Replace the Windsheld Arm with Billet Aluminum Arm.

[ThreeWheels]

You may have seen this in the regular threads. I thought I'd clean this up, add some more info, and include it as a separate post for those interested. I know, I'm being a little pretentious.
I'm surprised at how little attention there is in this arm outside of this forum. I guess it really isn't as big of a deal as I had originally thought.

For those who aren't familiar with the issue, here's what all the hubbub is about.
There are three mechanical arms used to control the motion of the windshield on the Spyder RT. Two of the arms (left and right) are not powered and just guide the windshield into position.
The center arm, the mechanized control arm, is powered and provides the motive force to raise and lower the windshield.

When this mechanized control arm breaks, the windshield drops and lays down on top of the dashboard. The guide arms don't seem to let go, so it's unlikely the windshield will fall off and hit someone, but when you are at speed, the resultant blast of air can take one by surprise and cause a real "Uh-Oh!!!!" moment that tends to leave skid marks in your shorts.

The control arm is not available as a separate unit from BRP. You have to purchase the entire windshield drive mechanism from BRP to get a new control arm. The cost of the repair is somewhere in the $700 range, most of that cost is in purchasing the new drive mechanism. If this happens within the 2 year OEM warranty, BRP will pick up the replacement cost. If it happens after the 2 year warranty, the owner has to pick up the entire cost, even if the Spyder is covered under the BEST warranty.

On my 2010 RT, I had two windshield control arms break and consequently two complete new windshield drive mechanisms, all paid for by BRP.
Each of these arms lasted roughly 13,000 miles. I traded my 2010 RT in at about 30,000 miles.
Sadly, the new 2014 RT has exactly the same design control arm. In my opinion, it's unlikely the 2014 control arm will be more reliable.

An alternate billet aluminum arm is now available that replaces only the OEM control arm.
This requires dis-assembly of the windshield drive mechanism, something that is clearly outside the normal scope of BRP repair.
When installed, the new billet arm is expected to outlast the Spyder.
I chose to install the billet aluminum arm as a preventive measure, rather than wait for my OEM arm to fail.

Here is a photo of my second arm that was cracked and replaced before a catastrophic failure.



Here are two catastrophic failures. This next picture I have shamelessly stolen from Teddy's Dave (CyncySpyder)




This next picture I have, again shamelessly stolen from eddieshep999



There have been many other failures posted. I don't know how many in total. I'd guesstimate as much as 5% based in CyncySpyder's poll

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...hlight=warning

Here is a photo of the billet arm that I received.



I’d like to say a hearty Thank You to two people:
First, noboot (Ron) for making these beautiful works of art. As sturdy as they are beautiful. I understand there is a move afoot to have these arms available through one of the established vendors here on this site.

Second is John (JRWW). I had contacted JRWW who had installed the billet arm himself. He was able to give me some general directions to follow and a few keen pointers, some of which I neglected, much to my detriment. I will quote parts of his email at appropriate times

The billet arm is exactly that, a single piece of metal. Manufactured by cutting away unwanted material from one piece of aluminum. There are no welds to fail, nor is there any grain such as the pressed metal OEM pieces. The existing arm has often times proven inferior.
My 2010 went through two of these arms and a friend of mine surprisingly had his arm fail as well.
Talking with others, it seems the Florida contingent has no problems with these arms. It may well be that only those in the Northeast (AKA potholes) have reliability issues.

I photographed everything, mostly so I would know how to reassemble things.

First, remove the windshield and the windshield support. This comes out pretty easily with just a few bolts and bushings. This takes about 15 minutes.
Next, remove the fascia around the windshield operating arms to get to the one we want to replace.
There are two screws on the top, take them out.
You have to take off the mirrors, both left and right upper panels and the fascia around the headlights to get to all the bolts to remove the windshield fascia. This doesn’t take a long time.
At this point we’re about an hour into the project.
Now that the windshield mechanism is exposed, you need to start removing the arm from the mechanism in order to replace it.

