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  1. #26
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Location
    Illinois
    Posts
    12
    Spyder Garage
    1

    Default A few added comments...

    I just swapped tires on a 2014, so I thought I would add a few thoughts.

    1) Discount tire would not work on it, they don't do motorcycle tires. Firestone did mine but could not balance it, (drive hub and brake disc removed) because the shaft wouldn't fit on their machine. So I took it to a motorcycle place for a static balance after I reassembled the hub to the wheel (which is the same method as the dealer, but they are far away and would only do Kenda tires). But I did buy from Discount tire (a Kumho, no miles to add any opinion yet). Good price, delivered to their shop same day.
    2) On my generation of Spyder, there is no sensor to remove, and I did not disconnect the shock. Belt came right off once I lifted it off the ground.
    3) Brakes were shot (new to us Spyder). I replaced pads without removing caliper. I found this to be quite fiddly. The slide wants to stay in one position where the outer pad will stay in, but the inner one wants to come out. So I used a small clamp to hold the caliper slide in a position where the pads wanted to stay captured, then I put a 1/4" spacer in there to hold the pads in place until wheel went on, then removed the clamp before rolling the wheel in. Anything 1/4" thick (maybe 2 paint sticks or a screwdriver?) should work until you are under the bike rolling the tire in and can slide them out. Maybe once the pin is in the pads will stay, but I wasn't taking any chances after messing with it under there. Bad language was used.
    4) You don't push the rear piston in, there are 2 holes in the piston that you twist (righty tighty) and it will go in. I used some fine needle nose pliers. I went until it stopped and backed off 1/8 turn so I didn't bind this mysterious mechanism. The disc cleared the new pads.
    5) I found the 35 ft-lb spec on the brake retaining pin to be scary, so I tightened using the German torque spec (Guttent-heit). It seemed MUCH looser than 35 when I took it off, and I'm sure the brakes have never been serviced. Don't forget the retaining clip before and after.
    6) The disc brake bolt spec was 18 ft-lb. I thought that seemed low given the bolt size, and I think it was MUCH tighter than that when I disassembled. I used 30. Lots of yellow thread locker paint was on the bolts when removed.
    7) The hub assembly to the wheel (15mm bolts and nuts) was CRAZY tight, I think because of the yellow adhesive used. My Dewalt 1/2" impact was no match, even on the nut side. My 600 ft-lb Earthquake took them right off but had to break up a lot of the thread locker to get them off. I think this was factory. I only tried impacts, but man, that was TIGHT (removed for tire installer, which required another trip home to use the big impact)
    8) When ready to assemble and you have the axle, washer and nut back on (very loose), the adjusters will be loose. Put the belt back on with the bike in the air and shock extended (I did have to start at the bottom and turn the wheel to get the belt back on, but it was easy). Once the belt looks like it is somewhat in its usual position, make sure the adjusters are sitting in their pockets by pushing the wheel forward before lowering. Now you can lower the bike all the way to the ground. This will produce a lot of tension in the belt and will take up the adjusters. Then after you lower, the tracking should be exactly the same as it was (mine was). Now tighten the axle to spec on the ground. On mine, you can feel quite a lot of take-up as the swing arms are drawn closer (maybe 2mm) and probably another 2mm where the rubber isolators are also being compressed (you will see that there is a little play in the drive spacer in the wheel before you tighten, because the rubber isn't compressed all the way yet). Finally, you'll notice a drastic increase in torque, where the spacers are all now together against the races. Keep going until you hit the spec (with my wrenches I had to estimate length and forces, but it is damn tight). My bearings felt perfect at 20,000 miles.
    9) Be sure to depress the pedal until stiff (1 stroke on mine) before turning the key on, I'm told this could cause an error if too much stroke is seen when on... Then work the parking brake a few times. When off, the cable end should have 1mm clearance (mine was perfect).
    10) The O-ring between drive hub and wheel was damaged on mine. Ace was able to match up pretty close. The section diameter was 3.74 and the new one was 3.54. Measuring the mating parts, it will still get 0.25 compression on each surface (1mm total) when installed, which in my opinion is still too much, but it went together OK with some grease (I pulled the hub off to check a couple of times, no damage). Just work it down pressing hard on it. Even with a damaged o-ring, the insides were perfectly clean. Clean and re-grease the seals before assembly.

    Not really too bad a job and it will go much faster next time now that I've done it.
    2014 RT , Pearl White

  2. #27
    Active Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    357
    Spyder Garage
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    Default

    Just finished changing out my rear tire the first time on my 2021 RTL. The tips here and in some YouTube videos were a great help. I did put tape over the adjusters and that seemed to work out well. I also used ratchet straps thru the wheel to hold the wheel forward while tightening the axle nuts and that worked perfect too. I put a piece of blue painters tape on the brake peddle to remind me to pump the brakes before test riding it. Also loosening the clamp on the exhaust at the cat and loosening the hanger bolt helped provide room to get socket wrenches in and out for the axle nut. I used a small hand pump air bag that I use to install cabinets and that helped fine tune raising/lowering the rear wheel when aligning the rear axle. Also removing the lower shock bolt is worthwhile in my opinion too. Overall it’s a tedious job but not terribly difficult. However, having a buddy to help would make the job a lot easier especially if, like me, it’s a chore to get up and down about a jillion time during this process!

    In Finnless video he mentioned he had to use vice grips or similar to hold the threaded sleeve at the ride height sensor in order to disconnect. The top bolt actually has a nut on the back you can get a wrench on to disconnect the ride height sensor in lieu of trying to disconnect it at the lower connection point.

    We have a small independent motorcycle tire shop here and they installed and balanced the Vredestein Quatrac no questions ask. I tried Cycle Gear first and they said their machine wouldn’t handle a tire that wide.

    Question: I plan on running the recommended 18 psi in the Vredestein generally but I have a couple of trips coming up where I’ll be riding 2up and fully loaded. Do you think I should bump up to 20 psi for a 2up loaded trip or stick with 18?
    Last edited by Adventurer; 08-24-2022 at 07:31 PM.
    2021 Spyder RT Limited (Sea-To-Sky)
    2022 Ryker Rally

  3. #28
    Active Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    357
    Spyder Garage
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    Default

    Also, I didn’t have to screw the brake pistons in, I was able to slip the caliper back on the rotor without difficulty. I didn’t have any shims on the caliper connection but I did have three shims on the ABS sensor.
    2021 Spyder RT Limited (Sea-To-Sky)
    2022 Ryker Rally

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