Initial Maintenance and Work

[Rednaxs60]

Another maintenance item I have been reading about. The front drive sprocket. Read lots of threads and posts about this, and the red dust that I expect is from rust accumulation. Checked the P/N in the parts fiche for my Spyder and it's 705502134. Will be asking the dealer for a price and if P/N 705503239 has superseded the P/N in the fiche.

If the red dust is from accumulated rust, I would think that removal and lube of the splines would be a good maintenance item every two years or so. I'm very aware of splined drive systems having been maintaining the drive line on my Goldwing(s). Honda calls for a molybdenum paste that has at least 60% (I think this percentage is correct - it's substantial to say the least) moly in the mix. I use a Loctite product LB 8012 that is quite good.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Took the Spyder out for a good trial run yesterday. We have a loop that we ride, Victoria, Port Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, Duncan, home to Victoria. The road out to Port Renfrew is a nice twisty, but bumpy ride - good suspension is a must otherwise, you know just how much travel the suspension has. This road is under construction, lots of dips and dives in the most inconvenient spots, and is a mix of pavement and tar/gravel. Port Renfrew to Lake Cowichan is twisty as well, a tar/gravel road top, with a good amount of dips that test your suspension as well. The ride was good, but I did use all the travel the suspension had, and bottomed several times no matter what air pressure setting I used in the rear shock - spring rate not sufficient for the task. The ride on these two legs of the ride reminded me of a snowmobile motocross course - in/out of turns, speed up - shed the right amount of speed into the next corner, left turn/right turn, hang out the side, and on turns that are not banked in your favour. On roads that have corners that are not banked properly, the Spyder is not the vehicle of choice. I was glad to get back onto the civilized paved roads. Not to say this is not a road to ride, but will now know that when Sonya and I ride the Spyder on this trip, speed is not your friend.

Brought to mind, again, the need to replace the OEM suspension. More reading being done, and refreshing the memory on compression/rebound settings and why these are important. Video viewing of the various aftermarket shocks out there. FOX shocks has some good videos explaining rebound and such.

When I had my demo day before I bought my Spyder, the demo was a 2020 RT LE. It did not have a sway bar upgrade, and did lean more towards the outside of turns. One of the videos on rebound by FOX shocks indicated that rebound can be set for varying conditions and that roll in a corner is one of these. The faster the spring returns back to original length in the corner, the less roll there will be. I mention this because when my Spyder enters a corner, say on a cloverleaf, the front end does squat and lean, maybe not a lot of lean, and in doing so with the OEM shocks, does not actually rebound until it comes out of the corner. What would be nice is for the shock to rebound fully, or partially while in the corner. Couple this with how fast/slow the shock compresses would be beneficial. A different spring rate is also helpful.

After yesterdays ride, a new rear shock with a stiffer spring rate may also be beneficial. A spring rate to better accommodate Spyder weight and approximately an additional 500 pounds of rider/pillion/luggage weight may be in the offing.

One more consideration in a suspension upgrade is it is not inexpensive, mentioned this in an earlier post I think. Looking at Elka stage 2, possibly Stage 3 shocks, front/rear is a $2000.00 CDN before tax proposition. I understand why a suspension upgrade is not on the lists of the majority of people. The good news is that we are not touring this year, chews up a good chunk of change, so I might as well support the economy and do some mechanical upgrades on the Spyder, my '85 1200 Goldwing Limited Edition is almost maxed out.

Lots of issues to consider.

 

[Rednaxs60]

After perusing this forum threads on the front drive pulley, have found the info I was looking for. Torque on the pulley bolt has been increased to 111 ftlbs. Will be using a new bolt, inexpensive peace of mind. Pull the pulley and use the Loctite LB 8012 paste, and put old pulley back on. As I mentioned will put this into the maintenance schedule for every two years, at least a remove and inspect. Just over 12K Kms, should still be in good nick.

Called the local dealer up island. Asked for a price on the various items I may need to order. The pulley(s), painted or unpainted, are $145.00 CDN before taxes. The GBPS is $189.00 CND before taxes. Bolt P/N according to parts fiche is 250000250.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Received the brake parts yesterday and today. New EBC front rotors and EBC Double-H sintered pads for front/rear. Checked the rear brake pads for wear, approximately 70% left, not replaced. Did the front rotors and pads before dinner. So far these are the easiest calipers that I have worked on. Test ride this evening, no more shudder from the front wheels - happy rider. Intend to keep the old rotors, may have them turned to ensure not warped, then keep as spares. Torqued the wheels to 100 ft/lbs, torque again in another 70 Kms. - treat the same as a car.