Next is a photo of the windshield mechanism exposed with the OEM arm in place.



At this point, I’ll quote John:

"Gidday Steven,
I'll try and explain as best I can from memory, now been awhile since I did this. Once all the Tupperware is removed the tricky bit is prying the top plastic parts either side of the arm apart. They are glued down and after you remove the screws, use a flat bladed screwdriver, I gently tapped it between the top and bottom section, it takes a bit of force to break the glue and mine went flying across my workshop. Then the arm lifts out, make sure you mark the position of the arm on either side before removing. The next difficult part is removing the arm from the shaft, on one end is a magnet, put some tape over it so you don't lose it. I placed the arm in a bench vice to remove a pin that locks the arm in place. I sacrificed a small drill of the same size to tap it out, make sure you don't damage the hexagonal shaft in anyway as you won't get the new arm on. Then using a hair dyer to heat the toothed plastic wheel I used a small open ended spanner slightly bigger than the shaft placed on the wheel and very gently tapped the spanner with a hammer to remove the wheel. Did I mention gently!!!!! Take your time here!!!! Apply plenty of heat and take your time. Once you have the wheel removed then with a rubber mallet gently tap the hexagonal shaft out of the old arm. Again take your time and be gentle!!! The installation of the new arm is just the reverse, make sure the hole in the arm lines up with the hole in the shaft to replace the metal pin. Forgot to mention I had real difficulty in removing two of the screws on one side of the plastic holding the arm in place, ended up removing with multi grips and destroying the head, so went to my local bolt place and bought new bolts with Allen key head. Also once you have put the arm back in place and fitted everything, start your bike and operate the electric button to ensure the arm moves up and down without any issues. If you mark the position as I mentioned everything should be fine. Best of luck and let me know how you go.
Regards
John"

The arm/shaft/gear can be removed from the lifting mechanism without removing the mechanism from the Spyder.
I removed the screws that hold the top part of the plastic pieces in place. In both cases, the lower screw could be removed easily. I broke the heads off the upper screws. The plastic pieces came off with no problem at all. No, or little glue.
Removing the arm assembly was quite easy, and I was left with the next biggest problem. Removing the plastic gear to make way for removing and replacing the arm. There is a small screw at the end of the gear that retains the gear on the shaft. This needs to be removed. The head is a small phillips head, which I promptly stripped. I used a hacksaw to cut a new slot for a straight bladed screwdriver and carefully removed the screw.



I tried the spanner (wrench) trick John spoke of with one minor difference. Rather than putting the wrench around the plastic shaft of the gear, I put the wrench around the sprocket and began rapping. This was not wise. Not much happened, so I continue to rap with increasing force until I finally broke the gear. I should have paid more attention to the "gently" part.
Once the gear was broken, it was much easier getting the plastic shaft off the main shaft. I understand Ron is now including wedges in his kit to help with uninstalling the plastic gear.

Next is a photo of the broken gear.




So, now I had to fix the gear. I degreased the plastic parts and got out Devcon Plastic Welder, my go to glue for all things plastic from ABS to Styrene. It glues everything except polypropylene. If you ever use it, one safety tip: The instructions say “Use in a well ventilated area”. They aren’t kidding. This stuff is great, but it smells very bad. This glue forms a chemical bond with the plastic, so it's much stronger than a simple glue.



An hour later, the gear is repaired. I used one of my miniature screw drivers as a punch and hammered it to remove the pins on the old arm. I removed the old arm, installed the new arm reusing the pins and reinstalled the now repaired gear. I had to use a hammer to rap the plastic gear back into place. The outside diameter of the new arm is a little bigger than the old arm. When re-installing the pins, keep this in mind to try to install the pins to get maximum grip from both ends of the pin. Also remember to transfer the bushings from the old arm to the new arm.




Please note the plastic repair to the gear. I filled in the entire void space with glue, so instead of the 1/16" ring mounting the gear to the plastic shaft, now there is 3/8" of plastic mounting the gear to the plastic shaft. I was careful to make sure the gear was square to the shaft before the glue set. I'm confident that the plastic gear is now stronger than it was in its original configuration.

