My 2011 RT has developed a terrible front end shimmy from 41 mph thru 49 mph.
What could be causing it?
Laser alignment done
all front end suspension components tight and good
tires have ride-on sealant/balancer installed (two years ago - does it go bad)
BajaRon sway bar
Shock relocators
Tires correct air pressure (18)
Tire wear even
2015 an Am Spyder RT Limited
2013 Yamaha WR250R - Sold
2011 Can Am Spyder RT-S SE5 Limited - Sold
2011 Aspen Sentry Trailer
2003 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2007 Unigo Trailer - Sold
2001 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2001 Honda 750 NightHawk - sold
2015 RT Ltd , Canamspyderaccessories Brake pedal ext. Red
Could a separated belt make it shimmy like that?
Can you jack up the front end of the bike, and spin the tires? Check to make sure that they are still actually round...
What brand of tires are on the front end?
If they are the stock tires I would recommend starting there.
I had exact same condition, as have many others, and new tires fixed the problem.
I have heard that Ride On tends to settle when the bike sits for a while and takes a while to get redistributed when you start riding again. It is worse when the weathers is still cool.
I have heard that Ride On tends to settle when the bike sits for a while and takes a while to get redistributed when you start riding again. It is worse when the weathers is still cool.
I have Ride On in my tires and they take about a mile to settle down if its been sitting for awhile
When it is really cold it takes a lot longer
But I have found the solution to the problem Don't let it sit
Now 2014 RT Limited Cognac
Was 2008 GS SM5
Don Garbarino
Cup Holder
GPS locking holder
Mud flap
Modified KNOTT grill
Phone holder and charger
Trailer hitch
Dual air horn
Auxiliary fuse box with relays
Heated clothing controller
volt/oil pressure gauge
Sequential signals in mirror
Tri Axis Handle bars
Baja Ron anti sway bar/heim links
shorty antenna
And many more
As mentioned. If the Spyder has been sitting for an extended period you may need to ride a few miles at 30/40 mph to get the Ride-On to distribute. But it should happen fairly quickly.
Are you sure your A-Arm bushings are good? If they are worn they can give you this effect.
Separated tire belt would definitely give you this problem.
Bad tie rod ends (there are 4 of them) will do this.
2011 RTS (Sold to a very nice lady)
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2006 Mustang GT. Varooooom!
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Experience is recognizing the same mistake every time you make it!
My 2012 RT would get a crazy shimmy as you describe at the same speed. It wasn't all the time, but when it happened it was crazy scary.
I took it to Spyderfest last year, and it turned out it was worn out A-Arm bushings. Len's team replaced the bushings and I never had the problem again.
Deke
+Peace,
Deke
2105 RT-S SE5 Special Series (current)
2012 RT A&C SE5 (previous)
Ride on is not the problem. I went on a 250+ mile ride yesterday and it happened all day.
It has stock tires on it. I will check tomorrow and see if on is out of round.
The tires have rideon in them and yes, on has a lot of weight on it. It however, has always rode smooth with the weights. How could that change?
Tie rod ends are tight.
Lug nuts are tight.
2015 an Am Spyder RT Limited
2013 Yamaha WR250R - Sold
2011 Can Am Spyder RT-S SE5 Limited - Sold
2011 Aspen Sentry Trailer
2003 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2007 Unigo Trailer - Sold
2001 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2001 Honda 750 NightHawk - sold
2015 RT Ltd , Canamspyderaccessories Brake pedal ext. Red
My 2012 RT would get a crazy shimmy as you describe at the same speed. It wasn't all the time, but when it happened it was crazy scary.
I took it to Spyderfest last year, and it turned out it was worn out A-Arm bushings. Len's team replaced the bushings and I never had the problem again.
Deke
How do you test the A Arms?
2015 an Am Spyder RT Limited
2013 Yamaha WR250R - Sold
2011 Can Am Spyder RT-S SE5 Limited - Sold
2011 Aspen Sentry Trailer
2003 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2007 Unigo Trailer - Sold
2001 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2001 Honda 750 NightHawk - sold
2015 RT Ltd , Canamspyderaccessories Brake pedal ext. Red
I had the same problem on a 2012. I had the dealership swap out the tire and rims with another bike, no shimmy. So I replaced the both front tires, problem gone. I think a belt shifted in one of the tires.
My 2014 RT-S was delivered to me and it also had a "shimmy" at about 50 mph. With less than 80 miles on the brand new vehical I returned to the stealership and they replaced both the tries and rims. They said the "tires were not round" The shimmy was gone but the handeling seemed "sloppy" i checked the air pressure only to fine 12 PSI in the front tires. Check the air pressure no matter what ( in fact I'm going out to the garage {no --- I don't keep the in the living room} and check the pressure right now).
Kaos
Kaos----- Gone but not forgotten.
2014 RTS in Circuit Yellow, farkle-ing addiction down to once every few months. ECU FLASH IS GREAT.
so I have checked everything. the tires are out of round upo to 3 mm in one and 2 mm on the other..
