Vibration on 2014 RT

[finless]

Finless, I recently went to the new lower tension spec. I won't report good or bad yet since I prefer to compare apples to apples and accomplish the comparison two up.

Riding solo, I did notice that the belt did vibrate not only in relation to speed but acceleration. Riding solo, the machine would be smooth at speed. In the known vibration range. However, if I added throttle, you feel the vibration. Once back into a constant setting, or cruise control, the vibration subsided.

No horse in this race, just mentioning what I noticed.

PK

Yes this is true. On acceleration you can also get a belt vibe.
If you watch my videos I made showing what the belt is doing while riding both with and without the smooth Spyder, you can see acceleration does cause a lot of slack on the bottom of the belt drive and thus lots of vie slap.

Here is one showing the belt without the smooth spyder.




Bob

[finless]

And with the Smooth Spyder.



Bob

[Bob Denman]

WOW!! Thanks, Bob!
Without the belt stabilizer in place; that belt was hopping around like a toad on a hotplate!

With the stabilizer; the front lower portion of the belt was still trying to do a jig; but the shortened unsupported length really kept it in check!

Now; do I need it on MY bike?

[erspyder1]

Where can I get the "Smooth Spyder" attachment?

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[Bob Denman]

http://www.smoothspyder.com/


They are a site sponsor...

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Bob you are the KING of DIY spyder video's ......Thank you..........and if your belt is at tension Spec.......I can't imagine what mine looks like because it is way under spec., but since I also don't have a VIBE issue I'm going to leave it this way........................Mike

[Bob Denman]

It might not be as bad as you think, Mike...
They went to a stiffer construction for the belt in 2014, to handle the extra weight, and torque...

[The Governor]

Can anyone confirm the tensioner solves the problem, Mine has the same issue even right out of service with the belt tension checked, for me it starts about 77 MPH up to about 85.

Mine fixed it.

You can tell if it's the belt by letting off the throttle when it is vibrating. If it quits, get a tensioner.

[Devious56]

When we first put the belt tensioner on my 2015 RT Limited, it fixed most of my vibration problem, and it wasn't a road vibration but a slapping generated from the belt resonating at a particular RPM, say 3,850. It made it bearable. The last time I talked to mike, it seemed my belt tension was in spec. but on the tight side, so we loosened the belt 1/2 turn of the adjusters, and that seemed to take out most of what vibration was left. It seems that there has to be some looseness for the tensioner to be able to work.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

David

[finless]

Bob you are the KING of DIY spyder video's ......Thank you..........and if your belt is at tension Spec.......I can't imagine what mine looks like because it is way under spec., but since I also don't have a VIBE issue I'm going to leave it this way........................Mike

Thanks, glad you liked that.

My belt on my 2011 RT is at 160 lbs using the Kirkit II.
The Smooth Spyder is set to apply 14 lbs of force and after putting it on, my Kirkit II still read a tad over 160.
The scale on the Kitkit II only has graduations of 10 lb so you cannot see much difference in the gauge after adding the Smooth Spyder.
So in fact even though the Smooth Spyder is set to 14 lbs, it's actual force on the belt does not effect overall belt tension.

Bob

[ricford]

I still have the vibration as well, even with a belt tensioner. How much louder did the exhaust get with the cat off?

It is a very pleasant sound. Not loud at all. Lots of positive comments on the sound.

[Devious56]

Thanks, glad you liked that.

My belt on my 2011 RT is at 160 lbs using the Kirkit II.
The Smooth Spyder is set to apply 14 lbs of force and after putting it on, my Kirkit II still read a tad over 160.
The scale on the Kitkit II only has graduations of 10 lb so you cannot see much difference in the gauge after adding the Smooth Spyder.
So in fact even though the Smooth Spyder is set to 14 lbs, it's actual force on the belt does not effect overall belt tension.

Bob

I don't know how to say this without starting an argument, my Smooth Spyder is adjustable and the correct setting is 12 to 14 pounds to remove the vibration. That comes from the installation sheet that came with my tensioner. I take it that you can adjust it to be more or less if you desire, but it won't be as effective. The device used is a scale, similar to a big fish scale.

David