Is it common to need alignment every few thousand miles?

[dragonridernj]

I noticed the other day that the front tires on my 2015 RTS SE6 are wearing more on the outer edge. The bike has about 8000 miles and I had a laser alignment done at 3200 miles. I know there is only a toe in/toe out adjustment. Is it common that these things need alignment every few thousand miles. I checked the end connections on the cross bars and ball joints. Everything looks tight and intact?

Also I followed a you tube video and looks like the alignment is off. I was going to try to adjust alignment myself because I just dropped $370 for oil change and brake fluid flush. Getting to the lock nut in the center of the engine seems near imp

Damn money pit.

I ride this thing about 5 times a year, wish I could rent them local. When you think of the insurance and maintenance, probably cheaper to rent one when I want to ride

[jcthorne]

I noticed the other day that the front tires on my 2015 RTS SE6 are wearing more on the outer edge. The bike has about 8000 miles and I had a laser alignment done at 3200 miles. I know there is only a toe in/toe out adjustment. Is it common that these things need alignment every few thousand miles. I checked the end connections on the cross bars and ball joints. Everything looks tight and intact?

Also I followed a you tube video and looks like the alignment is off. I was going to try to adjust alignment myself because I just dropped $370 for oil change and brake fluid flush. Getting to the lock nut in the center of the engine seems near imp

Damn money pit.

I ride this thing about 5 times a year, wish I could rent them local. When you think of the insurance and maintenance, probably cheaper to rent one when I want to ride

No its not normal. Alignment is a once and done unless you need front suspension components replaced.

[Bfromla]

annual yes , few thousand miles -NO -maybe if curb checking & otherwise poor driving. Good after new tires or if feel is pulling not mildly drifting. Try various lane positions to determine if riding the crown in middle ;also be aware of drain grade of the road some do get rather large in poor drain areas. Least around here. **dont forget relaxed grip**

[EdMat]

No its not normal. Alignment is a once and done unless you need front suspension components replaced.

Sounds like someone missed something unless you like to jump speed bumps at a high rate of speed or something similar.

[PMK]

Done correctly, a Spyder alignment will stay put. With only tie rods to adjust, not like anything could move or shift. If you are a big person, possibly your oem suspension can not properly support the machine.

[Cobwebs]

You might need a crow foot spanner to get that centre locknut undone.

[BajaRon]

No its not normal. Alignment is a once and done unless you need front suspension components replaced.

I agree. Unless you've done some damage (large pothole, etc.) or have worn parts. The front end alignments on Spyders seems to be long lasting.

[IGETAROUND]

I agree. Unless you've done some damage (large pothole, etc.) or have worn parts. The front end alignments on Spyders seems to be long lasting.

Agree with all of the above. The other way you can throw out your alignment is to not pull the rear shock bolt when changing the rear tire. This allows swing arm decent, which allow removal of belt from rear sprocket, without disturbing the axle adjusters. You are in the mileage range to have needed rear tire replacement.

Al in Kazoo

[Lew L]

.

My 2014 RTS has been alighned once, about 6 years ago. Runs straight and true.

[BajaRon]

Agree with all of the above. The other way you can throw out your alignment is to not pull the rear shock bolt when changing the rear tire. This allows swing arm decent, which allow removal of belt from rear sprocket, without disturbing the axle adjusters. You are in the mileage range to have needed rear tire replacement.

Al in Kazoo

Good catch. Front end alignment is dependent on rear wheel alignment. Change the rear and it will affect the front.

[Cobwebs]

Good catch. Front end alignment is dependent on rear wheel alignment. Change the rear and it will affect the front.

'
Agreed but probably would show a different wear pattern to the one described. I think it's either undersprung or 'aligned' incorrectly.

[spyderdave]

I would think that the alignment would stay true unless a part failed or you hit a pot hole or curb. And I doubt that rear tire alignment affects front tire alignment that much: it will make the trike "dogtrack" and your handle bars won't be indexed at zero, but shouldn't affect front tire wear. I would suggest that possibly your (front) tire pressure is too low and the outside edges of the tire are bearing the load as you turn, or, as mentioned above, you have a suspension issue.

[Peter Aawen]

I noticed the other day that the front tires on my 2015 RTS SE6 are wearing more on the outer edge. The bike has about 8000 miles and I had a laser alignment done at 3200 miles. .......

Assuming that the wheel alignment is probably still reasonably OK & close to what it was set at when it was done last (as it should be if done only 5,000 odd miles ago, and if the excessive wear is pretty equal on the outside edges of both wheels...) your front tire wear concerns beg a few questions:

1. Do you have adjustable pre-load front shocks?? If so, have you wound the pre-load UP/INCREASED it to raise the front of the Spyder/give you better ground clearance??

