Quatrac SL 165/60R15 fronts rubbing on fenders - anyone else? Fixes?

[CloverHillCrawler]

I was just wondering if anybody else is seeing this happen on their 2020 F3 base or other models

Put on the Quatrac 165/60/15's on the front a while ago and I ride most of the time with my music on in my helmet especially on the highway.

I had it off a couple of nights ago and noticed a noise while going on a bank turning off of 495 onto the GW parkway, I was pushing it hard through the ramp coming off of the beltway when I noticed a rubbing sound that stopped once I straightened up and the g forces backed off.

I did some testing when I got off the parkway and noticed that whenever the handlebars are turned hard right or left like leaving a stop sign to make a right turn with the nose down at an angle coming off of a hill was also causing a slight rubbing sound.

I didn't see any damage or marks on the tires but when I pulled the wheels today to inspect the fender I found a small spot on each fender where the tire appears to be rubbing. Other members had mentioned that the 165 is pretty much plug and play but 175 and up needs to have the fenders shimmed.

Will I need to shim for these 165's or is there another adjustment that needs to be made other than my driving?


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[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I was just wondering if anybody else is seeing this happen on their 2020 F3 base or other models

Put on the Quatrac 165/60/15's on the front a while ago and I ride most of the time with my music on in my helmet especially on the highway.

I had it off a couple of nights ago and noticed a noise while going on a bank turning off of 495 onto the GW parkway, I was pushing it hard through the ramp coming off of the beltway when I noticed a rubbing sound that stopped once I straightened up and the g forces backed off.

I did some testing when I got off the parkway and noticed that whenever the handlebars are turned hard right or left like leaving a stop sign to make a right turn with the nose down at an angle coming off of a hill was also causing a slight rubbing sound.

I didn't see any damage or marks on the tires but when I pulled the wheels today to inspect the fender I found a small spot on each fender where the tire appears to be rubbing. Other members had mentioned that the 165 is pretty much plug and play but 175 and up needs to have the fenders shimmed.

Will I need to shim for these 165's or is there another adjustment that needs to be made other than my driving?


left.jpg right.jpg

If your ALIGNMENT is OK, then this is ODD .... I have only heard of one other that had this happen with a Quatrac 5 in that size .... Not ALL fender brackets are PERFECT and you may have one or two that ARN'T .... the ( and safe ) way to fix this is to add one or two washers ( close fit on the bolts preferred )..... the TIRE is STATIC mounted , meaning if the fender is ... NOT ...rubbing NOW it won't after you add the washer/s ...... sorry to here this .... good luck .... Mike

[JimH]

I was just wondering if anybody else is seeing this happen on their 2020 F3 base or other models

Put on the Quatrac 165/60/15's on the front a while ago and I ride most of the time with my music on in my helmet especially on the highway.

I had it off a couple of nights ago and noticed a noise while going on a bank turning off of 495 onto the GW parkway, I was pushing it hard through the ramp coming off of the beltway when I noticed a rubbing sound that stopped once I straightened up and the g forces backed off.

I did some testing when I got off the parkway and noticed that whenever the handlebars are turned hard right or left like leaving a stop sign to make a right turn with the nose down at an angle coming off of a hill was also causing a slight rubbing sound.

I didn't see any damage or marks on the tires but when I pulled the wheels today to inspect the fender I found a small spot on each fender where the tire appears to be rubbing. Other members had mentioned that the 165 is pretty much plug and play but 175 and up needs to have the fenders shimmed.

Will I need to shim for these 165's or is there another adjustment that needs to be made other than my driving?


left.jpg right.jpg

When I had the garage put the Quatrac's on the front, the guy came out and said it was a slightly different tire size the O(crap)EM's. He put them on and we looked for any rubbing or bad fit, there was nothing. I check them often never had a rub. I cannot speak highly enough about them.

[fredgal]

i was thinking about getting a set in that size for my 2020 F3L.. hummm

[Peteoz]

i was thinking about getting a set in that size for my 2020 F3L.. hummm

There have been a serious number of these installed without any issues, fredgal. It sounds like this is a one off. It will be interesting to see if the shims fix Clover’s issue.

Pete

[redrazor]

I put Solus 175/55/15 front tires on our 2014 RTL over a year ago, and no problems with rubbing.

[CopperSpyder]

The rub looks very minor and shimming as suggested by BK will hopefully fix the issue. My guess is this may be the result of having the bike rebuilt after your accident and there is just that tiny bit off in the fender bracket that one or two wash will fix.