Here is another picture of the final assembly of the shaft. Notice the holes in the arm with the pins installed. You can clearly see that Ron has stamped the word "TOP" into the billet arm as another means to ensure the correct alignment.



I put the gear shaft and arm in place and locked it down with only one screw in each of the plastic retainers. I used the up and down buttons to cycle the mechanism and make sure it worked properly before I fully reassembled everything. You just need to make sure that you put the arm back in the same position you took it out from so the magnet lines up. The magnet is what controls the position of the arm. I used my favorite glue again to fill the screw holes of the broken screws to make sure the plastic parts stay in place tightly. This is very important. In my opinion, the control arm breaks because it is absorbing the energy from the twisting or bouncing motion of the windshield. The absorbed energy is what breaks the arm. The new arm doesn’t absorb the energy; it is strong enough that it just transmits the energy to the rest of the mechanism, so be sure the plastic parts are all locked down firmly, even if you need to use additional glue. This will ensure that other parts of the mechanism are strong enough to support the load of the bouncing windshield.

Next is a picture of the new arm assembled into the lifting mechanism.
Notice the two new screws in the upper holes of the plastic hold down pieces. These are also glued in place for additional strength.








After re-installing the front fascia, I ran the arm up and down again to make sure it operated properly.

All told, going from old arm to new arm took about 4 hours, and that included an extra 90 minutes figuring things out and repairing all the stuff I broke. Figure about 2 and a half hours if most goes well. I waited another 6 hours or so before I put the windshield support and windshield back in place to allow all the glued pieces to reach maximum strength before use.

I've had the new arm on for 1500 miles now. No operational issues with the lifting mechanism at all.

[eddieshep999]

Thanks for posting

I would like to get my arm changed out but would be not have the skills to even attempt this (Bound to end in tears or more expense)

Maybe someone will come up with the arm already located on the shaft and it would be any easy swap out but reading whats involved I doubt this will be available or even possible as the arm needs to be set to ensure it rises and falls correctly

The other option would be for BRP to purchase the arms and fit them to new machines to avoid any further issues, again I don't expect to happen which is such a shame

I have a broken unit (Motor, Mount, Shaft and broken Arm etc all still in place)- Having had BRP replace mine for the 2nd time So if I could find someone willing to take the work on I would be willing to post it out and pay for the work to be done and returned to me
I would then keep it ready to change out with a stock unit when I upgrade to the 1300 RT sometime next year

[larryd]

I also just purchased this bracket for my 2014 RTS...I have a F4 larger windshield and I live in PA, noted for pot holed roads...So to be ready for when the cracks start I purchased this QUALITY replacement part...GREAT SERVICE and a QUALITY PART from Ron Piggott...larryd

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

.....Thank you for taking the time to present this information and doing it in such a professional manner . As you and some others here may remember I have had some experience with this issue. I made a steel cover for a broken one that I got from a fellow Spyderlover, ( BILL RYAN ) and swapped it for the one on my 2014 RT. ...Actually I had to swap the entire Platform with the arm assembly. Because His ARM wouldn't work properly on My Platform ( the large blk plastic piece everything attaches to) ........I did discover that when putting the ARM back into it's fitting ( on the platform ) it didn't matter about where it was marked ....it always went up and down and stopped where it was supposed to, no matter how I placed it in it's fitting ......Somehow the magnetic TRIGGER and the computer are linked because it always worked as designed .....And when it comes from the factory IMHO the ARM and PLATFORM are linked ......and you cannot exchange or swap ARM assemblies with different PLATFORMS ......At least this was my experience.............Getting the GEAR wheel off the Shaft ( as stated above ) is going to be a challenge to say the least......I have made two attempts on my original ARM ( I use this to make steel covers ) , without success. I did not use HEAT on the gear wheel though......I have a concern about warping / melting that plastic, BECAUSE if you do you cannot replace the gear wheel......and if it is not absolutely " TRUE " ,,,it may work a few times , but either the motor will burn out or the gears will strip.......If you think the ARM is stressed ....that's nothing compared to the gear assembly............So far My cover is working well , I have about 800+ miles on the windshield since I put it on.....I hope this info helps anyone attempting this fix........................Mike

[Roadster Renovations]

Thanks for posting. I will be upgrading mine as soon as those are available and I urge everyone else to do so. I do not see them breaking at low speed. Probably on the interstate and in heavy traffic. A much needed upgrade.

