Alignment Settings Specs ?

[Isopedella]

2017 F 3.
The local wheel alignment Bloke said he will have a look at it if I can get the settings.

So what are the settings please?
I had a look around and couldn't find it.
Cheers Kiwi

[Bartender]

Just my .02 worth but you would be much better off going to someone that has the ROLO Laser alignment equipment specifically set up for a Can Am Spyder. There is no adjustment for caster or camber just toe and the rear tire needs to be set in alignment to the front. Also, once aligned the dealer needs Buds equipment to center the bars so the nanny will be happy. Looking for trouble to go elsewhere, I think.

[Peter Aawen]

2017 F 3.
The local wheel alignment Bloke said he will have a look at it if I can get the settings.

So what are the settings please?
I had a look around and couldn't find it.
Cheers Kiwi

BRP &/or most dealers won't easily divulge anything in the way of alignment settings that's all that useful to you, so I wouldn't hold your breath on getting anything 'official'.

Still, if your alignment bloke is switched on as well as being skilled & competent, they should be able to set your Spyder up so that the steering is centred & pointing straight ahead according to the DPS (Power Steering) without using BUDS & then they can immobilise the handlebars/steering in that position & move on to do the alignment.

From there, that skilled & competent tech should be able to do the alignment taking into account the centreline (thrust) of the rear wheel as necessary, the (now centred) steering, and your normal load (rider, passenger, anything you usually carry ) cos all those things can vary the toe readngs, and Toe in/out is the only readily adjustable thing you can access for alignment. These days, most manufacturers generally specify the Toe-In to = ZERO with the normal load aboard, but I & many others have found that our Spyders benefit from some Toe-in. For whatever good it does for you &/or your alignment tech, I use 3mm of Toe-In (1.5mm each side) at the tread for 'normal riding' & touring etc; and up that to 5mm of Toe-In for track work & ranging it thru the twisties, but then I can (& do) change & check those settings myself (using my 'home groan' laser alignment kit ) & I also swap in/out other tires for testing purposes on a fairly regular basis.

If your local bloke is willing to give it a go, then it's likely the major hurdles your they'll run into (besides having balancing gear to suit the little spindle hole in Spyder wheels ) will be getting a jack in underneath your Spyder; making sure the steering is centred & the rear tire thrust isn't skewing the front alignment too much; and finally, not having those two rear tires that most cars have to hang the reference gear on! But like I said above, a switched on tech who's got some idea of what they're doing & the time to sort it all out should be more than up to the task! And once you DO get your Spyder aligned properly, I reckon you'll be more'n just pleased with how smooth it can steer!

Good Luck!

[Isopedella]

Well now this has been suggested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho12zpOkAPA

My comment is

Watched the video.

He completely lost me when he said .

The measurement should be a poofteenth wider at the back than the front.

So I looked down the comments and found

The manual says Toe in should be 2MM =/- 0.5MM or 5/64 in +/- 1/64 in. Cmber should be 0 Degrees =/- 0.5 Degrees..


He apparently says poofteenth explaining its slang for a very small measure or clearance.

Gotta say for a completely non cert home mechanic I am considering making up a jig and giving it a crack. (y)

After all. What can possibly go wrong?

[Isopedella]

BRP &/or most dealers won't easily divulge anything in the way of alignment settings that's all that useful to you, so I wouldn't hold your breath on getting anything 'official'.

Still, if your alignment bloke is switched on as well as being skilled & competent, they should be able to set your Spyder up so that the steering is centred & pointing straight ahead according to the DPS (Power Steering) without using BUDS & then they can immobilise the handlebars/steering in that position & move on to do the alignment.

From there, that skilled & competent tech should be able to do the alignment taking into account the centreline (thrust) of the rear wheel as necessary, the (now centred) steering, and your normal load (rider, passenger, anything you usually carry ) cos all those things can vary the toe readngs, and Toe in/out is the only readily adjustable thing you can access for alignment. These days, most manufacturers generally specify the Toe-In to = ZERO with the normal load aboard, but I & many others have found that our Spyders benefit from some Toe-in. For whatever good it does for you &/or your alignment tech, I use 3mm of Toe-In (1.5mm each side) at the tread for 'normal riding' & touring etc; and up that to 5mm of Toe-In for track work & ranging it thru the twisties, but then I can (& do) change & check those settings myself (using my 'home groan' laser alignment kit ) & I also swap in/out other tires for testing purposes on a fairly regular basis.

If your local bloke is willing to give it a go, then it's likely the major hurdles your they'll run into (besides having balancing gear to suit the little spindle hole in Spyder wheels ) will be getting a jack in underneath your Spyder; making sure the steering is centred & the rear tire thrust isn't skewing the front alignment too much; and finally, not having those two rear tires that most cars have to hang the reference gear on! But like I said above, a switched on tech who's got some idea of what they're doing & the time to sort it all out should be more than up to the task! And once you DO get your Spyder aligned properly, I reckon you'll be more'n just pleased with how smooth it can steer!