2. Or have you by any other means raised the ride height at the front??

If you've done either of these, there's a very good chance that you've messed with the 'nearly neutral' camber at static ride height, and instead, have too much Positive Camber, ie. the top of the tires are angled OUT too much, so you're spending too much time riding on the outer edges of the tires & so scrubbing the tread off those edges; except that wear due to excessive positive camber usually presents as angled wear right across the tread face, heaviest on the outsides... generally, but not exclusively Well, unless it's really excessive anyway!

3. There again, maybe you've just got too much toe-out dialed in?? That tends to make any steering response pretty direct, but straight line stability not that great! Many Spyders aligned at the factory/by the dealer without your riding weight on them end up with excessive toe-out (& positive camber) once you sit on it, or as mentioned by others, especially if you're a bit on the heavy side....

4. Or possibly it's just that you're riding it pretty hard, and cornering too hard & fast for the alignment & suspension set-up that you've currently got?!? Do you ride it hard, brake late, &/or push thru any understeer & carry a lot of speed thru the corners??

And an aside for any sceptics out there, you'd be surprised at how much changing the alignment of the rear tire can impact the handling & the 'thrust alignment' of these Spyder/Ryker reverse trikes! Even just a little change in rear wheel alignment might produce all sorts of handling & steering oddities; but generally, as it doesn't specifically change the front alignment settings, any front tire wear issues resulting from that would/should be worse on the inside of one front tire, & the outside of the other... but again, not necessarily always!!

All up tho, these things we ride are extrordinary engineering creations, albeit with more than just a few areas that suffer from 'not quite ideal execution'! But hey, most owners can get these things sorted to their satisfaction; or if they can't do that, they can readily learn to ride quite happily with or within the confines & limitations of the platform, and once you do that, they can be a bleedin' fantastic & exciting ryde for what they are! And even with these 'less than ideal' areas, when ridden reasonably well by a competent ryder, they can pretty easily show a clean pair of heels/a 'rapidly disappearing into the distance ahead' single back tire to just about anything else thru the twisties & short straights; and there's not much on the road that can out brake them either! So don't whatever you do jump too hard on the picks when you've got a speeding 18 wheeler or anything else rapidly growing in your rearview mirrors! And they're a pretty comfy touring machine too, as well as being ideal for pottering around town when you're not in a hurry to get anywhere.... altho I do think on-board air-con might be handy if our summertime temps keep getting hotter!

[PMK]

I would think that the alignment would stay true unless a part failed or you hit a pot hole or curb. And I doubt that rear tire alignment affects front tire alignment that much: it will make the trike "dogtrack" and your handle bars won't be indexed at zero, but shouldn't affect front tire wear. I would suggest that possibly your (front) tire pressure is too low and the outside edges of the tire are bearing the load as you turn, or, as mentioned above, you have a suspension issue.

Spyderdave, agree with your words.

Others mentioned rear wheel alignment. Absolutely not true that altering rear alignment, while retaining correct and as before drive belt alignment and tension, if changing a rear tire, will be detrimental to the existing alignment.
The rear wheel, upon reinstallation would need to be grossly misaligned to affect front wheel alignment. If there was a major rear wheel misalignment issue upon reinstallation, there is no way the drive belt could track on the pulley as it should, or had been previously.

Additionally, the original person posting makes no mention of having a rear tire replaced. Not quite sure where this speculation, entered the conversation, and with it the misinformation regarding rear wheel alignment.

It does seem that the person that accomplished the alignment failed to align the vehicle correctly, did not set the alignment to compensate for the payload, or both. Additionally, a poor alignment will quickly eat the tread off a set of oem Kenda tires.

[Little Blue]

I noticed the other day that the front tires on my 2015 RTS SE6 are wearing more on the outer edge. The bike has about 8000 miles and I had a laser alignment done at 3200 miles. I know there is only a toe in/toe out adjustment. Is it common that these things need alignment every few thousand miles. I checked the end connections on the cross bars and ball joints. Everything looks tight and intact.

Also I followed a you tube video and looks like the alignment is off. I was going to try to adjust alignment myself because I just dropped $370 for oil change and brake fluid flush. Getting to the lock nut in the center of the engine seems near imp

Damn money pit.

I ride this thing about 5 times a year, wish I could rent them local. When you think of the insurance and maintenance, probably cheaper to rent one when I want to ride

Just wanted to know if you have replaced your Rear Tire?
Please Help us to Help you. Post Up some additional information.
A lot of good Tips have been Posted.

Stay Healthy. ....

[Cobwebs]

Spyderdave, agree with your words.

Others mentioned rear wheel alignment. Absolutely not true that altering rear alignment, while retaining correct and as before drive belt alignment and tension, if changing a rear tire, will be detrimental to the existing alignment.
The rear wheel, upon reinstallation would need to be grossly misaligned to affect front wheel alignment. If there was a major rear wheel misalignment issue upon reinstallation, there is no way the drive belt could track on the pulley as it should, or had been previously.

