F3-S: Really bad vibration at interstate speeds

[Penrose]

Coming back from the North Carolina coast yesterday afternoon on my 2015 F3-S, I, and some of my friends, took I40 back from Wilmington to Raleigh. On I40, I was having a problem with what I thought was rough road and vibration starting at 70 MPH on my speedometer. The increasing vibration continued to about 75 MPH, with the vibration becoming extremely evident the faster I went. I did not try to take it beyond 75 MPH on the speedo.

The whole bike vibrated with a very fast vibration. The engine response was not affected by the vibration. It would accelerate and decelerate without apparent problems. There were no power issues. There was no change in the suspension dynamics. No hopping or "squirrely" movement. The suspension felt solid. The problem happened on rough as well as smooth surfaces. The vibration did not occur all at once. You could "feel" it start to happen at about 70 MPH, sort of on-and-off, and got progressively worse and more persistent as the speed increased. The bike performed flawlessly under 70 MPH.

I checked ALL the panels for looseness. I checked the drive belt for wear. I checked the tires for pressure. I checked if any tires had missing wheel weights. I couldn't find anything definitive.

Has anyone had this problem?

 

[jcasey]

Do a search. Belt vibration very common in any belt driven motorcycle. More pronounced on the F3 because of the long belt. Several belt tensioners out there. You will hear testimony's in the search.

 

[Chupaca]

Happens....

:agree: best place to start. If you had gone a bit faster it would have dissappeared. Sometimes referred to as harmonic vibrations. Seem most of us have some and depending on your ryding experiance some live with it and some deal with it. You could have the belt adjustment checked, add a tensioner (the newer upper and lower one seems to work well). :thumbup:

 

[Darren111]

No vibration

When I went to Kent to see Geoff (OJ UK), I expected to feel vibration between 65mph and 80mph whilst on motorway, but no vibration was felt or heard during the 500 miles I did there and back.

 

[CanAmChris]

I took the F3 from Philly to Raleigh and back (418 miles each way) for work. Every once in a while I would get a slight vibe. Usually I looked down and was somewhere in the range of 62-67mph. A tad fast or slower it would go away. Never felt it at 70.

Like others have said. I would check the tension first.

 

[Bob Denman]

Normally it's not a big deal.
My 2010 RT used to set up a good buzz at 75 mph, but I just sort of used it as an indicator of my speed.
But have your belt tension checked. If it's still a problem; get a belt stabilizer from one of our sponsors... nojoke

Oh! my 2014 RT: rock solid with no hint of vibration up to 90 mph...

 

[CanAmChris]

It amazes me the apologist here that reluctantly admit there is a defect but will quickly say its not a big deal and then tell YOU how to fix it.... I have owned MANY belt driven bikes and none of them vibrated like the F3 If yours did, you should have had them repaired.... The F3 has a defect, sorry..... I do not understand why people hate to admit it or try their best to excuse it away or attack anyone who dares to call BS on their denial.. IT HAS A DEFECT!!!!!

BRP should have to resolve the problem.. A buyer that just dropped 24k on a new ride should not be expected to spend another 300 to make their new bike ridable... If BRP shouldn't be expected to repair defects why have a warranty? They know there is a problem and yet they just released another model year without resolving the issue.

as for the aftermarket tensioners.... if you think for a half a second that if you have an output shaft issue or a rear drive failure and you have a tensioner installed and BRP will not try and refuse to repair under warranty, your crazy..... They will say it was not engineered to accommodate a tensioner and it caused the failure... It is a easy way out for them...


flame on but it makes no difference, the F3 has a defect!

Mark

Not flaming you Mark, but look at this:
http://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/harley-davidson-dyna/138607-vibration-new-dyna-4.html

http://kawasakiworld.com/zx-12r/16288-how-get-rid-vibration.html

http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...erd-vibration-at-4700rpm-in-all-gears.895208/

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=1662.0

This is not a problem only for the Spyder. It is an issue with many belt driven vehicles. I am no apologist. I call it like I see it and I have NEVER had more than a slight noticing of any vibration on my Spyder. When I did notice it, a simple change in speed resolved the situation.

It is a machine with many moving parts made of many materials. Materials react differently at different temperatures and it is impossible to test all situations. If you add the human component of a person having an off day when assembling the bike from the crate, the reasons for strange things happening goes through the roof.

Here is a non vibration example:

About five months after I took delivery of my RSS back in 2011, a 10 amp fuse kept blowing and kicking me into limp mode. I didn't know why, but I carried a bunch of 10 amp fuses so I could get home. One day in a parking lot someone commented that I had a strange wear mark on the back tire.

I looked under the back fender and the license plate lighting wire was laying on the wheel. The problem was that the wire insolation had rubbed off because the guy who put the bike together at the dealer did not secure the wire like he was supposed to per the CanAm assembly instructions.

I work for an engineering firm and If there is an engineering defect in the F3, I have yet to find it. (except for the space in the frunk. add a half inch more on all the sides and my full face would fit)

No apologist here. Just my evidentiary experience from many thousands of miles on my F3 and tens of thousands on my RSS.

 

[BikerDoc]

I am approaching 21000 miles on my F3S and suffer no vibration issues from 0 to well over 100 mph. I have had the belt harmonic vibe on my 3 RTs but usually only during a 5mph window that I could blow right through. Suspect this issue is unique to your bike and not generic.

