new lazer alingment

[Spydr in KS]

hmmm, maybe Len @ Pitbull will acquire one

[sinkhole]

The front wheels are alined with the rear wheel not the frame. If the belt is tracking right it should be pretty close but the motor can be off and the rear wheel adjusted to the motor so the belt tracks right. That's where the 5/8" come from and the alinement is being done over almost twice the distance so it is a lot more precise.

Three things can affect rear wheel alignment...
1.Engine/drive sprocket axis.
2.Rear fork pivot axis.
3. Rear wheel axis.
In a perfect world, all 3 should be perpendicular to the frame center line. As Lamont mentions, the main criteria is to have the rear wheel axis and engine axis parallel to each other. This keeps the belt tracking in the proper plane. Once that is accomplished, the front wheels can be aligned. If the rear wheel is not aligned with the longitudinal centerline of the Spyder for any reason, the bike will track in a crabbed attitude even with the front wheels aligned properly.

[reverendg]

Three things can affect rear wheel alignment...
1.Engine/drive sprocket axis.
2.Rear fork pivot axis.
3. Rear wheel axis.
In a perfect world, all 3 should be perpendicular to the frame center line. As Lamont mentions, the main criteria is to have the rear wheel axis and engine axis parallel to each other. This keeps the belt tracking in the proper plane. Once that is accomplished, the front wheels can be aligned. If the rear wheel is not aligned with the longitudinal centerline of the Spyder for any reason, the bike will track in a crabbed attitude even with the front wheels aligned properly.

The rear wheel can also be offset from the vehicle center line. Not likely to be done on a spyder, but on many Harley two wheelers the rear wheel is purposely offset from the centerline to account for engine weights. This allows the rider to go down the street without having to lean off to one side of the bike or having a constant right or left handlebar input.

[Jeriatric]

Assembly line.

Wonder how they check alignment of sprockets, then, front and rear wheels during assembly?

The engine has a go, no go, alignment pin which is supposed to properly seat the engine in the frame. But, during the assembly process do they straight edge(or laser) the front and rear pulleys and then make a minor belt tracking adjustment? Or is it engineered to be close is good enough?

If they are checking the above. How do they then check for proper alignment of the front and rear tires?

Just thinking out loud.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Assembly line.

Wonder how they check alignment of sprockets, then, front and rear wheels during assembly?

The engine has a go, no go, alignment pin which is supposed to properly seat the engine in the frame. But, during the assembly process do they straight edge(or laser) the front and rear pulleys and then make a minor belt tracking adjustment? Or is it engineered to be close is good enough?

If they are checking the above. How do they then check for proper alignment of the front and rear tires?

Just thinking out loud.

I agree,....I can see how they can send out ( BRP ) a Spyder that is not correctly aligned in the front ( I have two, one good ,one not so good alignmentwise from the factory ). However How can the ENGINE possibly not be aligned in the frame......The frames are all made on " JIGS " that are either perfect or every Spyder made with that " JIG " is " OFF " ......So the problem would be HUGH ...not just a few..........................JMHO......Mike

[Bob Ledford]

There was a Spyder rider and his wife at Maggie Valley pushing their laser alignment process. He said it was $100...or free if we didn't think it made a difference. They were from the Daytona, FL area. Someone on this forum may know them or saved their card.

This will get you there. http://www.microalignment.com/

[Firefly]

I'm interested to see how this all pans out. Could be a great asset for us riders. We've all spent more than $100 on silly farkels...... $100 for an alignment should be no big deal.

I am curious though, how they go about aligning the front wheels with the rear?

[Jeriatric]

I'm interested to see how this all pans out. Could be a great asset for us riders. We've all spent more than $100 on silly farkels...... $100 for an alignment should be no big deal.

I am curious though, how they go about aligning the front wheels with the rear?

Waiting for Lamont to update. Then either I'll have to pop for the equipment or hope my dealer does.

[MouthPiece]

Waiting for Lamont to update. Then either I'll have to pop for the equipment or hope my dealer does.