[CloverHillCrawler]

If your ALIGNMENT is OK, then this is ODD .... I have only heard of one other that had this happen with a Quatrac 5 in that size .... Not ALL fender brackets are PERFECT and you may have one or two that ARN'T .... the ( and safe ) way to fix this is to add one or two washers ( close fit on the bolts preferred )..... the TIRE is STATIC mounted , meaning if the fender is ... NOT ...rubbing NOW it won't after you add the washer/s ...... sorry to here this .... good luck .... Mike

These are the new Quatrac SL - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....R5QT&tab=Sizes not the 5's. The weird thing is it spins cleanly, only when weight goes over to that wheel does it rub. And it does it on both sides. Turn hard right or go into a right turn at high speed where weight is thrown to the outside does it rub and vice versa for the left.

But if it is not an extreme condition it seems to be ok.

[CloverHillCrawler]

The rub looks very minor and shimming as suggested by BK will hopefully fix the issue. My guess is this may be the result of having the bike rebuilt after your accident and there is just that tiny bit off in the fender bracket that one or two wash will fix.

That's what I am hoping as well as placement of the fenders as they were re-assembled back on to the Spyder it may just be a matter of loosening or removal and repositioning the fenders maybe with a additional washer or 2 in the process.

[Peter Aawen]

That's what I am hoping as well as placement of the fenders as they were re-assembled back on to the Spyder it may just be a matter of loosening or removal and repositioning the fenders maybe with a additional washer or 2 in the process.

Hey Clover, can you tell us what pressure you're running in those front tires?? . The pressure you run can make a difference in how much the tire deforms as you corner; or if you like, how far up the trailing side of the tire carcass the twist or deformation of the tire caused by the cornering forces is carried....

[CloverHillCrawler]

Hey Clover, can you tell us what pressure you're running in those front tires?? . The pressure you run can make a difference in how much the tire deforms as you corner; or if you like, how far up the trailing side of the tire carcass the twist or deformation of the tire caused by the cornering forces is carried....

16 PSI on all 3 tires, I had to lower them down as I was getting some tire "chirp" when cornering at 18 psi.

[Peter Aawen]

16 PSI on all 3 tires, I had to lower them down as I was getting some tire "chirp" when cornering at 18 psi.

That should be good. Too high of a pressure & the tire is flexed/twisted more & further up the carcass during cornering, with the twist being carried well up the sidewall & circumference of the tire as it rolls on. That might be a little counter-intuitive (to some, anyway ) I know, but the higher the pressure, the firmer the tire is, reducing overall tread contact patch & traction; & the more it resists flexing/twisting until cornering forces FORCE it to do so and then the longer it remains flexed/twisted as the tire rolls on - that's at least partly why pressures that are too high can't/won't keep the whole tread/contact patch across the tread face on the road during cornering, making for squeals &/or chirps as the tread lifts/twists/tears off the road under the twisting cornering force!! Get your pressures right & the sidewall will flex enough to keep the whole tread face on the ground/road & you won't get the twist carried up the tire anywhere near as much as it rolls on, nor will you get the squeal/chirp as the tread is twisted/torn off the road surface!

So, given that your pressures are good for your riding, I'd hafta guess that your fenders did move a little during your prang, or at least didn't get properly re-fitted where they should be on re-assembly?! Which means it sounds like a bit of shimming &/or gentle 'bending' of the fender support arms will be necessary...

There have been a few reporting similar scraping issues with larger/wider tires, altho no others with Vredesteins that I'm aware of, nor others with that size tire; and the majority of the others who have reported that sort of scraping have been running over 18 psi in their tires!

Over to you!

[T.P.]

The last couple of guys who have changed to QUATRAC'S are adding the (SL) standard load designation to their tire sizes. why ?
That's for a 35psi inflation and we get no where close to that pressure.

T.P.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

There have been a serious number of these installed without any issues, fredgal. It sounds like this is a one off. It will be interesting to see if the shims fix Clover’s issue.

Pete

./.... and hopefully the fenders where mounted correctly ..... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The rub looks very minor and shimming as suggested by BK will hopefully fix the issue. My guess is this may be the result of having the bike rebuilt after your accident and there is just that tiny bit off in the fender bracket that one or two wash will fix.

OK I didn't realize He had Major work done to the front end ..... I think something about the repair is in play here ..... Thanks for the heads up ..... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

These are the new Quatrac SL - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....R5QT&tab=Sizes not the 5's. The weird thing is it spins cleanly, only when weight goes over to that wheel does it rub. And it does it on both sides. Turn hard right or go into a right turn at high speed where weight is thrown to the outside does it rub and vice versa for the left.