 

[Bob Denman]

Mark,
It's not a defect; it's just a characteristic of the bike. It's also one that can be dealt with in several manners:
Careful scrutiny of belt tension and alignment
Avoiding the speeds at which the vibration is present
Purchasing a Belt tensioner...

I doubt that any of us can change your mind, so I'll ask a question:
Why do you keep the bike? :dontknow:

 

[Air Wing Guy]

F3 Vibration Problem

We have available the F3 belt stabilizer that will reduce up to 75% of the belt vibration with the install time is about 5 minutes.

Please review the video on our website www.bakerbuilt.com. (F3 Belt Stabilizer $125.00)

Thanks, Mike


We also have Air Wings available for the F3 that do a tremendous job of bringing in cool air in hot weather and deflecting away cold air and rain.

 

[Rogue Hawk]

That is odd, my base F3 is stable at high speed. I have had it up to 90. I do have the Blue Ridge windscreen, not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[Wildrice]

Mark,
It's not a defect; it's just a characteristic of the bike. It's also one that can be dealt with in several manners:
Careful scrutiny of belt tension and alignment
Avoiding the speeds at which the vibration is present
Purchasing a Belt tensioner...

I doubt that any of us can change your mind, so I'll ask a question:
Why do you keep the bike? :dontknow:

It may be a characteristic or ir may be a defect but I guarantee it is not caused the the belt. The belt tensioners help negate the problem on a different level.
Park your bike, put it in neutral, rev the engine to the same rpm that you feel the vibration--the actual speed mph varies with the sprocket sizes. I'll bet you will feel that same vibration parked in neutral, brake on, no belt movement, Usually 3200-4500 rpm on the bikes that have a vibration problem. If your Spyder doesn't have a vibration--lucky you--your engine was built-balanced correctly.
Chances of BRP correcting the vibration on a retrofit level----Oh look---I just saw another flock of flying pigs go by. But I do wonder if a high quality "Engine/Trans Mounts" vibration absorsion --could buffer the vibration from the rider.
Darrell

 

[Bob Denman]

Let's face it; everything that has an internal combustion engine, will vibrate... nojoke
On a motorcycle of ANY type; you just lack the sound and vibration dampening pieces to completely numb you to what's going on...

For the record; my 2010 RT would set up a buzz at 75 mph. I DID give it the old "Rev the engine to that point, and see what happens" test.
Guess what?
It wasn't the engine; it's the belt setting up a harmonic vibration with everything else that jiggling around on the bike. :thumbup:

SledMaster had posted some awesome videos of the belt doing it's dance... Look them up, and let me know what you think...

 

[Bob Denman]

Never mind looking for it...
Here it is.


https://youtu.be/tbsOfS9Vg7M

Finless also posted a couple of videos about belt vibration. He had one of the belt without a dampener on it, and another one after the dampener was added.

 

[Wildrice]

Let's face it; everything that has an internal combustion engine, will vibrate... nojoke
On a motorcycle of ANY type; you just lack the sound and vibration dampening pieces to completely numb you to what's going on...

For the record; my 2010 RT would set up a buzz at 75 mph. I DID give it the old "Rev the engine to that point, and see what happens" test.
Guess what?
It wasn't the engine; it's the belt setting up a harmonic vibration with everything else that jiggling around on the bike. :thumbup:

SledMaster had posted some awesome videos of the belt doing it's dance... Look them up, and let me know what you think...

Yes--I've seen drive belt non linear movement, bent wheel rims, tire pull vibration/balance, many things that can cause vibration. None of these will cause a vibration with a parked vehicle between 3000-4500 rpm because your belt isn't moving when you're parked? I owned a franchised auto repair shop for 7 years, had endless number of vehicles come in with vibration issues--maybe one or two had broken engine/trans mounts--but 99.x% would not have a vibration problem when parked. Congrats on having a well built/balanced engine assembled to a tight tolerance. :bowdown:

 

[Wildrice]

Never mind looking for it...
Here it is.


https://youtu.be/tbsOfS9Vg7M

Finless also posted a couple of videos about belt vibration. He had one of the belt without a dampener on it, and another one after the dampener was added.

Was the rear wheel turning on that video? Show me one with it parked:banghead: Yes long belts can bounce, Belts have tolerances also, wheel sprockets have tolerances. wheel bearings have tolerances, tires have tolerances & balance issues.
Alll my posts are referring to vibrations with the spyder parked, & if it vibrates when parked, you can pretty much be certain it will vibrate when moving. Actually--on non balanced engines--one might be able to see some minimal vibration on that same belt during the rpm problem area while parked, if I can feel it--so can the belt. BRP is well aware of the engine vibration problem---I think I've even read some mention of it from BRP at a vehicle show.

 

[Bob Denman]

That video was shot at speed... :thumbup:

 

[Wildrice]

That video was shot at speed... :thumbup:

Speeding isn't allowed in Ohio. but if that icon is your real face---you may just get away with it:clap:

 

[Bob Denman]

I have a couple of others...
I'm just "monkeying around", with some new ideas... :roflblack:

 

[Wildrice]

That video was shot at speed... :thumbup:

At Speed usually refers to top speed. Most feel no vibration after 70+ MPH. The vibration issue is usually in the 60-70mph range---thus if the belt flops around at high speed & there is no vibration---just maybe the originating cause of the problem may not be the belt--the roller belt fix is dealing with the vibration ib its later stage.
OK i'll attempt to curtail my belt vibration comments--------But nothing rarely changes without complaints---the sqeakie wheel does get the grease--the more complaints--the faster the solution appears.
Peace out,
Darrell