What next
2015 an Am Spyder RT Limited
2013 Yamaha WR250R - Sold
2011 Can Am Spyder RT-S SE5 Limited - Sold
2011 Aspen Sentry Trailer
2003 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2007 Unigo Trailer - Sold
2001 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2001 Honda 750 NightHawk - sold
2015 RT Ltd , Canamspyderaccessories Brake pedal ext. Red
This "Shimmy" has just started to occur on my 12 RTL in the past few weeks. We just turned 12k miles on the original Kenda tires, but put on over 1000 in the last month. It only happens around 43mph and the front end begins to wobble side to side very quickly. It goes away if I speed up or slow down. I'm not feeling/seeing any bushing effects and don't have anything in the tires. I do have 17 weights on the right wheel and only 6 on the left. None seem to have been thrown.
I've got to get my 12k maintenance so I'll have the dealer check it out.... Just strange (and good)that I find this thread right after it started...
I'll let you know what is found.
Last edited by NorCalBud; 04-26-2015 at 01:55 PM.
~'12 RT Limited, Pearl White~ BajaRon Anti-sway Bar Squared Away Laser Alignment Custom Dynamics HMT Brake Light, Front Fender Tips & Kit, Front Mud Flap LEDs, Amber & Red Brightsides, Tri-color Magicflex Channelz Lidlox Grip Tip Helmet Locks TricLED Mirror Signals, RGB Multi-color Halo Underground Effects Kit, LED Headlights Palmer Signs Custom "Captain America" frunk graphics Twisted Chrome Pinstripes Overland Australian Sheepskin Seat Cover
This "Shimmy" has just started to occur on my 12 RTL in the past few weeks. We just turned 12k miles on the original Kenda tires, but put on over 1000 in the last month. It only happens around 43mph and the front end begins to wobble side to side very quickly. It goes away if I speed up or slow down. I'm not feeling/seeing any bushing effects and don't have anything in the tires. I do have 17 weights on the right wheel and only 6 on the left. None seem to have been thrown.
I've got to get my 12k maintenance so I'll have the dealer check it out.... Just strange (and good)that I find this thread right after it started...
I'll let you know what is found.
Good grief!! 17 weights on one wheel!!! What was the guy who balanced the wheels thinking??!!
The least I would expect is him to do is to remove the tire and check it for centricity and try another tire.
This "Shimmy" has just started to occur on my 12 RTL in the past few weeks. We just turned 12k miles on the original Kenda tires, but put on over 1000 in the last month. It only happens around 43mph and the front end begins to wobble side to side very quickly. It goes away if I speed up or slow down. I'm not feeling/seeing any bushing effects and don't have anything in the tires. I do have 17 weights on the right wheel and only 6 on the left. None seem to have been thrown.
I've got to get my 12k maintenance so I'll have the dealer check it out.... Just strange (and good)that I find this thread right after it started...
I'll let you know what is found.
6 weights are at the upper end of what I would consider 'Reasonable' or maybe more like tolerable. 17 is in the insane range. Something is very wrong for a wheel to need that much weight.
Well, I fixed it!! I bought a 2015 RT LTD!. Really, I did, but it turned out to be the top shock bolt was loose!
2015 an Am Spyder RT Limited
2013 Yamaha WR250R - Sold
2011 Can Am Spyder RT-S SE5 Limited - Sold
2011 Aspen Sentry Trailer
2003 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2007 Unigo Trailer - Sold
2001 BMW K1200LT - Sold
2001 Honda 750 NightHawk - sold
2015 RT Ltd , Canamspyderaccessories Brake pedal ext. Red
6 weights are at the upper end of what I would consider 'Reasonable' or maybe more like tolerable. 17 is in the insane range. Something is very wrong for a wheel to need that much weight.
While I don't disagree with you one bit, that does seem crazy, I don't really think that is the direct problem. I've been using these tires like that for 2 years and only started feeling the "shimmy" for a few weeks. Unfortunately I never even noticed the amount of weights until just now.
I also had the DPS/Limp Mode alert this past weekend while on a ryde. I've never had any alarm before. I pulled over and shut the tryke down. I pulled out the manual and checked what the alarm was about, I started it up and it was gone. I checked for active fault codes, but that was blank. I rode several hundred miles this weekend without that occurring again. Perhaps I was riding the break, but I'm usually pretty careful about that. But I can't say for sure.
Coincidence...I hope so!
Last edited by NorCalBud; 04-26-2015 at 10:45 PM.
~'12 RT Limited, Pearl White~ BajaRon Anti-sway Bar Squared Away Laser Alignment Custom Dynamics HMT Brake Light, Front Fender Tips & Kit, Front Mud Flap LEDs, Amber & Red Brightsides, Tri-color Magicflex Channelz Lidlox Grip Tip Helmet Locks TricLED Mirror Signals, RGB Multi-color Halo Underground Effects Kit, LED Headlights Palmer Signs Custom "Captain America" frunk graphics Twisted Chrome Pinstripes Overland Australian Sheepskin Seat Cover
I just went through this with a friends 2008 RS and found the front drive sprocket was loose causing front-end shimmy between 20 and 30 mph. The whole bike shook at certain speeds. Hopefully not your problem but certainly worth checking to be sure it is tight. Just Saying....
2005 Suzuki Burgman 650AN
2008 Can Am Spyder RS SM5
2014 Mustang GT