Peter, I get what you're saying but when I take off all the plastics, and push the faring side to side I can see the acoustic panels flexing. I would be very surprised if the tires were bad especially with 1500 miles on them, I might get that but no other part of the bike is shaking, so I don't know. It's improved some since I've tightened down the bolts that hold the cowl, How I only get the shake if I hit a hard bump on one side or multiple bumps with the front tires
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2015 rt upper cowl shake
- Thread starter mavrik
- Start date
I'm quite mechanically inclined so I'm going through the machine and checking every little thing, I'm bouncing the stuff off you guys to see what you think and give me some new ideas or to see if that's just the nature of the beast. I would like to thank all of you for your efforts and the time that you've put into giving me thoughts and ideas
Any chance you could post up a video of this shaking happening?? :dontknow:
The thing to remember about all the tupperware and the acoustic panels is that individually, they are all & each fairly flimsy, so you should expect to see the flex you describe above - it's only when everything is all buttoned up properly that the shakes & vibrations should be reduced.... but there is likely to still be some vibration! It's simply the nature of the beast when it comes to motorcycles & tupperware... but we don't really know if THAT is all that you are experiencing or if it's something more?! :dontknow: Hence the vid request.
As for the tires, there are quite a few here & on other sites who've experienced very similar issues with brand new Kenda tires - yes, BRAND NEW tires, so 'low milage' will not necessarily or even likely mitigate their risk of being at least a contributor!!
And 'defective tires' can do exactly what you describe - the vibration &/or imbalance is often small enough that it can't be readily detected thru normal means &/or corrected thru balancing or alignment; it often shows up elsewhere in the machine due to the harmonics it creates with other components, and then, as others have already discovered, that machine gets an 'incurable & impossible to find' vibration that plagues the machine right up until the offending tire/s are replaced! :gaah:Tightening down the cowl securing bolts won't necessarily solve the problem, but it may have reduced the harmonics in that particular area, reducing the incidence of visible vibration until the wheels are 'further upset' by hitting a bump or series of bumps that creates its own set of harmonics & pushing the combined effect over the new 'tightened' vibration threshold!! But at least there's an easy way to prove/disprove the tire's being a cause, IF you can find someone with 'proper' tires on their Spyder (any F3 or 2013 & newer RT's) who is willing to let you swap them onto your Spyder for a short ryde....
It might even help if you could rig up a dial gauge or a home made 'fixed point' hard up against or very close to each tire's sidewall (in turn) &/or their tread surface, then spin the raised tire & see if the sidewall &/or the tread remains a set distance from your fixed point/dial gauge.... A wheel or tire that's out of round (like MANY Kendas are from the factory!) or one that has any construction defects (like MANY Kendas have from the factory!) or possibly even just any bent or worn suspension components in the front suspension &/or steering components can give you EXACTLY what you describe - heck, one owner here discovered that it was a worn swing arm bush giving his Spyder these sort of vibrations, but his Spyder had done a fair few miles! And really, the only way to exclude any of these is to step thru checking them each out in turn & eliminating them as you go! Over to you!
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Are you talking about the piece that wraps around the headlights? That has at least six screws that I'm aware of plus the ones buried back underneath the cowl above the frunk under the headlight area.
PinkRosePetal
New member
As I said early on in your thread, the RT does flex a lot when travelling over bumps or rough road. The whole cluster/dash assembly moves side to side. Especially if the bumps are quickly on opposite sides. Personally I think you're being given a whole lot of worry beads.
I reckon there's a whole lot of folks who don't ever ride on properly rough roads so they've never experienced it, they'll give you well meaning advice but they're not actually familiar with the issue.
However, you did initially mention your Spyder shook at 70mph. If it does this while you're running on smooth tarmac then that is a completely different issue. Perhaps you could clarify exactly when you get this shake.
I reckon there's a whole lot of folks who don't ever ride on properly rough roads so they've never experienced it, they'll give you well meaning advice but they're not actually familiar with the issue.
However, you did initially mention your Spyder shook at 70mph. If it does this while you're running on smooth tarmac then that is a completely different issue. Perhaps you could clarify exactly when you get this shake.
