2014 RTS pulls to the right

[hunterman1]

I have a 2014 RTS-SE6 with 3500 miles and the bike has pulled to the right since I bought it new. I have to apply pressure on the handlebars to keep it in the roadway. It also wants to dart from side to side if you hit some small ruts in the roadway. This is very tiring on a long ride. The dealer has laser aligned it and it did seem to help a little right after alignment but it is back to where it was before alignment. Has anyone else experienced this problem? What does your bike do if you turn loose of the handlebars for a couple of seconds, does it track true? I would appreciate any help on this subject.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I can take my hands off the bars and my Spyder runs straight down the lane, unless the road has a pronounced grade to it. You may have a bad tire or wheel, which is something that we have found on a few 2014 RTs. You can test this yourself by switching the tires from left to right, this should make your Spyder pull to the left. If that happens talk to your dealer about replacing the tire or wheel. Good luck.

 

[4 MARIE]

It is hard to get a spyder to track straight , hands off. I think it's because the 3rd wheel is usually on the crown of the
road.. With only 3500 miles to your credit, you are likely favoring the right portion of your lane, which would put
back tire on RH downslope of the crown. And so suspect rear wheel pushing you in that direction.

As far as twitchiness goes. You just kind of have to let it seek a little. Grabbing and correcting will certainly only
make things worse in a hurry. Nice relaxed grip and bar movement will reward.

I don't ride mine 2 hands off, and have only really tried it successfully on a freeway that was VERY flat, and no
problems. But would you really recommend that to anyone ?

 

[tip]

Pulls to right

If your "14 RT is like mine - good luck! Mine has pulled to the right from day one and now all 3 tires need replacing - 8000 miles.
My first return to dealer was for this - service manager measured with a tape and said "your alignment is good". When I asked about tires he said" you have the good ones"
Now 11 months later my rear tire is worn out in the center and 180 degrees from there where it has 18 weights it has approx. 1/8" of tread. BRP says tires are not covered.
Even tho' I complained about alignment I have been denied any help from dealer or BRP.
All tires will be replaced this coming week and a laser alignment is scheduled for Wednesday.
It is a shame that such a nice machine has such lousy tires ,dealers and BRP help.
Now I feel better,
Tip

 

[SpyderAnn01]

If your "14 RT is like mine - good luck! Mine has pulled to the right from day one and now all 3 tires need replacing - 8000 miles.
My first return to dealer was for this - service manager measured with a tape and said "your alignment is good". When I asked about tires he said" you have the good ones"
Now 11 months later my rear tire is worn out in the center and 180 degrees from there where it has 18 weights it has approx. 1/8" of tread. BRP says tires are not covered.
Even tho' I complained about alignment I have been denied any help from dealer or BRP.
All tires will be replaced this coming week and a laser alignment is scheduled for Wednesday.
It is a shame that such a nice machine has such lousy tires ,dealers and BRP help.
Now I feel better,
Tip

If new tires and a laser alignment don't take care of the pull then you need to start a case with BRP. Your Spyder should not pull to one side or the other if it is properly aligned.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

It is hard to get a spyder to track straight , hands off. I think it's because the 3rd wheel is usually on the crown of the
road.. With only 3500 miles to your credit, you are likely favoring the right portion of your lane, which would put
back tire on RH downslope of the crown. And so suspect rear wheel pushing you in that direction.

As far as twitchiness goes. You just kind of have to let it seek a little. Grabbing and correcting will certainly only
make things worse in a hurry. Nice relaxed grip and bar movement will reward.

I don't ride mine 2 hands off, and have only really tried it successfully on a freeway that was VERY flat, and no
problems. But would you really recommend that to anyone ?

Yes, how else would I apply makeup while riding?

 

[Cruzr Joe]

Yes, how else would I apply makeup while riding?

:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

 

[Gray Ghost]

It is hard to get a spyder to track straight , hands off.

Not really, assuming that the tires and wheels are good, then having a laser alignment done to align the front wheels to the back wheel, rather than the frame, will cause the Spyder to track straight on a flat piece of road. Not all roads in the US have a crown, and even if you only have crowned roads in your area, all you have to do is find a section of road that is empty, and then let your hands hover above the grips for a bit noting how much it pulls to the side. Then ride on the opposite side of the crown doing the "hover". If it is just the crown pulling your Spyder, it will track to the right when in the proper lane, but to the left when you are in the wrong lane.

I don't ride mine 2 hands off, and have only really tried it successfully on a freeway that was VERY flat, and no
problems. But would you really recommend that to anyone ?

If your Spyder doesn't track straight on a flat road (with your hands just hovering above the grips) then you really need to check out getting your Spyder aligned. You may be like me, where no amount of makeup is going to help matters any, but you want to be able to do that special two handed wave when you see another Spyder, don't you?

 

[Outporter]

Pulling to the right

I have a 2014 RTS-SE6 with 3500 miles and the bike has pulled to the right since I bought it new. I have to apply pressure on the handlebars to keep it in the roadway. It also wants to dart from side to side if you hit some small ruts in the roadway. This is very tiring on a long ride. The dealer has laser aligned it and it did seem to help a little right after alignment but it is back to where it was before alignment. Has anyone else experienced this problem? What does your bike do if you turn loose of the handlebars for a couple of seconds, does it track true? I would appreciate any help on this subject.

My F3S did the same thing, the problem was a warped right front rotor. FYI- alignment shouldn't cause pulling to the right or left, just tire scrubbing and abnormal wear.