If it's that good, I'll spring for paying for it for my dealer.

Chris

[CruiseRT]

The front wheels are alined with the rear wheel not the frame. If the belt is tracking right it should be pretty close but the motor can be off and the rear wheel adjusted to the motor so the belt tracks right. That's where the 5/8" come from and the alinement is being done over almost twice the distance so it is a lot more precise.

Will this align a 2013 RT? Do you still have to have the rigid struts to do the alignment?

[Jeriatric]

If it's that good, I'll spring for paying for it for my dealer.

Chris

That'll work. As long as they keep me plumb

[Huddleston]

I bought this tool after talking with the owner/inventor of it at the Owners event. The thing that sold me on it was it based on contact patch of the tires and not frame alinement. I'm going to be doing BajaRons Spyder and mine this week to see if it's off seeing we did both of these the old way. I plan on doing alinements here along with suspension upgrades and tuning here at Lamonster Garage to help pay for this tool. I think this will help with front tire wear too if it's scrubbing of the tires because the tires are not alined with the rear that are causing it. I'm not an expert on this but I plan on being one.

Lamont, are you doing the laser alignments yet?

[Guzzi]

Mike at Micro-Alignment in Edgewater, Fl are great folks. Fought my RT-S for 8000 miles, and then found Mike, right in my back yard! The Micro-Alignment on my RT-S really put the cake on the rest of my suspension mods, and it tracks true and is a pleasure to ride! Well worth the $100 for the alignment. Took about an hour. GUZZI

[Jeriatric]

I bought this tool after talking with the owner/inventor of it at the Owners event. The thing that sold me on it was it based on contact patch of the tires and not frame alinement. I'm going to be doing BajaRons Spyder and mine this week to see if it's off seeing we did both of these the old way. I plan on doing alinements here along with suspension upgrades and tuning here at Lamonster Garage to help pay for this tool. I think this will help with front tire wear too if it's scrubbing of the tires because the tires are not alined with the rear that are causing it. I'm not an expert on this but I plan on being one.

[Tx web rider]

hopefully a dealer in my area will get this im tired of buying front tires every 9k miles

[Tx web rider]

I'm curious how was the outcome with the new laser alignment
i am tired of all the wandering mine does and all the tire replacement costs
36k miles 2 years 4th set of front tires purchased last week

I bought this tool after talking with the owner/inventor of it at the Owners event. The thing that sold me on it was it based on contact patch of the tires and not frame alinement. I'm going to be doing BajaRons Spyder and mine this week to see if it's off seeing we did both of these the old way. I plan on doing alinements here along with suspension upgrades and tuning here at Lamonster Garage to help pay for this tool. I think this will help with front tire wear too if it's scrubbing of the tires because the tires are not alined with the rear that are causing it. I'm not an expert on this but I plan on being one.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Just a thought .....it would be nice if the company would let everyone know who has the machines and where they are located.....I don't think any purchaser would mind that info being given............IMHO.....Mike..........................and could everyone please stop showing the picture in their posts .....we' ve all seen it 10 times....Thankyou

[KX5062]

This is all very interesting and is founded on good science, but one thing that hasn't been addressed in this discussion is the caster/camber adjustment of the front wheels. Having the strange tire wear common to the Spyder suggests misalignment of the caster/camber and not toe adjustments.

It also should have little to do with the rear tire being incorrectly positioned. Having the rear tire incorrectly oriented should be easily seen when looking at the belt.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

This is all very interesting and is founded on good science, but one thing that hasn't been addressed in this discussion is the caster/camber adjustment of the front wheels. Having the strange tire wear common to the Spyder suggests misalignment of the caster/camber and not toe adjustments.

It also should have little to do with the rear tire being incorrectly positioned. Having the rear tire incorrectly oriented should be easily seen when looking at the belt.