Good Luck!

Cheers Pete. Lots of info.

[Peter Aawen]

Well now this has been suggested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho12zpOkAPA

My comment is

Watched the video.

He completely lost me when he said .

The measurement should be a poofteenth wider at the back than the front.

So I looked down the comments and found

The manual says Toe in should be 2MM =/- 0.5MM or 5/64 in +/- 1/64 in. Cmber should be 0 Degrees =/- 0.5 Degrees..

He apparently says poofteenth explaining its slang for a very small measure or clearance.

Gotta say for a completely non cert home mechanic I am considering making up a jig and giving it a crack. (y)

After all. What can possibly go wrong?

Not sure where anyone outside of BRP actually found a reference in any 'official' manual to those wheel alignment settings, but they're not too far off what many of us have found thru trial & error!

That said, the method of 'centering the handlebars' shown in that vid only actually centres the handlebars, while much more importantly, you need to know when the DPS thinks IT is pointing the wheels straight ahead!! You can do that 'roughly' without BUDS by running the Spyder back & forth along a line (or three ) drawn parallel to the centre of each wheel's rolling direction on a flat & level surface at least 5-6m or so long with the bars fixed (maybe even strapped?) in the 'straight ahead' position; but you do need the length of run & a level surface; and you need to be EXACTLY on those lines, cos even a single mm off 'straight ahead' over 5m can rapidly become 200mm or more off over a kilometre (1000m), and that can require some annoying & continual steering corrections, hence why you should use 3 lines, one for each wheel... to reduce the risk of any one line being off!

As for poofteenth, that IS a highly technical engineering (& tire design & development engineer's ) term for 2/5ths of 5/8ths of SFA . So IMHO setting your Toe-In to only 'one poofteenth' is probably juuust a little TOO LITTLE Toe In - from my recollection of NZed's roads, I'd suggest that 2mm Total Toe-In is probably the minimum you should be aiming for; but unless you're really keen on tight cornering input; really working the twisties; or doing a lot of track work on tires that somebody else pays for, then 3mm +/- 0.5mm is probably as much as you'll ever want...

BUT, remember that's at ZERO CAMBER with YOUR usual riding load aboard; and you/your pillion getting on or off, or loading/unloading your Spyder will change it's ride height AND that Camber, even if it's only by a little! So getting your ride height/load correct to give you Zero Camber is fairly important to do your alignment, cos it's sooo easy to change the 'Apparent Toe' just by changing the load &/or the Spyder's ride height and that can give you a radically wrong alignment once the load returns/is significantly changed!

Help any?!? And Yes, I believe that even a home spanner spinner/fabricator with no really outstanding skills can probably do this; so if you're that or any better, you shouldn't have too much trouble doing this yourself, even if the 'professionals' might be able to do it better. . Just remember, many 'professionals' only qualify for that title cos someone was silly enough to pay them!

Over to you, and Good Luck!

[bikerchris1270]

2017 F 3.
The local wheel alignment Bloke said he will have a look at it if I can get the settings.

So what are the settings please?
I had a look around and couldn't find it.
Cheers Kiwi

You can purchased cheaply online the 2020 F3 shop manual online which does a pretty good job of describing the alignment process with specs. It’s what I use with excellent results.
The varying years of shop manual have described different methods for alignment…….I think they got it right with the 2020 manual.

[Isopedella]

Had a look on E Bay. Seemed to be many to choose from. Whats a good one.for me?
2017 F 3 Limited.
PS. Im a pensioner so please be gentle, also not really IT stuff savvy.. So I will have to find a kid I guess to help me out, put it on a pen drive I guess and then get it printed out.

[Rizz]

I went to my local Can Am dealer today to inquire about a laser alignment for my RTS. They said the cost is $690.00 and it's a 4-5 hour procedure. Does this even sound right? Seems like Smoak did an alignment in about 30 minutes in one of his videos.

[Woodaddict]

I went to my local Can Am dealer today to inquire about a laser alignment for my RTS. They said the cost is $690.00 and it's a 4-5 hour procedure. Does this even sound right? Seems like Smoak did an alignment in about 30 minutes in one of his videos.

HOLY SMOKES. using 1800's technology, with 2022 prices? run from that dealer. they must not have the preferred ROLO system to align. Squared Away, a sponsor here, they charge around $125 - $150. Or others can do at a Spyder Rally

[BajaRon]

I went to my local Can Am dealer today to inquire about a laser alignment for my RTS. They said the cost is $690.00 and it's a 4-5 hour procedure. Does this even sound right? Seems like Smoak did an alignment in about 30 minutes in one of his videos.

Pure insanity. Dealerships usually don't say 'No' in a direct way. They tend to say 'No' as your dealership did by saying 'Yes, But'!