 

[jthornton]

On my 12 RT it pulled to one side from the git go and the tech first told me my tire pressures were not even on the front tires. The next time I went back I had built a Dual Fill and had exactly even tire pressures so I knew better. Different tech hooked up Buds and said your steering sensor (or something to that effect) is not centered, so he centered it up and it ran true. The tires were still out of alignment and one wore out before the other. After getting a laser alignment tire wear is much better.

JT

 

[MisterP]

I have a 2014 RTS-SE6 with 3500 miles and the bike has pulled to the right since I bought it new. I have to apply pressure on the handlebars to keep it in the roadway. It also wants to dart from side to side if you hit some small ruts in the roadway. This is very tiring on a long ride. The dealer has laser aligned it and it did seem to help a little right after alignment but it is back to where it was before alignment. Has anyone else experienced this problem? What does your bike do if you turn loose of the handlebars for a couple of seconds, does it track true? I would appreciate any help on this subject.

i had the same skittishness you describe until I added the BajaRon sway bar. I also laser aligned at the same time, but am convinced the sway bar solved it. You are correct, it's tiring to constantly chase the bike.

 

[Orange Spyder Man]

If your "14 RT is like mine - good luck! Mine has pulled to the right from day one and now all 3 tires need replacing - 8000 miles.
My first return to dealer was for this - service manager measured with a tape and said "your alignment is good". When I asked about tires he said" you have the good ones"
Now 11 months later my rear tire is worn out in the center and 180 degrees from there where it has 18 weights it has approx. 1/8" of tread. BRP says tires are not covered.
Even tho' I complained about alignment I have been denied any help from dealer or BRP.
All tires will be replaced this coming week and a laser alignment is scheduled for Wednesday.
It is a shame that such a nice machine has such lousy tires ,dealers and BRP help.
Now I feel better,
Tip

sure hope you did not go back with the OEM tires... if you did... well, de ja' vu

osm

 

[hunterman1]

2014 RTS pulling to the right

Thanks for all the advise. I swapped front tires today and it is pulling to the left now, so I am assuming it is a bad tire. I will contact dealer again and see if I can get this problem fixed. I like the bike, was a little wary on purchase after coming from Goldwings for the last 20 years, but I am pleased so far with the Spyder. Againi thanks to everyone for replies and ride safe.

 

[PaladinLV]

Thanks for all the advise. I swapped front tires today and it is pulling to the left now, so I am assuming it is a bad tire. I will contact dealer again and see if I can get this problem fixed. I like the bike, was a little wary on purchase after coming from Goldwings for the last 20 years, but I am pleased so far with the Spyder. Againi thanks to everyone for replies and ride safe.

OR it was balanced incorrectly.
Take a quick look at the number of weights on the tires.
If more then 4-5, they screwed it up the balance
OR like others have said, they needed all those weights because the tire was faulty.

AJ

 

[ARtraveler]

After our laser alignment from Squared Away both :spyder2::ani29: track like they are on rails. I can let go of the bars and they will not wander off of the set track.

You may also have tire/rim issues as mentioned above.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

OR it was balanced incorrectly.
Take a quick look at the number of weights on the tires.
If more then 4-5, they screwed it up the balance
OR like others have said, they needed all those weights because the tire was faulty.

AJ

Most of the Spyders we see that still have the original tires on them will have a bunch (+6) weights on one wheel and a few on the other. 10 or more weights isn't uncommon. :banghead:

 

[wiredgeorge]

I have a 2014 RTS-SE6 with 3500 miles and the bike has pulled to the right since I bought it new. I have to apply pressure on the handlebars to keep it in the roadway. It also wants to dart from side to side if you hit some small ruts in the roadway. This is very tiring on a long ride. The dealer has laser aligned it and it did seem to help a little right after alignment but it is back to where it was before alignment. Has anyone else experienced this problem? What does your bike do if you turn loose of the handlebars for a couple of seconds, does it track true? I would appreciate any help on this subject.

The Spyder was aligned at the factory. A record of this is stored in the Spyder's ECU and if you get the laser alignment done and then NOT re-enter alignment info in thto the ECU with new settings, the bike will pull to one side just like it did before the alignment. Since it pulls, take it back and ensure they re-load the new alignment info via the BUDS into the ECU.

 

[JayBros]

I'm with Ann on this. My front tires have 9 on left and 3 on right, has BajaRon sway bar and links and laser alignment, all from dealer as part of OTD package. It tracks like an arrow shot from a crossbow unless the road has a severe crown.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

The Spyder was aligned at the factory. A record of this is stored in the Spyder's ECU and if you get the laser alignment done and then NOT re-enter alignment info in thto the ECU with new settings, the bike will pull to one side just like it did before the alignment. Since it pulls, take it back and ensure they re-load the new alignment info via the BUDS into the ECU.

The Spyder may have been aligned at the factory but they aren't aligned properly. We have found 4 out of over 400 that were properly aligned out of the box. Your understanding of how BUDS resets after an alignment is incorrect. Not resetting the Spyder will not cause it to pull to one side. Before an alignment the computer thinks that your wheels are straight when we reset the steering angle we are telling the computer that this is the new straight. If it wasn't reset, and your alignment had been really far off, it could cause an error code but it would not change the tracking at all.

 

[PaladinLV]

Most of the Spyders we see that still have the original tires on them will have a bunch (+6) weights on one wheel and a few on the other. 10 or more weights isn't uncommon. :banghead:

I know and there is no logical explanation for that.
Before you aligned it, I found about ten on my left tire.
Asked them to rebalance.
Now there is four on left; 3 on right (minus 3 from original setup); and 2 on rear (not touched). Still think something is up with the tires ( or wheel) when they need that many weights.
Of course it wasn't till you all did the alignment that it finally tracked correctly :clap:

AJ

Note: this is an non-paid endorsement of Squared Away!