[Magdave]

I also have one sleeping in my tool box from down under including the wedges to assist in the gear removal. Insurance just in case. If mine breaks under warranty I will let BRP replace it after that I will.

[Yelhelp]

.....Thank you for taking the time to present this information and doing it in such a professional manner . As you and some others here may remember I have had some experience with this issue. I made a steel cover for a broken one that I got from a fellow Spyderlover, and swapped it for the one on my 2014 RT. ...Actually I had to swap the entire Platform with the arm assembly. Because His ARM wouldn't work properly on My Platform ( the large blk plastic piece everything attaches to) ........I did discover that when putting the ARM back into it's fitting ( on the platform ) it didn't matter about where it was marked ....it always went up and down and stopped where it was supposed to, no matter how I placed it in it's fitting ......Somehow the magnetic TRIGGER and the computer are linked because it always worked as designed .....And when it comes from the factory IMHO the ARM and PLATFORM are linked ......and you cannot exchange or swap ARM assemblies with different PLATFORMS ......At least this was my experience.............Getting the GEAR wheel off the Shaft ( as stated above ) is going to be a challenge to say the least......I have made two attempts on my original ARM ( I use this to make steel covers ) , without success. I did not use HEAT on the gear wheel though......I have a concern about warping / melting that plastic, BECAUSE if you do you cannot replace the gear wheel......and if it is not absolutely " TRUE " ,,,it may work a few times , but either the motor will burn out or the gears will strip.......If you think the ARM is stressed ....that's nothing compared to the gear assembly............So far My cover is working well , I have about 800+ miles on the windshield since I put it on.....I hope this info helps anyone attempting this fix........................Mike

Hi Mike
Bill Ryan here I'm the guy sent you the assembly . I sent a reply to Deanna777 she had commented about Lake George and I wanted to know how things went this year. Just got a message from Chuck as well. I'm sorry to say it was not in the cards for me this year. Maybe next year if there is another. I know Ron was hesitant after the first one but maybe it is additive. Hope you all had a good time.

[noboot]

.....Thank you for taking the time to present this information and doing it in such a professional manner . As you and some others here may remember I have had some experience with this issue. I made a steel cover for a broken one that I got from a fellow Spyderlover, ( BILL RYAN ) and swapped it for the one on my 2014 RT. ...Actually I had to swap the entire Platform with the arm assembly. Because His ARM wouldn't work properly on My Platform ( the large blk plastic piece everything attaches to) ........I did discover that when putting the ARM back into it's fitting ( on the platform ) it didn't matter about where it was marked ....it always went up and down and stopped where it was supposed to, no matter how I placed it in it's fitting ......Somehow the magnetic TRIGGER and the computer are linked because it always worked as designed .....And when it comes from the factory IMHO the ARM and PLATFORM are linked ......and you cannot exchange or swap ARM assemblies with different PLATFORMS ......At least this was my experience.............Getting the GEAR wheel off the Shaft ( as stated above ) is going to be a challenge to say the least......I have made two attempts on my original ARM ( I use this to make steel covers ) , without success. I did not use HEAT on the gear wheel though......I have a concern about warping / melting that plastic, BECAUSE if you do you cannot replace the gear wheel......and if it is not absolutely " TRUE " ,,,it may work a few times , but either the motor will burn out or the gears will strip.......If you think the ARM is stressed ....that's nothing compared to the gear assembly............So far My cover is working well , I have about 800+ miles on the windshield since I put it on.....I hope this info helps anyone attempting this fix........................Mike

Hi there,

With My replacement bracket I supply a set of "wedges" or Shims to enable you to progressively push the gear wheel (we call it a worm wheel) back off the shaft. We also looked at heat but too much can go wrong.

