I bought a 2016 F3T in March and have a big trip coming soon. My belt starts to vibrate at about 70 mph which is the speed I like to cruise at. I talked to my dealer about putting on a belt tensioner and he recommended tightening my belt a bit which should move that vibration out of my sweet spot. Does this work?
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Belt Tensioner
- Thread starter I-Day
- Start date
I don't know about tightening the belt but an idler works. I have the BRP idler with over 9000 trouble free miles on it but there is a HUGE discussion going on in another thread about upgrading BRPs idler to two bearings or buy Docs. This will be a never ending topic until BRP offers a more resilient solution. My thoughts.
Bob Denman
New member
:agree: Get the one from Doc Humphreys! :2thumbs:
PW2013STL
Active member
Mine had close to 12,000 miles on it before it started it's swan song. The two bearing set up I am puting in should fix that. Now if I did not already own the BRP one I would have purchased Doc's.
PW2013STL
Active member
Well I just read all the posts on the other thread called Belt Tensioners and am more confused now than ever! I spent 26K for my ride and shouldn't have to pay another penny to eliminate belt vibration. It amazes me how BRP just ignored this and doesn't fix it under recall! At this point I think I'll just live with the vibration cause I don't want to spend another $265 plus the installation and still have a problem!
Chupaca
New member
Well...yes
The vibration point will vary with the tension on the belt. Now the F3 has an even longer belt so it may be a bit different. There is a range you should keep the belt tightened to but we have found it works best on the looser side. Your vibration may come before the 70 but you will not have it there anymore... Tensioner seems to be the method of choice from what you see....:dontknow:
The vibration point will vary with the tension on the belt. Now the F3 has an even longer belt so it may be a bit different. There is a range you should keep the belt tightened to but we have found it works best on the looser side. Your vibration may come before the 70 but you will not have it there anymore... Tensioner seems to be the method of choice from what you see....:dontknow:
SpyderNeil
New member
The BRP tensioner is under $40, and it's an easy install for a do it yourself-er.
Just check it every thousand miles or so and you should be good to go.
Neil
BajaRon
Well-known member
Changing belt tension either way will change not only the frequency, but also the severity and the speed (or Speeds) at which it occurs. A belt is like a guitar or piano string. Change the tension and you change the characteristics. The trouble with this approach is the 'Goldie Locks' effect. You might get a much better result than you started with. And you might make it worse.
A good belt vibration dampener will give you what you are looking for, for sure. If you ever have anything done which requires removing the belt, you may have to start all over again with hunting for a better vibration scenerio if you go with the tension changing approach. This is all eliminated with a good belt vibration dampener.
As far as too much tension on the belt drive. Yes, this will probably cause your rear wheel bearings to fail prematurely and can also destroy the front output shaft bearings as well. But there is a very wide range in acceptable tension and I would think it unlikely that a Spyder tech would exceed this limit.
A good belt vibration dampener will give you what you are looking for, for sure. If you ever have anything done which requires removing the belt, you may have to start all over again with hunting for a better vibration scenerio if you go with the tension changing approach. This is all eliminated with a good belt vibration dampener.
As far as too much tension on the belt drive. Yes, this will probably cause your rear wheel bearings to fail prematurely and can also destroy the front output shaft bearings as well. But there is a very wide range in acceptable tension and I would think it unlikely that a Spyder tech would exceed this limit.
Roadster Renovations
New member
I like the fact that with our Vibration Damper you can reduce the tension and still not have vibration. They "say" that more tension on the belt won't hurt the bearings, but BRP has reduced the recommended tension at least a couple of times. I think higher tensions will cause rear bearings to wear out quicker and probably is not good for the transmission either.
Our website address is: http://dochumphreys.wixsite.com/roadster/ultimate-vibration-damper-products
We had to remove our phone number from the site since we were getting crank calls at all hours. If you email us here or from the site, we will promptly get back with you.
Our website address is: http://dochumphreys.wixsite.com/roadster/ultimate-vibration-damper-products
We had to remove our phone number from the site since we were getting crank calls at all hours. If you email us here or from the site, we will promptly get back with you.
Bob Denman
New member
Hey Doc,
You guys ship SUPER quick!
I ordered one for my new bike today, and I already received an email saying that it was shipped. :clap:
It even had a routing number!! Thanks! :2thumbs:
You guys ship SUPER quick!
I ordered one for my new bike today, and I already received an email saying that it was shipped. :clap:
It even had a routing number!! Thanks! :2thumbs:
RudyB
New member
papanorm
New member
I put a "Smoothspyder" tensioner on when my bike was new. This eliminated 80% of the vibration. The rest of the vibration was eliminated by removing all three Kenda tyres and replacing them with quality automobile tyres. Smooth up to 90mph (not interested in going any faster).
Badco149
New member
I have to go with the Smoothspyder option. Very good construction of tensioner. Able to adjust amount of tension you need on belt. Easy to install and quiet. Costs a few bucks more then the others but what the heck we paid some 25+ on these things what's a few more.
I am happy with the Smoothspyder option..
JMHO
I am happy with the Smoothspyder option..
JMHO
spyder4me
New member
This is my first post here. I had my maiden voyage traveling 330 miles yesterday, we visited Crater Lake and Diamond lake. I have a new 2016 F3 Limited. After doing some searches on here, I now know this crazy vibration is fixable. I was about to call the dealer to start asking. Love the forum. So my question is, there is a lot of recommendations on here for the tensioners, but seems I am limited due to my model. Looks like my only aftermarket option is the Smoothspyder. Has any other owners of a 2016 F3 Limited installed this? Any feedback? Thanks in advance.
Roadster Renovations
New member
We also sell a kit for your F3. That would be a kit #2 - F3.
http://dochumphreys.wixsite.com/roadster/ultimate-vibration-damper-products
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