Major vibration in my 2012 rt sm5

[Bigtow]

Hello from Minnesota . I have a vibration in my 2012 rt sm5 .1,300 Hundred miles on it
i'm just wondering if anybody else has had this problem or knows anything .
Thanks!!!!!!:thumbup: I know I have to get it to the dealer just wondering if anybody has any advise.....

 

[2 Cruysyn]

Major Vibration

What else can you tell us? Does the vibration happen at any particular speed? Any particular RPM? In any particular gear? The more particulars the better.

 

[redflasher]

Hello from Minnesota . I have a vibration in my 2012 rt sm5 .1,300 Hundred miles on it
i'm just wondering if anybody else has had this problem or knows anything .
Thanks!!!!!!:thumbup: I know I have to get it to the dealer just wondering if anybody has any advise.....

I must be close to you. I live in Coon Rapids. My 2012 vibrates around 55 mph in 4th gear. Goosing the gas up a bit evens it out.

 

[greenlaps]

vibration engine light came on only 3200 miles on bike

Engine lights came on while backing it out of the garage, I went 15 feet. When I stopped and put it in 1st gear to go back in the garage and get it turned off it started shaking and making noise. The dealer is on the way to get the bike. My nearest dealer is almost 100 miles away.

 

[Grandpa Pete]

Hey Minn, I live in Rockford. I had/have the same issue in 5th at around 68 to 73 mph. Had my belt adjusted at my 5000 mile oil change and it still happens. My belt now runs on the inner edge of my rear pulley. Where do you take yours for service? Have them check your tension and alignment and see if this helps. Talk them into doing it for free or they may charge you an hourly rate. Just a suggestion.....ray:

 

[Jim&Teresa]

RT vibration -- just took long trip - what a pain!

Hello fellow spyderlover friends....

I live in MN (Woodbury) and just bought our 2012 Spyder RT Limited in March of this year. It's great for running around and going slow (less than 60 mph).

We went back to Rapid City, SD to visit family over the 4th --- WOW, what a pain on the interstate -- In South Dakota, speed limit is 75 mph. We wanted to ride at 75-80 mph -- NO LUCK. My spyder started vibrating on slight inclines from 72mph constantly until 82 mph. Totally unexpected and totally disappointing. It's going to the dealer tomorrow to see if they honor warranty work -- I've had many issues with this spyder including the glove box not locking, it's using some oil - not much, but keep an eye on it, it gets very poor gas mileage --- on the interstate in SD we got between 20-25 mpg without wind causing any issues. I had to be careful not to run out of gas and stop every 110 miles to gas up - painful! I also have some clicking noises in the steering and when I go forward and backwards in my driveway when parking in the garage, the front wheels are making some clicking noises - brakes maybe??

Anyway, just wanted to share the pain. Good luck to solving your vibration issue, please post what was done to solve it and I will do the same. I suspect it's a misaligned belt or not tensioned enough belt.

When I talked to my dealer, the service supervisor was "hesitant" on if it would be covered under warranty -- I about flipped out -- "you've got to be kidding me". Wish me luck as I'm talking to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[mustangbob]

clicking is brakes, or so my dealer told me, also have a 2012 rts, no vibes going on, just took a trip to lake michigan yesterday, over 250 mile round trip, some doing 70-75 mph but mostly two lane, got 29.5 mpg

 

[happyspyder2039]

clicking is brakes, or so my dealer told me, also have a 2012 rts, no vibes going on, just took a trip to lake michigan yesterday, over 250 mile round trip, some doing 70-75 mph but mostly two lane, got 29.5 mpg

I have a 2012 RT-S that at certain speeds get vibration in the foot pegs & hummm my tech told me its a know issue that BRP is working on. Also pulls to one side or other depending on the type of road driven on. As far as MPG I get 30-32 so far running 87- 91 octane w/ Star-tron

 

[Grandpa Pete]

Hello fellow spyderlover friends....

I live in MN (Woodbury) and just bought our 2012 Spyder RT Limited in March of this year. It's great for running around and going slow (less than 60 mph).

We went back to Rapid City, SD to visit family over the 4th --- WOW, what a pain on the interstate -- In South Dakota, speed limit is 75 mph. We wanted to ride at 75-80 mph -- NO LUCK. My spyder started vibrating on slight inclines from 72mph constantly until 82 mph. Totally unexpected and totally disappointing. It's going to the dealer tomorrow to see if they honor warranty work -- I've had many issues with this spyder including the glove box not locking, it's using some oil - not much, but keep an eye on it, it gets very poor gas mileage --- on the interstate in SD we got between 20-25 mpg without wind causing any issues. I had to be careful not to run out of gas and stop every 110 miles to gas up - painful! I also have some clicking noises in the steering and when I go forward and backwards in my driveway when parking in the garage, the front wheels are making some clicking noises - brakes maybe??