Cheers, noboot

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi there,

With My replacement bracket I supply a set of "wedges" or Shims to enable you to progressively push the gear wheel (we call it a worm wheel) back off the shaft. We also looked at heat but too much can go wrong.

Cheers, noboot

....... This winter when the Spyder is put to bed so to speak .... I will make some wedges and try again...... My feeling is, when BRP designed this assembly they had no intention of either them or anyone else taking it apart.... That is why It's sold as a complete unit ( which IMHO is total BS ) but what do I know: lecturef_smilie: ................. Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi there,

With My replacement bracket I supply a set of "wedges" or Shims to enable you to progressively push the gear wheel (we call it a worm wheel) back off the shaft. We also looked at heat but too much can go wrong.

Cheers, noboot

.................................................. ....I finally accomplished the gear wheel removal......I didn't have wedges .....I made a tool using a 3/16 th thick steel bar that I drilled a 3/8 hole then cut out a slot and "V'd" the hole to match the HEX.........I secured the ARM in a vise and used the tool against the MAGNET END and slowly tapped it off ............It came off much easier than the GEAR WHEEL ....................MY question to you is WHY didn't you take the Magnet end off ??????.....Mike

[obiwan57]

I also just purchased this bracket for my 2014 RTS...I have a F4 larger windshield and I live in PA, noted for pot holed roads...So to be ready for when the cracks start I purchased this QUALITY replacement part...GREAT SERVICE and a QUALITY PART from Ron Piggott...larryd

May I ask where you got the billet arm? I'd like to get one!

[Magdave]

May I ask where you got the billet arm? I'd like to get one!

noboot was selling them on ebay but he only had a few. I believe he is working with Bajaron on getting them distributed here in the USA.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

May I ask where you got the billet arm? I'd like to get one!

......You ask questions ....and have gotten answers here .............But don't indicate that you have followed up,..... so therefore .........Mike

[noboot]

Last Weekend We had our annual SPYDER ROYALE which is the equivalent to the USA SPYDERFEST (but in a lot smaller way) and we found eleven (11) RT's with cracked Windscreen arms. Maybe our roads down under are a lot harder on the Spyders

[Ronsam]

When you replace the arm , you do not need to remove the gear .Remove the bushing very simple.

I have the arm welded all over for $ 20.00. They need to sandblast the arm first.

I use chrome paint. It looks like new

It took me one hour and half to do remove the arm and to install it.


Very simple job to do

You may have seen this in the regular threads. I thought I'd clean this up, add some more info, and include it as a separate post for those interested. I know, I'm being a little pretentious.
I'm surprised at how little attention there is in this arm outside of this forum. I guess it really isn't as big of a deal as I had originally thought.

For those who aren't familiar with the issue, here's what all the hubbub is about.
There are three mechanical arms used to control the motion of the windshield on the Spyder RT. Two of the arms (left and right) are not powered and just guide the windshield into position.
The center arm, the mechanized control arm, is powered and provides the motive force to raise and lower the windshield.

When this mechanized control arm breaks, the windshield drops and lays down on top of the dashboard. The guide arms don't seem to let go, so it's unlikely the windshield will fall off and hit someone, but when you are at speed, the resultant blast of air can take one by surprise and cause a real "Uh-Oh!!!!" moment that tends to leave skid marks in your shorts.

The control arm is not available as a separate unit from BRP. You have to purchase the entire windshield drive mechanism from BRP to get a new control arm. The cost of the repair is somewhere in the $700 range, most of that cost is in purchasing the new drive mechanism. If this happens within the 2 year OEM warranty, BRP will pick up the replacement cost. If it happens after the 2 year warranty, the owner has to pick up the entire cost, even if the Spyder is covered under the BEST warranty.