But if it is not an extreme condition it seems to be ok.

I have not heard of the Quatrac " SL " model , I went onto Tirerack and they don't list it in the Vredestein line of tires .... I have ONLY recommended the older Q-5 , and now the newer " Quatrac ". Good luck ..... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The last couple of guys who have changed to QUATRAC'S are adding the (SL) standard load designation to their tire sizes. why ?
That's for a 35psi inflation and we get no where close to that pressure.

T.P.

.... WHY ???? .... this only confuses things, and I posted about this above ...... Mike

[CloverHillCrawler]

.... WHY ???? .... this only confuses things, and I posted about this above ...... Mike

My bad when I ordered the tires from tire rack they had the SL designation on the order so that is what I was referring to them as. But I also linked to the tire rack page for the tire on post # 8 in my response to you.

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[BLUEKNIGHT911]

My bad when I ordered the tires from tire rack they had the SL designation on the order so that is what I was referring to them as. But I also linked to the tire rack page for the tire on post # 8 in my response to you.

order.JPG

Sorry but I didn't click on the LINK ..... Hopefully who ever re-built your Spyder did it correctly ..... Mike

[Two2Three]

Just found this thread when searching for the same issue. I put Vredestein Quatrac 165/60R15s on the front a few weeks ago, and when going through a roundabout with a bit o' spirit, I heard it rubbing on the right side. Stopped as soon as I exited.

So just thought I'd mention it as another instance of it happening, this time on a stock 2022 RTL.

Guess I'll see about adding some washers to mine as well.

[troop]

Just found this thread when searching for the same issue. I put Vredestein Quatrac 165/60R15s on the front a few weeks ago, and when going through a roundabout with a bit o' spirit, I heard it rubbing on the right side. Stopped as soon as I exited.

So just thought I'd mention it as another instance of it happening, this time on a stock 2022 RTL.

Guess I'll see about adding some washers to mine as well.

Yup .. They rubbed on my 2022 S2S also.

[CloverHillCrawler]

Yep it took a bit of "adjustment" on the fenders. I just took them off and reattached them and that seemed to do the trick. But I think I may be switching to the low brow style fenders when some money frees up for me.

[BajaRon]

BRP changed the fender configuration slightly on the 2020+ models. The earlier years have more fender clearance to the tires. We can put 175's on the 2013-2019 Spyders without issue. We've installed quite a few 165 Vredestein's on the 2020+ Spyders without any clearance problems. They are a slightly taller tire than the OEM. I would say clearance problems are rare. But it is interesting that some are rubbing. it must be component variance between bikes. Or slight variations in tire dimensions.

The Vredestein is an excellent tire and really good on the Spyder. I highly recommend them. If it takes a bit of shimming the fenders to make them work, I think you'll find it worth the effort.

[Two2Three]

The Vredestein is an excellent tire and really good on the Spyder. I highly recommend them. If it takes a bit of shimming the fenders to make them work, I think you'll find it worth the effort.

Well, I tried to shim the fender. I guess I'm not seeing the correct way to do it. Do you add washers where the fender strut screws into the bottom of the fender itself? (They're pretty short little screws.) Or somehow where the strut connects to the bike? I've seen mentions of shimming up to 1/4", and there is no way I could have gotten a washer that big below the fender where I was trying.

Also, I noticed that when the bike is jacked up and the wheels turn freely, they definitely rub something on the back/inside of the fender but there's no rub when the bike is on the ground and I roll it back and forth. (I've only heard the rubbing when cornering on the road.)

So, does anyone have a photo or video if what you actually did on a 2020+ fender?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Well, I tried to shim the fender. I guess I'm not seeing the correct way to do it. Do you add washers where the fender strut screws into the bottom of the fender itself? (They're pretty short little screws.) Or somehow where the strut connects to the bike? I've seen mentions of shimming up to 1/4", and there is no way I could have gotten a washer that big below the fender where I was trying.

Also, I noticed that when the bike is jacked up and the wheels turn freely, they definitely rub something on the back/inside of the fender but there's no rub when the bike is on the ground and I roll it back and forth. (I've only heard the rubbing when cornering on the road.)

So, does anyone have a photo or video if what you actually did on a 2020+ fender?

I put 185/50-15's on my 14RT Spyder ..... I had to adjust inside the fenders AND put Washers UNDER the Fender brackets, ( ie. between the Bracket and the wheel HUB ) .... my fenders are different from yours so I don't know how many washers or a metal spacer you will need...... good luck .... Mike