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  1. #1
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    Default Ryker swaybar headshake

    Here's the whole story. Saturday Sept 7th, we bought my wife Dawn a brand new Can Am 900cc Ryker Rally Edition from a southern Illinois dealer. In the interest of better handling, and as a result improving Dawn's safety, I had them put on a Genuine Can Am accessory swaybar. The part costs $150, but it cost $250 labor to install it.
    About a block after I left Ted's for home I found the bike to have a severe headshake. I'm not talking a mild jiggle, I'm talking about a visible headshake. I immediately turned around and took the bike back to the dealer. They rebalanced the front tires but the headshake remained. We left the bike for them to resolve the problem.
    We went up today, Monday, to pick the bike up again. The headshake remains and they have no idea how to fix it. I've ridden 3 other Rykers and none had this headshake. I have to assume the swaybar is causing it.
    I suggested the mechanic might have installed the swaybar wrong. The service manager absolutely refuses to entertain that possibility.
    I even suggested that since the bike was acquired on a dealer trade, perhaps the other dealer's service department did something wrong. He said they did a full check before giving me the bike and that wasn't possible.
    Next I suggested they call Cowtown in Cuba MO or some other high volume Can Am dealer to see if they had any idea what might be wrong. He seemed offended that I would dare question his mechanic's competence enough to ask for help even though mine was the FIRST swaybar they had ever installed.
    I also suggested they call Can Am's factory service dept for advice. He said they will do that tomorrow.
    If they can't get the headshake fixed, he asked what I want them to do. I said they'd have to take off the swaybar and see if that fixes the headshake. He said who would pay for the labor? I said since you installed a defective factory part, I won't pay for it. In fact, I would expect them to refund me for the swaybar parts and labor. t's not like I brought some weird part in on my own and had them install it. It's a FACTORY Can Am part installed by a Can Am dealer.
    The Service Manager tried to imply that the extra rigidity of the swaybar was causing road sensitivity and it was not really a headshake. I pointed at Dawn's car and said if I put a swaybar on that Mustang I guarantee the steering wheel wouldn't start shaking. My car mechanic buddy said they might have thrown the toe adjustment out when they installed the swaybar.
    Then he tells me he's seen that a lot with off road vehicles like I'm some bohunk dumbass who's going to believe whatever crap story he tells me.
    Bottom line, I told him, is I'm not taking a brand new bike with a headshake and I'm not paying his service department to keep guessing how to fix it.
    We were very pleased with the process of purchasing our new bike from this dealer. Everything since then has been completely unacceptable.

  2. #2
    Very Active Member JayBros's Avatar
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    In the more flies with honey than with vinegar approach ask the service manager if they have formally asked BRP to open a case on the problem. If they have not ask them to do so. Since it's a BRP part and not an after market sway bar BRP is obligated to fix it, including if they have to sent a technician to do it.
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  3. #3
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    Installing the “upgraded” factory bar using their method could definitely screw up the alignment since it requires removal of the tie rods.

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  4. #4
    SpyderLovers Sponsor BajaRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01 View Post
    Installing the “upgraded” factory bar using their method could definitely screw up the alignment since it requires removal of the tie rods.
    I agree, it's not the sway bar. A sway bar cannot give you 'Headshake'. However, the install process for the OEM sway bar is.. well, let's just say EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!. And, as mentioned above, requires the disassembly of steering components.

    The dealership completely and severely messed up the steering geometry during re-assembly. It is amazing that the dealership expects you to drive a very unsafe vehicle off the lot. The level of liability boggles the mind! It just indicates that they have no idea what they are doing, mechanically or otherwise.

    You are correct in blaming the dealership/mechanic. But I am sure the sway bar is just fine and has nothing to do with the issue.
    Last edited by BajaRon; 09-10-2019 at 08:13 PM.
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  5. #5
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    Speaking from experience the CanAm sway bar doesn't require removing the tie rod's. All I did was remove the left shock and drop the lower A-Arm on the left side. Still an unpleasant job for sure but they worst part is removing the factory bar, definitely plan on cutting it as I ended up doing. My guess is the mechanic had never done it before and he either assembled something wrong, not the sway bar, or bent something during the process. Would have been nice to know if it did it before the upgrade.

  6. #6
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    After I purchased my Ryker, I noticed that the alignment was way off. So far off that after just 4 months both the front tires were almost bald on the inside treads. The dealership replaced the tires and since then I have had a severe head shake like you describe. Still trying to work with the dealership on getting it fixed.

    So, it may be the Kenda's.

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  7. #7
    SpyderLovers Sponsor BajaRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Freezefm View Post
    After I purchased my Ryker, I noticed that the alignment was way off. So far off that after just 4 months both the front tires were almost bald on the inside treads. The dealership replaced the tires and since then I have had a severe head shake like you describe. Still trying to work with the dealership on getting it fixed.

    So, it may be the Kenda's.

    Francis
    Did they fix the alignment issue? Severely out of balance tires (which Kenda's are famous, or infamous, for) can also give the handlebars a good shaking. Not technically considered 'Headshake'. But a similar effect.
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  8. #8
    Very Active Member Tslepebull's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BajaRon View Post
    Did they fix the alignment issue? Severely out of balance tires (which Kenda's are famous, or infamous, for) can also give the handlebars a good shaking. Not technically considered 'Headshake'. But a similar effect.
    OK, what technically is headshake. My rally's tires still vibrate after multiple balance attempts. It does not appear t o be up/down vibration but side to side. Is this headshake?
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  9. #9
    SpyderLovers Sponsor BajaRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tslepebull View Post
    OK, what technically is headshake. My rally's tires still vibrate after multiple balance attempts. It does not appear t o be up/down vibration but side to side. Is this headshake?
    I am not sure that there is an actual, technical description for 'Headshake'. My understanding is that headshake is a mild form of 'Tank-Slapper'. In a true tankslapper situation, you don't normally recover. You lose control and a crash is the typical result. This is when the handlebars go lock to lock in rapid succession and there is pretty much no way to stop it. But we aren't riding a motorcycle (regardless of what anyone says). 2 wheels have a completely different geometry than 3+ wheels.

    Headshakes, as well as the more severe tankslapper, are the result of a suspension issue which sets up a rapid left to right oscillation in the steering components. Typically, if this situation is not corrected quickly (usually by slowing down, or in some cases, speeding up) it can quickly (as in almost immediately) worsen into a tankslapper. Out of balance or out of round tires can trigger this progression. But there is usually something wrong with the suspension or alignment which causes the progression to worsen.

    If all you get is a twitching in your handlebars from out of balance or out of round tires. And it never progresses beyond this. Your handlebars will shake, but in my understanding, it's not a true headshake situation. You may say 'Potato - Pototo'. And you wouldn't be all that far off. As the initial symptoms are similar. It's just that there is no worsening progression, thus much less dangerous, and the cause is quite different.

    If your tires have been balanced I would look for out of round. This is the problem I have with my Ryker. Tires have been meticulously balanced. But balance cannot overcome lumpy tires. I am hoping to find a non-Kenda alternative.
    Last edited by BajaRon; 09-28-2019 at 11:31 AM.
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  10. #10
    Very Active Member Chupaca's Avatar
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    Default Here's the thing..

    I have to agree that the issue is in the installation and or re-assembly as a Sway-Bar does nothing to the geometry of the front end untill there is a significant lean/roll of the front end as in a curve of turn. A head shake/wabble can mostly be felt or noticed when traveling in a straight path caused by alignment, balance or steering components for which a swaybar is not. Get a case going and if possible get another shop with a certified tech look in to it and document the finds to see what occured....
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