PinkRosePetal….first off I love Rule #2 ...SOOO damn true. Very funny. I think it was just concerning to me because my older ST didn't do this. The tires are 4 going on 5 years old and with only 13## miles, that is a lot of time sitting which I could see leading to flat spots. When I first noticed it I was getting on the highway for the first time, there was some wind beside doing 55-70 and it seems the fairing shook a lot, that is what lead me to check the bolts, they needed to be tightened. Since then I have still seem some shake at highway speeds even on somewhat smooth roads but usually when windy outside. As for side to side shake and not feeling planted...the bike feels planted and very easy to control.
Bangorbob
Active member
Interesting post. I have had my 2012 RT for only about 800 miles. I did notice the shake even on smooth surfaces. I have installed new sway bar. Everything torqued to specs on that. Will try raising and lowering windshield and pay more attention to see if this helps. Didn't mean to try and steal this post.
Bob
Bob
Sorry all...been refinishing the front of my house around the rain so I have not had time to do a ton of test riding and such....but I will be pulling the front wheel and throwing a balance on them to see if out....since it cost me nothing but then may just hit up some new fronts, they are cheap enough and sitting 5 years with almost no miles probably was not the best for these tires with weak sidewalls...
As for the swaybar and links...I notice that this RT handles curves way better than my ST did, the nanny goes off very little. With my ST...I updated the tires, did the sway bar and links, change the front shocks to fox adjustable and the more I did the worse the nanny was, to the point that I would hit corners and not enjoy them anymore because when the nanny when off it extremely upset the machine mid corner and would push me outward into the outside of the turn. When the RT nanny goes off you barely know it and doesn't unsettle bike...so at this time it will only mess with the tires...
Let you all know and thanks!!!
As for the swaybar and links...I notice that this RT handles curves way better than my ST did, the nanny goes off very little. With my ST...I updated the tires, did the sway bar and links, change the front shocks to fox adjustable and the more I did the worse the nanny was, to the point that I would hit corners and not enjoy them anymore because when the nanny when off it extremely upset the machine mid corner and would push me outward into the outside of the turn. When the RT nanny goes off you barely know it and doesn't unsettle bike...so at this time it will only mess with the tires...
Let you all know and thanks!!!
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
Something to consider..... the " nanny " detects "G" forces …. the stickier the tires the sooner your Spyder will achieve higher "G" forces and therefore trigger the nanny...… Unfortunately I have not seen any performance testing using accurate measuring devices…. So all the info is from " seat-of-the-pants " which has zero accuracy ……. Mike 
hyea:
hyea:Absolutely.
PinkRosePetal
New member
Mike, in what way does the nanny detect G-force? Not winding you up, a serious question.Something to consider..... the " nanny " detects "G" forces …. the stickier the tires the sooner your Spyder will achieve higher "G" forces and therefore trigger the nanny...… Unfortunately I have not seen any performance testing using accurate measuring devices…. So all the info is from " seat-of-the-pants " which has zero accuracy ……. Mike
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
Thank you for not " winding me up " :yes::yes:, …. However no explanation from me is going to satisfy You, so I won't waste my time on this ….. ride happy - ride safe ….. Mike
hyea:Thank you for not " winding me up " :yes::yes:, …. However no explanation for me is going to satisfy You, so I won't waste my time on this ….. ride happy - ride safe ….. Mike
Mike, PRP asked a serious question, and she isn't the only one interested in a serious answer. Thanks.
Snowbelt Spyder
Well-known member
Lew L
Well-known member
Thanks Snow,
So back to the question:
Does adding better tires, shocks, and sway bar effect the rate at which the sensors have nanny ( YRS ) come into effect ?????? Or is it how smoothly the ryder makes those inputs happen???
After pondering drawing #2 another question pops up------It seem like the sensor inputs MAY be influenced by the ECM---- IF so can the be changed like a Stage 1 flash from Monster FI??????
Lew L
So back to the question:
Does adding better tires, shocks, and sway bar effect the rate at which the sensors have nanny ( YRS ) come into effect ?????? Or is it how smoothly the ryder makes those inputs happen???
After pondering drawing #2 another question pops up------It seem like the sensor inputs MAY be influenced by the ECM---- IF so can the be changed like a Stage 1 flash from Monster FI??????
Lew L
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