Anyway, just wanted to share the pain. Good luck to solving your vibration issue, please post what was done to solve it and I will do the same. I suspect it's a misaligned belt or not tensioned enough belt.

When I talked to my dealer, the service supervisor was "hesitant" on if it would be covered under warranty -- I about flipped out -- "you've got to be kidding me". Wish me luck as I'm talking to the dealer tomorrow.

Do you go to Tousley??

 

[Bigtow]

Yes I took it to tousley!!!!! They checked it all over and said the belt and tension was in specs!!
they said you can feel a vibration in the foot pegs .. They said to call brp and complain !
The vibration is still there ! $68.00 dollars later !!!!! :bdh:Any suggestions ? Thanks
and the gas smell !!!!!
and the squeaky brakes !!!!!!!
and the bad fuel gauge !!!!! Other then that it's fine...............

 

[bobnaquin]

Yes I took it to tousley!!!!! They checked it all over and said the belt and tension was in specs!!
they said you can feel a vibration in the foot pegs .. They said to call brp and complain !
The vibration is still there ! $68.00 dollars later !!!!! :bdh:Any suggestions ? Thanks
and the gas smell !!!!!
and the squeaky brakes !!!!!!!
and the bad fuel gauge !!!!! Other then that it's fine...............

Just because the belt is in specs does not mean it won't vibrate at certain RPMS. Usually 4500 to 5500. Get a Spyderpops Smooth spyder. Also, if you have ride on in your tires it can go bad on you and cause you some grief. Do you have it? If so get rid of it and get your tires spun balanced. That's all I have.

 

[capt.jim]

Yes I took it to tousley!!!!! They checked it all over and said the belt and tension was in specs!!
they said you can feel a vibration in the foot pegs .. They said to call brp and complain !
The vibration is still there ! $68.00 dollars later !!!!! :bdh:Any suggestions ? Thanks
and the gas smell !!!!!
and the squeaky brakes !!!!!!!
and the bad fuel gauge !!!!! Other then that it's fine...............

Ask the dealer what part of the spec's the belt was set at. The 2012 and earlier spec's are 450N +/- 150N . This leaves a range of 300-600N. Many dealers are setting them at 450N and at that setting the RT's will be prone to vibration, especially loaded, going up hills, or pushing into a headwind. The 2013 spec's are now 1050+/-150 or 900-1200N, The lowest setting has now tripled and the highest setting is now doubled between the 2012 and 2013's. Unless BRP has beefed up the front output shaft bearings and rear bearing assembly, which is doubtful, I would think it safe to bump up the 2012 belt tension a little bit over the 600N. Most dealers will balk at this and they are not obligated to go above BRP's parameters to help your vibration problems. I can see no other reason for BRP to raise the tension up that amount on the 2013's except to stop some of the many vibration complaints. Providing they have not beefed up the drive train, it would be nice if they would extend the new spec's to the older models instead of making everyone suffer. Even at the new spec's there may be some vibration present, good luck.

 

[HuckFin]

Ask the dealer what part of the spec's the belt was set at. The 2012 and earlier spec's are 450N +/- 150N . This leaves a range of 300-600N. Many dealers are setting them at 450N and at that setting the RT's will be prone to vibration, especially loaded, going up hills, or pushing into a headwind. The 2013 spec's are now 1050+/-150 or 900-1200N, The lowest setting has now tripled and the highest setting is now doubled between the 2012 and 2013's. Unless BRP has beefed up the front output shaft bearings and rear bearing assembly, which is doubtful, I would think it safe to bump up the 2012 belt tension a little bit over the 600N. Most dealers will balk at this and they are not obligated to go above BRP's parameters to help your vibration problems. I can see no other reason for BRP to raise the tension up that amount on the 2013's except to stop some of the many vibration complaints. Providing they have not beefed up the drive train, it would be nice if they would extend the new spec's to the older models instead of making everyone suffer. Even at the new spec's there may be some vibration present, good luck.