There have been many discussions here about " Camber " you just haven't been here long enough to be awhere of them......I tried "camber" adjustment ....It had only a slight effect.....and I don't recommend it......AND BRP SAYS IT CAN'T BE DONE and has no provision in the front suspension to do it......that being said if your alignment is as good as it can be I think 30,000 + miles on OEM front tires is easily attainable........IMHO....Mike .............and thankyou for not re-posting the PICTURE

[SpyRyd]

Just a thought .....it would be nice if the company would let everyone know who has the machines and where they are located.....I don't think any purchaser would mind that info being given............IMHO.....Mike..........................and could everyone please stop showing the picture in their posts .....we' ve all seen it 10 times....Thankyou

See http://www.spydercomfort.com/dealers.htm

Glad I didn't show the picture!

[KX5062]

There have been many discussions here about " Camber " you just haven't been here long enough to be awhere of them......I tried "camber" adjustment ....It had only a slight effect.....and I don't recommend it......AND BRP SAYS IT CAN'T BE DONE and has no provision in the front suspension to do it......that being said if your alignment is as good as it can be I think 30,000 + miles on OEM front tires is easily attainable........IMHO....Mike .............and thankyou for not re-posting the PICTURE

Hmm, I am aware of them,

The construction of the front suspension components would permit camber adjustments by way of shimming, which I believe was part of those previous discussions; despite BRP claims to the contrary. It was my intention and purpose to introduce something aditional to this particular discussion that had not been raised that IMO was important to the topic.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hmm, I am aware of them,

The construction of the front suspension components would permit camber adjustments by way of shimming, which I believe was part of those previous discussions; despite BRP claims to the contrary. It was my intention and purpose to introduce something aditional to this particular discussion that had not been raised that IMO was important to the topic.

I have raised the subject .and have done the shimming....and thoroughly discussed BOTH ......you must have missed that also......As stated previously ...THE SHIMMING HAD LITTLE EFFECT......and I am not a novice , I have built two cars.....Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut if you want to try it , gooooooooooo for it ....Just trying to save you some time and trouble......YOUR FRIEND Mike,

[1VENOM]

[NancysToy]

On the Spyder, as on most vehicles with radial tires, camber changes have minimal effect. Wear from camber problems is also more uniform across the tire, showing feathered tread sections, rather than pronounced wear at the inside or outside. This is not true with bias ply tires, but the tendency of the radial belts to ly flat on the road even when the angle of the kingpin changes makes camber less of a factor. Scrubbing the tire sideways across the road has a much more pronounced effect, so toe-in discrepancies can wear a tire quite radically and quite fast. A spyder with proper toe-in can get 40,000 miles out of a set of front tires quite readily...providing thge suspension is kept greased and in good condition.

The problem with the 2010-2012 Spyder RT is that the toe-in changes quite a bit as the Spyder is loaded. It also changes with ride height. A heavy rider, carrying a passenger frequently, or having the front spring preload set too low will toe the front wheels out and accelerate tire wear on the inside edges. For that reason when alignment is done, it should be able to be done with a representative load and suspension settings. Unfortunately, the BRP procedure does not allow that to be done. The laser alignment tools are better, in that respect. As an alternative, the toe-in setting was increased in 2011, and it has turned out that the Spyder is more forgiving of too much toe rather than too little, so adding a little for the road seems to help. The use of Elka shocks, which raise the front end, resist the load better, and change the geometry somewhat, also seems to help.

If an owner is having excessive wear on the inside of both the front tires, I would suggest...

1. Increase the front shock preload
2. Have the Spyder aligned to the latest spec
3. Try laser alignment with a representative load during the procedure

[FLAspydergirl]

Too bad I do not live near there.

My tech and I were recently talking about the back wheel alignment being a potential problem.

The discussion stemmed from early wear on my back tire, and the fact my belt wants to ride-up against the flange.

We made some manual adjustments as best we could, and "things" improved; however I am certain many Spyders suffer this problem to one degree or another.

Hopefully someday we'll have someone with that unit around my area.

We are selling systems everyday check out the dealer page:
http://www.spydercomfort.com/dealers.htm and as always you Spyder Riders need to put pressure on YOUR dealer to purchase , we can also sent a rep to your dealer just let me know how we can help, (the inventors wife, kristal)