On my 2010 RT, I had two windshield control arms break and consequently two complete new windshield drive mechanisms, all paid for by BRP.
Each of these arms lasted roughly 13,000 miles. I traded my 2010 RT in at about 30,000 miles.
Sadly, the new 2014 RT has exactly the same design control arm. In my opinion, it's unlikely the 2014 control arm will be more reliable.

An alternate billet aluminum arm is now available that replaces only the OEM control arm.
This requires dis-assembly of the windshield drive mechanism, something that is clearly outside the normal scope of BRP repair.
When installed, the new billet arm is expected to outlast the Spyder.
I chose to install the billet aluminum arm as a preventive measure, rather than wait for my OEM arm to fail.

Here is a photo of my second arm that was cracked and replaced before a catastrophic failure.



Here are two catastrophic failures. This next picture I have shamelessly stolen from Teddy's Dave (CyncySpyder)




This next picture I have, again shamelessly stolen from eddieshep999



There have been many other failures posted. I don't know how many in total. I'd guesstimate as much as 5% based in CyncySpyder's poll

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...hlight=warning

Here is a photo of the billet arm that I received.



I’d like to say a hearty Thank You to two people:
First, noboot (Ron) for making these beautiful works of art. As sturdy as they are beautiful. I understand there is a move afoot to have these arms available through one of the established vendors here on this site.

Second is John (JRWW). I had contacted JRWW who had installed the billet arm himself. He was able to give me some general directions to follow and a few keen pointers, some of which I neglected, much to my detriment. I will quote parts of his email at appropriate times

The billet arm is exactly that, a single piece of metal. Manufactured by cutting away unwanted material from one piece of aluminum. There are no welds to fail, nor is there any grain such as the pressed metal OEM pieces. The existing arm has often times proven inferior.
My 2010 went through two of these arms and a friend of mine surprisingly had his arm fail as well.
Talking with others, it seems the Florida contingent has no problems with these arms. It may well be that only those in the Northeast (AKA potholes) have reliability issues.

I photographed everything, mostly so I would know how to reassemble things.

First, remove the windshield and the windshield support. This comes out pretty easily with just a few bolts and bushings. This takes about 15 minutes.
Next, remove the fascia around the windshield operating arms to get to the one we want to replace.
There are two screws on the top, take them out.
You have to take off the mirrors, both left and right upper panels and the fascia around the headlights to get to all the bolts to remove the windshield fascia. This doesn’t take a long time.
At this point we’re about an hour into the project.
Now that the windshield mechanism is exposed, you need to start removing the arm from the mechanism in order to replace it.

Next is a photo of the windshield mechanism exposed with the OEM arm in place.



At this point, I’ll quote John:

"Gidday Steven,
I'll try and explain as best I can from memory, now been awhile since I did this. Once all the Tupperware is removed the tricky bit is prying the top plastic parts either side of the arm apart. They are glued down and after you remove the screws, use a flat bladed screwdriver, I gently tapped it between the top and bottom section, it takes a bit of force to break the glue and mine went flying across my workshop. Then the arm lifts out, make sure you mark the position of the arm on either side before removing. The next difficult part is removing the arm from the shaft, on one end is a magnet, put some tape over it so you don't lose it. I placed the arm in a bench vice to remove a pin that locks the arm in place. I sacrificed a small drill of the same size to tap it out, make sure you don't damage the hexagonal shaft in anyway as you won't get the new arm on. Then using a hair dyer to heat the toothed plastic wheel I used a small open ended spanner slightly bigger than the shaft placed on the wheel and very gently tapped the spanner with a hammer to remove the wheel. Did I mention gently!!!!! Take your time here!!!! Apply plenty of heat and take your time. Once you have the wheel removed then with a rubber mallet gently tap the hexagonal shaft out of the old arm. Again take your time and be gentle!!! The installation of the new arm is just the reverse, make sure the hole in the arm lines up with the hole in the shaft to replace the metal pin. Forgot to mention I had real difficulty in removing two of the screws on one side of the plastic holding the arm in place, ended up removing with multi grips and destroying the head, so went to my local bolt place and bought new bolts with Allen key head. Also once you have put the arm back in place and fitted everything, start your bike and operate the electric button to ensure the arm moves up and down without any issues. If you mark the position as I mentioned everything should be fine. Best of luck and let me know how you go.
Regards
John"

