I've been thinking and that isn't always good - do belt vibrations cause pulley failu

[Navydad]

Is it possible that the front pulley wear issues are related to belt vibrations? I spent several years maintaining and repairing rotating machinery and the number one cause of premature wear and bearing failures was vibration. Most of my repair time was spent balancing rotating parts to alleviate vibrations. The rear pulley is rubber mounted to the wheel so vibration there would be isolated. Are machines that have a belt dampener experiencing less pulley damage than machines without a dampener? If the pulleys are being replaced with pulleys that have a harder metal will that cause the shaft to wear instead of the pulley? I would much rather replace a pulley than tear down a transmission for shaft replacement. I think I need answers to some questions before I go through with this recall and I would like these answers from the engineers at BRP not the counter guy or tech at a dealership. Some of these guys may be knowledgeable, but let's face it many just read codes and swap out parts with no clue why the part failed or if it will fail again. When I bought my bike I took a few days and experimented with belt tension until I found a spot where vibration was not felt. Did this help me avoid pulley issues? I don't have red dust and my pulley fits well with no play. Once again, just thinking.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Is it possible that the front pulley wear issues are related to belt vibrations? I spent several years maintaining and repairing rotating machinery and the number one cause of premature wear and bearing failures was vibration. Most of my repair time was spent balancing rotating parts to alleviate vibrations. The rear pulley is rubber mounted to the wheel so vibration there would be isolated. Are machines that have a belt dampener experiencing less pulley damage than machines without a dampener? If the pulleys are being replaced with pulleys that have a harder metal will that cause the shaft to wear instead of the pulley? I would much rather replace a pulley than tear down a transmission for shaft replacement. I think I need answers to some questions before I go through with this recall and I would like these answers from the engineers at BRP not the counter guy or tech at a dealership. Some of these guys may be knowledgeable, but let's face it many just read codes and swap out parts with no clue why the part failed or if it will fail again. When I bought my bike I took a few days and experimented with belt tension until I found a spot where vibration was not felt. Did this help me avoid pulley issues? I don't have red dust and my pulley fits well with no play. Once again, just thinking.

NO ..... Spyders have had " BELT VIBES " since it's inception ..... But NO Pulley issues ( ie. wear & failure ) untill late in the 2014 production run .... and then a Massive Fail rate ..... Personally, I think it's the " metallurgy " that's causing this issue .... I believe it's all related to MONEY .... very often it's the LOW bidder that gets the job or part .... Why do you think we have the CRAPENDA's ??????.... Remember the recent Condo collapse in Fla. .... the investigation found that the Builder was cutting corners ..... Mike

[Navydad]

NO ..... Spyders have had " BELT VIBES " since it's inception ..... But NO Pulley issues ( ie. wear & failure ) untill late in the 2014 production run .... and then a Massive Fail rate ..... Personally, I think it's the " metallurgy " that's causing this issue .... I believe it's all related to MONEY .... very often it's the LOW bidder that gets the job or part .... Why do you think we have the CRAPENDA's ??????.... Remember the recent Condo collapse in Fla. .... the investigation found that the Builder was cutting corners ..... Mike

No doubt a money issue. What isn't? After working in the repair field I took a job as a test and QA guy in a vehicle manufacturing plant. Everything was about the money. Still, vibration of any kind is not good for any equipment and until I hear it from the source I won't be satisfied. If the pulleys are failing because of sub par metallurgy then say so. A decal on my toolbox was given to me by the old timer that trained me. It reads "QUESTION EVERYTHING" good advice that has served me well.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

No doubt a money issue. What isn't? After working in the repair field I took a job as a test and QA guy in a vehicle manufacturing plant. Everything was about the money. Still, vibration of any kind is not good for any equipment and until I hear it from the source I won't be satisfied. If the pulleys are failing because of sup par metallurgy then say so. A decal on my toolbox was given to me by the old timer that trained me. It reads "QUESTION EVERYTHING" good advice that has served me well.

Well I DIDN'T say vibration was Good .... I said it has been there from the beginning, and continues today .... what wasn't present in the Beginning was PULLEY FAILURE ... Now it is .... so relating it to vibration is beyond my understanding ..... Mike ....

[oldguyinTX]

Is it possible that the front pulley wear issues are related to belt vibrations? I spent several years maintaining and repairing rotating machinery and the number one cause of premature wear and bearing failures was vibration. Most of my repair time was spent balancing rotating parts to alleviate vibrations. The rear pulley is rubber mounted to the wheel so vibration there would be isolated. Are machines that have a belt dampener experiencing less pulley damage than machines without a dampener? If the pulleys are being replaced with pulleys that have a harder metal will that cause the shaft to wear instead of the pulley? I would much rather replace a pulley than tear down a transmission for shaft replacement. I think I need answers to some questions before I go through with this recall and I would like these answers from the engineers at BRP not the counter guy or tech at a dealership. Some of these guys may be knowledgeable, but let's face it many just read codes and swap out parts with no clue why the part failed or if it will fail again. When I bought my bike I took a few days and experimented with belt tension until I found a spot where vibration was not felt. Did this help me avoid pulley issues? I don't have red dust and my pulley fits well with no play. Once again, just thinking.

Good questions. I too don't really have much faith in a 19 year old service writer who is more familiar with Hondas than with Spyders.

[UtahPete]

Is it possible that the front pulley wear issues are related to belt vibrations? I spent several years maintaining and repairing rotating machinery and the number one cause of premature wear and bearing failures was vibration. Most of my repair time was spent balancing rotating parts to alleviate vibrations.

The rear pulley is rubber mounted to the wheel so vibration there would be isolated. Are machines that have a belt dampener experiencing less pulley damage than machines without a dampener?

If the pulleys are being replaced with pulleys that have a harder metal will that cause the shaft to wear instead of the pulley? I would much rather replace a pulley than tear down a transmission for shaft replacement.

I think I need answers to some questions before I go through with this recall and I would like these answers from the engineers at BRP not the counter guy or tech at a dealership. Some of these guys may be knowledgeable, but let's face it many just read codes and swap out parts with no clue why the part failed or if it will fail again.

When I bought my bike I took a few days and experimented with belt tension until I found a spot where vibration was not felt. Did this help me avoid pulley issues? I don't have red dust and my pulley fits well with no play.

Once again, just thinking.

I like the way way you are mentally exploring the issue. Just a couple of observations ...

I decided to live with the vibration on my new 2014 rather than use an after-market gadget. I've since forgotten about and haven't experienced any problems. Maybe I just don't notice it any more, or maybe when I replaced my back tire I inadvertently took the slop out of it; I don't know. I did buy one of those kricket things, but I've never used it. I'm over 30k now and except for a rock hole in the belt (which hasn't made any noticeable difference) I've had no problems with the belt.

When I bought my wife's used 2014, it had the remnants of a broken, defunct vibration damper on it (the seller gave me the other parts in a box). I removed the remaining bits bits and never thought of replacing it. 20k miles later, there is no problem from the belt as to wear or objectionable vibration. Joe Meyer did mention when he replaced the rear tire that the belt seemed overly tight and he adjusted to specs.

The recall bulletin specifies that machines built before April 2014 are not affected by the recall, which leads me to believe there was some defect in the pulleys of those affected. Belt vibration does not seem to be a consideration, or else all years would be affected I think.

[Peacekeeper6]

Is it possible that the front pulley wear issues are related to belt vibrations? I spent several years maintaining and repairing rotating machinery and the number one cause of premature wear and bearing failures was vibration. Most of my repair time was spent balancing rotating parts to alleviate vibrations. The rear pulley is rubber mounted to the wheel so vibration there would be isolated. Are machines that have a belt dampener experiencing less pulley damage than machines without a dampener? If the pulleys are being replaced with pulleys that have a harder metal will that cause the shaft to wear instead of the pulley? I would much rather replace a pulley than tear down a transmission for shaft replacement. I think I need answers to some questions before I go through with this recall and I would like these answers from the engineers at BRP not the counter guy or tech at a dealership. Some of these guys may be knowledgeable, but let's face it many just read codes and swap out parts with no clue why the part failed or if it will fail again. When I bought my bike I took a few days and experimented with belt tension until I found a spot where vibration was not felt. Did this help me avoid pulley issues? I don't have red dust and my pulley fits well with no play. Once again, just thinking.

I like to think like you do as well.

I have a BMW with a 5-speed manual transmission. Whenever I upshift, I try to rev match, reducing the abruptness when I release the clutch. I currently have 185,xxx miles on my car, and it STILL has the original clutch.

I believe that if hit the paddle shifter of my Spyder and reduce the same abruptness when climbing up the gears, this practice will also save the front sprocket. I think that whenever I'm aggressive and shift in the upper RPM range, the associated shock reduces the life of the pulley. That is why the majority of the time I try to shift between 2900-3100 rpms. I find that shifting in this range rewards me with smooth gear transitions which I believe will ultimately lengthen the life of the sprocket ....

.... in my mind, anyway.

[stmike 1800]

I got my letter in the mail yesterday to have the sprocket inspected . I do not trust the dealer to do it properly ,i have had problems with my dealer in the past . I do not know why the sprocket is not made with a slight interference angle and have no play in the sprocket .

[Little Blue]

....Hopefully.....BRP looks here on this Forum.
They have in the past years posted different articles about our Spyder's.
Time will tell on this issue. .......

[blacklightning]

I cannot say for sure what is causing this pulley failure, but even though they recall specs the 2015-2019 spyders, when I checked with my local dealership, they said the problems existed throughout the years. In fact, when I took my 2016 F3T in for repairs last fall, they were not surprised, but they did say that they had more pulley issues with 2009-2012 RSS that had to be replaced. Now, that could have possibly been due to abuse of the machines, but I trust this service department, and they said they had done more replacements on earlier models than later models.

[Peteoz]

I cannot say for sure what is causing this pulley failure, but even though they recall specs the 2015-2019 spyders, when I checked with my local dealership, they said the problems existed throughout the years. In fact, when I took my 2016 F3T in for repairs last fall, they were not surprised, but they did say that they had more pulley issues with 2009-2012 RSS that had to be replaced. Now, that could have possibly been due to abuse of the machines, but I trust this service department, and they said they had done more replacements on earlier models than later models.

What is also interesting is that the ‘20+ models were using the same sprocket as previous, which only changed (to a white sprocket) for late ‘21 builds, and even then it was only to reduce the whistling that some were hearing. You really do have to wonder if the ‘20+ models will get a recall once the higher mileage model years are addressed.

Pete