Additionally, the original person posting makes no mention of having a rear tire replaced. Not quite sure where this speculation, entered the conversation, and with it the misinformation regarding rear wheel alignment.

It does seem that the person that accomplished the alignment failed to align the vehicle correctly, did not set the alignment to compensate for the payload, or both. Additionally, a poor alignment will quickly eat the tread off a set of oem Kenda tires.

First step in a wheel alignment is to establish the belt position on the pulleys then set your laser targets equal distance to either side from the rim or tyre. Front end is then set from that position the rear wheel is in so any messing with belt adjusters after the alignment stuffs up your alignment. Changing the tyre and moving one adjuster more than the other or tensioning the belt with just one adjuster and you've wasted your money paying a professional to get it spot on. If you want a cheap alignment make up some measuring sticks one an eight of an inch longer than the other and set your toe in to that. That way if you want to forget about whether your back wheel is aligned to the fronts you haven't wasted your money.

[dragonridernj]

My thoughts exactly

[dragonridernj]

annual yes , few thousand miles -NO -maybe if curb checking & otherwise poor driving. Good after new tires or if feel is pulling not mildly drifting. Try various lane positions to determine if riding the crown in middle ;also be aware of drain grade of the road some do get rather large in poor drain areas. Least around here. **dont forget relaxed grip**

Other folks here saying once and done, Not annual as you suggest. I agree that these suspensions are simple and with 8000 soft miles on the bike I cant imagine any wear on the rod ends. The rods are tight for toe in / out adjustment. If it were low t ire pressure should be on both edges

[dragonridernj]

Just wanted to know if you have replaced your Rear Tire?
Please Help us to Help you. Post Up some additional information.
A lot of good Tips have been Posted.

Stay Healthy. ....

THe tires on the bike are original front and back from 2015. I know they are old but is 8000 miles the normal wear for these Kendra tires?

[dragonridernj]

Assuming that the wheel alignment is probably still reasonably OK & close to what it was set at when it was done last (as it should be if done only 5,000 odd miles ago, and if the excessive wear is pretty equal on the outside edges of both wheels...) your front tire wear concerns beg a few questions:

1. Do you have adjustable pre-load front shocks?? If so, have you wound the pre-load UP/INCREASED it to raise the front of the Spyder/give you better ground clearance??

2. Or have you by any other means raised the ride height at the front??

If you've done either of these, there's a very good chance that you've messed with the 'nearly neutral' camber at static ride height, and instead, have too much Positive Camber, ie. the top of the tires are angled OUT too much, so you're spending too much time riding on the outer edges of the tires & so scrubbing the tread off those edges; except that wear due to excessive positive camber usually presents as angled wear right across the tread face, heaviest on the outsides... generally, but not exclusively Well, unless it's really excessive anyway!

3. There again, maybe you've just got too much toe-out dialed in?? That tends to make any steering response pretty direct, but straight line stability not that great! Many Spyders aligned at the factory/by the dealer without your riding weight on them end up with excessive toe-out (& positive camber) once you sit on it, or as mentioned by others, especially if you're a bit on the heavy side....

4. Or possibly it's just that you're riding it pretty hard, and cornering too hard & fast for the alignment & suspension set-up that you've currently got?!? Do you ride it hard, brake late, &/or push thru any understeer & carry a lot of speed thru the corners??

And an aside for any sceptics out there, you'd be surprised at how much changing the alignment of the rear tire can impact the handling & the 'thrust alignment' of these Spyder/Ryker reverse trikes! Even just a little change in rear wheel alignment might produce all sorts of handling & steering oddities; but generally, as it doesn't specifically change the front alignment settings, any front tire wear issues resulting from that would/should be worse on the inside of one front tire, & the outside of the other... but again, not necessarily always!!

All up tho, these things we ride are extrordinary engineering creations, albeit with more than just a few areas that suffer from 'not quite ideal execution'! But hey, most owners can get these things sorted to their satisfaction; or if they can't do that, they can readily learn to ride quite happily with or within the confines & limitations of the platform, and once you do that, they can be a bleedin' fantastic & exciting ryde for what they are! And even with these 'less than ideal' areas, when ridden reasonably well by a competent ryder, they can pretty easily show a clean pair of heels/a 'rapidly disappearing into the distance ahead' single back tire to just about anything else thru the twisties & short straights; and there's not much on the road that can out brake them either! So don't whatever you do jump too hard on the picks when you've got a speeding 18 wheeler or anything else rapidly growing in your rearview mirrors! And they're a pretty comfy touring machine too, as well as being ideal for pottering around town when you're not in a hurry to get anywhere.... altho I do think on-board air-con might be handy if our summertime temps keep getting hotter!