My 2013 service manual has a service bulletin that states: "It is imperative that this new tension (1050 N) is applied only to the year 2013. Applying this new tension on previous model years (2008-2012) could cause serious damages to the drive system or engine"

 

[capt.jim]

I know of a few members on here that have complained loud enough for BRP to permit their dealers to raise the tension up to 1000N if need be to keep them happy. I can't see anything in the driveline that has changed so drastically as to now be able to raise the new tension such a degree. I will check the output shaft bearing numbers to see if anything has been changed, I think they want you to buy a new one. Maybe there is a difference I'm not aware of, just sayin.

 

[Grandpa Pete]

Ask the dealer what part of the spec's the belt was set at. The 2012 and earlier spec's are 450N +/- 150N . This leaves a range of 300-600N. Many dealers are setting them at 450N and at that setting the RT's will be prone to vibration, especially loaded, going up hills, or pushing into a headwind. The 2013 spec's are now 1050+/-150 or 900-1200N, The lowest setting has now tripled and the highest setting is now doubled between the 2012 and 2013's. Unless BRP has beefed up the front output shaft bearings and rear bearing assembly, which is doubtful, I would think it safe to bump up the 2012 belt tension a little bit over the 600N. Most dealers will balk at this and they are not obligated to go above BRP's parameters to help your vibration problems. I can see no other reason for BRP to raise the tension up that amount on the 2013's except to stop some of the many vibration complaints. Providing they have not beefed up the drive train, it would be nice if they would extend the new spec's to the older models instead of making everyone suffer. Even at the new spec's there may be some vibration present, good luck.

Thanx Capt, you,ve explained every question I have had on the belt issue:clap::clap::clap:.

 

[n7wol]

There is a service repair for engine frame mounts

When I was at Clem's Powersports the technicians told of a vibration repair they developed that BRP will pay for under warranty. It is new shims from the Engine to frame as the origanal mounts had problems causing increasing vibrations from engine to bike frame. It may be worth checking out.

 

[NancysToy]

When I was at Clem's Powersports the technicians told of a vibration repair they developed that BRP will pay for under warranty. It is new shims from the Engine to frame as the origanal mounts had problems causing increasing vibrations from engine to bike frame. It may be worth checking out.

That was an issue on RT's before mid-2011, when thicker shims began to be installed on the production line. Later Spyder RT's should have adequate clearance, but it never hurts to have the dealer check.

 

[Jim&Teresa]

2012 Spyder RT Limited - vibration still there -- week at dealer for "repair"

Hello my spyderlover friends...

I posted an earlier post in this thread on my RT having vibrations -- specifically around 5300 - 6500 rpms about 70-80 mph...found this out the hard way on a 1200 mile trip using interstates with 75 mph limits - first time I had it at that speed on an extended basis. Vibrated on up hill grades, not down hill. I could accelerate out of it, but when it settled down again going up the grade, it would vibrate.

Anyway, the dealer had my bike a full week (Thurs - Thurs) - wow. They did fix my glove box so it locks now (cable was off at the switch area) - great!

The single most important issue I had told them was the vibration. It was so bad my wife could not put her feet on the passenger pads! We would go below 70 or exceed 80 in order to miss the vibration range -- what a terrible way to ride a new bike (it had about 2600 miles at the start of this trip and we now have 4200 miles on it).

DO ALL RT'S HAVE THIS VIBRATION ISSUE??? That's what the Tech told me. He called BRP and they said at the 6200 rpm range, vibration "happens" - wow for a $25-30K motorcycle that you can't ride on the interstate comfortably?????

I would appreciate any suggestions. The Tech said he tightened the belt to the upper spec and did some alignment - the vibration is still there! The Tech also informed me how much time he took on this (he did ride my bike 22 miles as I checked the odometer when I dropped it off and when I picked it up). No doubt he tried to do his best. He stated that this is normally an "owner" issue in terms of the tightness of the belt and alignment and I was fortunate that the dealership picked it up as BRP would not warranty it....I felt like I was getting a "talkin to" by this 30 something Tech ( I'm 58 with a Mechanical Engineering degree, retired and have worked as an auto mechanic) - I was nice and did not say much to him and just listened when I asked him questions. He finalized the conversation by saying he rode same model, same year and compared it -- they all do it!! WOW.

Anyway....I love the Spyder in it's design and functionality. I can get around issues like the heat on the right foot, glove box issues, etc, but this vibration issue is a "deal breaker" if I intend to keep the spyder -- would hate to get rid of it, but I have riden many other bikes on interstates (such as a 2012 Gold Wing) and it's "smooth" and quiet.

So any thoughts you all have would be appreciated! I see there is a tension pulley for the bottom of the belt, but I'm concerned it just another add-on that may not work.

Safe and happy ridin' to all of you! :spyder2::2thumbs: