i lowered the belt tension to as close to 160lbs as i could ,vibration is gone .Also have the BRP damper on ,i know to keep an eye on it .

[MeudtPG]

stmike, 160 lbs on the ground? Thanks

On my 2018 rt the vibration was scary ,i thought the belt would explode .As per this forum i lowered the belt tension to as close to 160lbs as i could ,vibration is gone .Also have the BRP damper on ,i know to keep an eye on it .

[stmike 1800]

Yes on the ground .

[jcthorne]

BRP specs are all with the shock at full extension. IE bike lifted and swing arm hanging on the shock. The tension rises as the swing arm goes up and the ride height varies with bike and load. The lower position is pretty constant across all bikes.