Belt vibration

[Pat Clark]

I know this has been beat to death over the years but.... Just had the dreaded sprocket failure on my 16 F3T SM6 Seminole Pwr Sports did the change out and BRP paid for it. All good, got 30k out of it before failure. But.... I always had the minor vibration between 60-65 that eased up when speed steadied out or at least became much less. Now the vibration is much worse and runs between 60 and 72. Belt tension is in spec at 180 ftlbs. and the belt alignment is spot on.

Opinions on lowering belt tension... have hesitated so far on getting one of Lamont's tensioners.

Pat

[PW2013STL]

I would get the tensioner from Lamonster Garage. He did a great job on the pulley design. Before he did this I modified the stock pulley to a two bearing setup. I like that Lamont went with a larger pulley, and if/when mine needs replacing I am going with his.

Putting the belt tensioner on made a world of differance- more so than just lowering the belt tension.

[h0gr1der]

I know this has been beat to death over the years but.... Just had the dreaded sprocket failure on my 16 F3T SM6 Seminole Pwr Sports did the change out and BRP paid for it. All good, got 30k out of it before failure. But.... I always had the minor vibration between 60-65 that eased up when speed steadied out or at least became much less. Now the vibration is much worse and runs between 60 and 72. Belt tension is in spec at 180 ftlbs. and the belt alignment is spot on.

Opinions on lowering belt tension... have hesitated so far on getting one of Lamont's tensioners.

Pat

I agree with acquiring a Krikit II. Even though I ride an RTL, the concept is the same. My bike vibrated harshly, and I experimented with lowering belt tensions. I went through about half a dozen or more trials at getting it right. I landed right in a sweet spot once, (understand this is an RTL with a different setup) that didn't shake at any throttle setting or speed. I lost that when I removed the back tire, couldn't duplicate it. Found the lower I went in tension the softer the vibration was, and it also occurred at less speed. Finally got it in the 52 MPH range, just a soft fluttering on hills, and installed a Doc Humphreys (Roadster Renovations) belt vibration dampener. Smooth as all get out. I run the absolute minimum tension listed for an RTL, about 150 Lbs with the wheel on the ground.

BRP TST Bulletin Belt Tension.jpg

I'm including a screen grab of the TSB that Can Am issued in 2015. Basically it says lower the belt tension until the customer can live with the vibration. I just got my RTL back from the dealer, and my belt was over-tightened at 200Lbs. Apparently this is an unpublished rule in the Can Am repair circles, for nothing more than to further disappoint the customer. Looks life your bike needs somewhere in the 200 Newton range (lowest Spec), which will be around 45 Lbs on the Krikit II. One recommendation is to buy the service manual online for your model, or maybe for the 2019 model as Can Am is just now catching up on the manuals, and the new manuals list more information. In the back, under Technical Specifications, you'll find the drive section with the tension spec. It differs (on mine) from the information in the front of the book, and offers a little higher spec (for mine) than the TSB from 2015.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I agree with acquiring a Krikit II. Even though I ride an RTL, the concept is the same. My bike vibrated harshly, and I experimented with lowering belt tensions. I went through about half a dozen or more trials at getting it right. I landed right in a sweet spot once, (understand this is an RTL with a different setup) that didn't shake at any throttle setting or speed. I lost that when I removed the back tire, couldn't duplicate it. Found the lower I went in tension the softer the vibration was, and it also occurred at less speed. Finally got it in the 52 MPH range, just a soft fluttering on hills, and installed a Doc Humphreys (Roadster Renovations) belt vibration dampener. Smooth as all get out. I run the absolute minimum tension listed for an RTL, about 150 Lbs with the wheel on the ground.

BRP TST Bulletin Belt Tension.jpg

I'm including a screen grab of the TSB that Can Am issued in 2015. Basically it says lower the belt tension until the customer can live with the vibration. I just got my RTL back from the dealer, and my belt was over-tightened at 200Lbs. Apparently this is an unpublished rule in the Can Am repair circles, for nothing more than to further disappoint the customer. Looks life your bike needs somewhere in the 200 Newton range (lowest Spec), which will be around 45 Lbs on the Krikit II. One recommendation is to buy the service manual online for your model, or maybe for the 2019 model as Can Am is just now catching up on the manuals, and the new manuals list more information. In the back, under Technical Specifications, you'll find the drive section with the tension spec. It differs (on mine) from the information in the front of the book, and offers a little higher spec (for mine) than the TSB from 2015.

.... I've owned various Spyders ( 3 ) since 09 …. I learned back in the beginning that a belt tension of 150-160 ( using the KritKit ) tested on the ground, just about eliminates the belt tension..... Without a separate tensioner …… good luck …. Mike