I guess I just got spoiled riding Hondas over the years. MOst of the maintenance was simple and I did it myself. If the wife would let me I would sell the Spyder and buy another old Valkyrie

[PMK]

First step in a wheel alignment is to establish the belt position on the pulleys then set your laser targets equal distance to either side from the rim or tyre. Front end is then set from that position the rear wheel is in so any messing with belt adjusters after the alignment stuffs up your alignment. Changing the tyre and moving one adjuster more than the other or tensioning the belt with just one adjuster and you've wasted your money paying a professional to get it spot on. If you want a cheap alignment make up some measuring sticks one an eight of an inch longer than the other and set your toe in to that. That way if you want to forget about whether your back wheel is aligned to the fronts you haven't wasted your money.

That may be how you accomplish laser alignments when you do them yourself. First off, if a Spyder arrives with a correctly tracking belt, there is no need to make any adjustments to correct something not needing adjustment.
The joke of laser aligning, is setting the targets, all this is done with a tape measure and is not precise.

Therefore, if a person did have a laser alignment, done correctly, and the drive belt is tracking properly, changing a rear tire, then reinstalling the rear wheel, making no adjustments to tension, and then verifying the belt tracks as it did before, there will be no change or ill effects to the existing alignment. Then again, if a ham fisted hack installs the rear wheel after tire change, then any sort of issues may present themselves.

I gladly welcome more discussion from you regarding your methods or techniques for accomplishing laser alignments. I know my ROLO equipment should be used more, but just sits, stashed away.

Regarding using the measuring sticks you mentioned, I have a set of production toe sticks that very accurately can measure a vehicles toe setting. They also can measure camber and caster. I have used the toe sticks many times, aligning not only Spyders, but cars, trucks and our van. Super easy and very accurate. Far less effort than setting up ROLO laser alignment equipment, and done correctly, equally as accurate.

[PMK]

I guess I just got spoiled riding Hondas over the years. MOst of the maintenance was simple and I did it myself. If the wife would let me I would sell the Spyder and buy another old Valkyrie

Same here, the Spyder in our house is the wife's choice. Fine with it as a two up toy. If I had my way, and she did not ride as passenger, likely would have a 900cc or so sport bike.

[PMK]

Other folks here saying once and done, Not annual as you suggest. I agree that these suspensions are simple and with 8000 soft miles on the bike I cant imagine any wear on the rod ends. The rods are tight for toe in / out adjustment. If it were low t ire pressure should be on both edges

Simply a FWIW tip, to save wear on front suspension ball joints and tie rod ends, even the steering box and universal joints, when turning the bars, always be rolling, even if slowly. This reduces the effort and force by a huge amount. Saving on wear and tear. Same for cars and trucks.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

THe tires on the bike are original front and back from 2015. I know they are old but is 8000 miles the normal wear for these Kendra tires?

Kenda tire wear ??? ... That depends on front or rear .... 8000mi. REAR is a bit low, but not by much 10,000 to 12,000 mi. is average ..... Fronts ( if good alignment ) 20,000 to 22,000mi. .... Auto tires get waaaaaaaaaaay more, with better traction. Especially the REAR .... Mike

[Cobwebs]

That may be how you accomplish laser alignments when you do them yourself. First off, if a Spyder arrives with a correctly tracking belt, there is no need to make any adjustments to correct something not needing adjustment.
The joke of laser aligning, is setting the targets, all this is done with a tape measure and is not precise.

Therefore, if a person did have a laser alignment, done correctly, and the drive belt is tracking properly, changing a rear tire, then reinstalling the rear wheel, making no adjustments to tension, and then verifying the belt tracks as it did before, there will be no change or ill effects to the existing alignment. Then again, if a ham fisted hack installs the rear wheel after tire change, then any sort of issues may present themselves.

I gladly welcome more discussion from you regarding your methods or techniques for accomplishing laser alignments. I know my ROLO equipment should be used more, but just sits, stashed away.

Regarding using the measuring sticks you mentioned, I have a set of production toe sticks that very accurately can measure a vehicles toe setting. They also can measure camber and caster. I have used the toe sticks many times, aligning not only Spyders, but cars, trucks and our van. Super easy and very accurate. Far less effort than setting up ROLO laser alignment equipment, and done correctly, equally as accurate.

I would think one or two turns out on a tension adjuster if you loose track while counting lets say to get back to an original setting would be more detrimental to an alignment than the poofteenth of a millimetre the naked eye could see on a tape measure when setting your targets. So yes fist of ham guys can screw it up. Mount a laser to the rear wheel and aim it across the garage then mess with the tensioners and you can measure the exact amount.
Ever considered your toe sticks v tape measure for the target placements?