The arm/shaft/gear can be removed from the lifting mechanism without removing the mechanism from the Spyder.
I removed the screws that hold the top part of the plastic pieces in place. In both cases, the lower screw could be removed easily. I broke the heads off the upper screws. The plastic pieces came off with no problem at all. No, or little glue.
Removing the arm assembly was quite easy, and I was left with the next biggest problem. Removing the plastic gear to make way for removing and replacing the arm. There is a small screw at the end of the gear that retains the gear on the shaft. This needs to be removed. The head is a small phillips head, which I promptly stripped. I used a hacksaw to cut a new slot for a straight bladed screwdriver and carefully removed the screw.



I tried the spanner (wrench) trick John spoke of with one minor difference. Rather than putting the wrench around the plastic shaft of the gear, I put the wrench around the sprocket and began rapping. This was not wise. Not much happened, so I continue to rap with increasing force until I finally broke the gear. I should have paid more attention to the "gently" part.
Once the gear was broken, it was much easier getting the plastic shaft off the main shaft. I understand Ron is now including wedges in his kit to help with uninstalling the plastic gear.

Next is a photo of the broken gear.




So, now I had to fix the gear. I degreased the plastic parts and got out Devcon Plastic Welder, my go to glue for all things plastic from ABS to Styrene. It glues everything except polypropylene. If you ever use it, one safety tip: The instructions say “Use in a well ventilated area”. They aren’t kidding. This stuff is great, but it smells very bad. This glue forms a chemical bond with the plastic, so it's much stronger than a simple glue.



An hour later, the gear is repaired. I used one of my miniature screw drivers as a punch and hammered it to remove the pins on the old arm. I removed the old arm, installed the new arm reusing the pins and reinstalled the now repaired gear. I had to use a hammer to rap the plastic gear back into place. The outside diameter of the new arm is a little bigger than the old arm. When re-installing the pins, keep this in mind to try to install the pins to get maximum grip from both ends of the pin. Also remember to transfer the bushings from the old arm to the new arm.




Please note the plastic repair to the gear. I filled in the entire void space with glue, so instead of the 1/16" ring mounting the gear to the plastic shaft, now there is 3/8" of plastic mounting the gear to the plastic shaft. I was careful to make sure the gear was square to the shaft before the glue set. I'm confident that the plastic gear is now stronger than it was in its original configuration.

Here is another picture of the final assembly of the shaft. Notice the holes in the arm with the pins installed. You can clearly see that Ron has stamped the word "TOP" into the billet arm as another means to ensure the correct alignment.



I put the gear shaft and arm in place and locked it down with only one screw in each of the plastic retainers. I used the up and down buttons to cycle the mechanism and make sure it worked properly before I fully reassembled everything. You just need to make sure that you put the arm back in the same position you took it out from so the magnet lines up. The magnet is what controls the position of the arm. I used my favorite glue again to fill the screw holes of the broken screws to make sure the plastic parts stay in place tightly. This is very important. In my opinion, the control arm breaks because it is absorbing the energy from the twisting or bouncing motion of the windshield. The absorbed energy is what breaks the arm. The new arm doesn’t absorb the energy; it is strong enough that it just transmits the energy to the rest of the mechanism, so be sure the plastic parts are all locked down firmly, even if you need to use additional glue. This will ensure that other parts of the mechanism are strong enough to support the load of the bouncing windshield.

Next is a picture of the new arm assembled into the lifting mechanism.
Notice the two new screws in the upper holes of the plastic hold down pieces. These are also glued in place for additional strength.








After re-installing the front fascia, I ran the arm up and down again to make sure it operated properly.

All told, going from old arm to new arm took about 4 hours, and that included an extra 90 minutes figuring things out and repairing all the stuff I broke. Figure about 2 and a half hours if most goes well. I waited another 6 hours or so before I put the windshield support and windshield back in place to allow all the glued pieces to reach maximum strength before use.

I've had the new arm on for 1500 miles now. No operational issues with the lifting mechanism at all.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Ronsam.......In your post you refer to " bushing "....are you talking about the " black piece with the Magnet " in it ???...........because if you are I posted that way of doing it a long time ago.......I am very curious about the WELDING you had done. The material BRP uses to make the ARM does not appear to be ...WELDABLE ????.................Mike

[Ronsam]

Yes you can weld it . You need to sandblast first . I just weld my arm. If you do not sandblast the weld explode and you can not weld it. I will tried to add some photo next time

Thanks

Ronsam.......In your post you refer to " bushing "....are you talking about the " black piece with the Magnet " in it ???...........because if you are I posted that way of doing it a long time ago.......I am very curious about the WELDING you had done. The material BRP uses to make the ARM does not appear to be ...WELDABLE ????.................Mike

[ThreeWheels]

Yes you can weld it . You need to sandblast first . I just weld my arm. If you do not sandblast the weld explode and you can not weld it. I will tried to add some photo next time

Thanks

Nicely done. Nicely done indeed !

[Ronsam]

Photos. I hope it work. Mike

Thanks

Ronsam.......In your post you refer to " bushing "....are you talking about the " black piece with the Magnet " in it ???...........because if you are I posted that way of doing it a long time ago.......I am very curious about the WELDING you had done. The material BRP uses to make the ARM does not appear to be ...WELDABLE ????.................Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Photos. I hope it work. Mike

Thanks

That's amazing.....was this done with a rod ( ie arc welded ) and if so what type of metal was the rod made of ???....... mike

[Ronsam]

I did not ask them. I will next week Mike

That's amazing.....was this done with a rod ( ie arc welded ) and if so what type of metal was the rod made of ???....... mike

[GadgetGuy442]

Ron (aka "noboot") sells them. I just got mine and it's a fantastic product! Send him a private message.


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[Empty Pockets]

Ron (aka "noboot") sells them. I just got mine and it's a fantastic product! Send him a private message.


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thanks

[Empty Pockets]

Received The new windshield arm from Ron (Noboot). Got the arm installed following Ron's video. The wedge kit that he supplies with the arm was excellent made the sprocket come off with ease. The install was a fairly simple process. The quality of the arm is first rate. I would recommend that everyone switch out the OEM arm to Ron's arm especially if you have an oversized windshield. It would also be a good idea to swap it out prior to the OEM arm breaking. Or at least have one on hand so when the OEM one does break you will be able to swap it out quickly. Shipping from Australia was very quick it was in my hand within five days from when it was ordered.

Thanks Ron!👍

[GadgetGuy442]

I fully agree with Empty Pockets. Don't wait until your's breaks.

I was thinking mine wasn't ever going to, as I'd accumulated 53,500 miles on my 2010 and it hadn't broken. Then I noticed more wobble in the windshield than normal on a recent ride, and next time out it failed a few hundred feet from my home (thankfully). When it breaks, your done riding.

I took a few rides with no windshield and came to appreciate the wind protection and forces the windshield has to deal with.

When I got Ron's billet arm and took the old broken one out and compared them side by side, there is NO COMPARISON! The strength, quality and capability of his product is fantastic. The original part feels like a piece of styrofoam compared to the billet aluminum.

I took my first ride with the new arm and windshield was stable like never before. I rode with great confidence that this part will outlast every other part on the bike. I'm so thankful for this component and the saving over the POC $700 replacement from BRP would have cost.

Don't wait until yours breaks! SERIOUSLY!



Thanks Ron (noboot) for a great product!

Bill


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