This Spyder is making me reminisce about a 1992 Mazda MPV that I had. Went through 3 sets of front pads for every rear set. Sent a letter to Mazda Canada querying why the brake hydraulic system was not calibrated to use more rear brake. Mazda did reply and I did appreciate this, but the answer was very generic. Lived with this until I sold the van to my father when it had 180K Kms on it. He took it to 450K Kms before he sidelined it for a newer vehicle.

Contemplating the next maintenance issue, probably coolant change. It has been mentioned that the front doesn't have to come off, but I'll do it this once. Will identify where the new accessory fuse block is going to go.

Have ordered an Oetiker style clamp kit with the clamping tool. It has been shipped.

Ordered and received a new fuel filter. It will be installed soon.

Ordered a new front drive sprocket bolt and some oval rubber washer inserts. Seems the plastic rivets and these rubber grommets tend to do a walkabout never to be seen again. Good to have a couple of spares on hand.

On an operation note, was talking to Sonya's brother Dave regarding his new to him 2018 F3 Limited Spyder. He went on the same road I travelled this past weekend and had an interesting time as well. Hit one dip and popped the rear trunk lid. He's not going to ride on this particular road anytime soon.

We discussed the initial shift into first or reverse. It reminds me of my 1200 Goldwing, no matter what I did the first shift of the day was a good clunk. He showed me how once you shifted and did the clunk, you could shift into reverse or first without the clunk. This is only if you don't go into neutral. He found this out by reading the owners manual, who would have thought something as informative as this would be in the owner's manual. Besides, men don't need to read the instructions. When I bought my Spyder, it came with the CD for the Spyder. The PO mentioned he had never watched it, but his wife mentioned that she had. I tried this shifting issue on my Spyder and it works, will keep this in mind.

Nice to have a person close that has a Spyder, but also close as in Sonya's brother. We discuss various issues as we find them.

 

[Rednaxs60]

A little more done. Received the BRP belt tensioner yesterday. It is the OEM version, not the one from Lamonster with the upgraded roller. This one will do for the foreseeable future, would think a good 20K Kms or more. Will get the upgraded roller as a maintenance item down the road.

Installed the belt tensioner this morning. Took a couple of hours, but with the plastic to be removed, and not having done this before, took my time. Not a lot of adjustment room where it attaches. Went for a 100 Km ride for coffee to trial the install. Think it is working as advertised. had a look at the tensioner alignment when out for coffee, can see from the rear, and it looked pretty good. Paid attention in the 90 to 115 KPH range. Before the install there was an on/off vibration at this speed range, didn't notice this today. Will continue to monitor.

The Oetiker style clamp kit came in today. Can do the fuel filter now.

Thinking I'll do a manual flush of the front and rear brakes. This will clean out the system. I'll do the B.U.D.S. down the road a bit.

Like to do a little at a time, then ride. Don't want the Spyder off the road for any appreciable time.

Going to order a batch of 8.3 mm plastic rivets from amazon. Less expensive than at the dealer, and these rivets tend to go for a walkabout every now and then. I have noticed two missing to date where you would not see if you did not do the work. Replaced one today. The PO did not do any work on this Spyder, and only the initial service was done, so the missing plastic rivets were never installed, or the shop misplaced and never put new ones in. The second one I know of will be replaced, and I will have a stash on hand should I find others missing.

 

[Rednaxs60]

More Kms on the drive belt tensioner. Must mention that it appears to be working well.

Installed the fuel filter yesterday. Have a few hundred Kms on it since install and all is well. The Oetiker style clamps work very well. First time I have used this type of clamp.

Got some plastic tube to fit the Speedbleeders. Will do a manual flush of the brakes this week. A litre (approximately 32 ounces) of Dot 4 from the local NAPA store is $13.00 CDN plus tax. Will get the requisite amount to do the complete flush.

Coolant flush needed. Thinking I might do the B.U.D.S. brake flush while doing the coolant flush because I intend to take the front trunk off this one time, hopefully not too often, and will have better access to the VCM ABS module for bleeding using the B.U.D.S. diagnostic program.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Been perusing the forum for info on doing a brake fluid flush on my 2014 Spyder RT LE, mostly to determine how to manually flush the VCM ABS unit.

Have done a lot of brake fluid flushes on my Goldwings over the years and the Spyder requirement should be no different. The 1800 Goldwing has a very specific brake fluid flush procedure because of the number of bleed screws on each caliper. I believe the rear caliper on an 1800 has 3 bleed screws.

I am generally negligent when it comes to my car, but not my motorcycles. I guess small is easier to visualize. Had a couple of older '85 1200 GWs and when doing hydraulic clutch flush, uses same DOT 4 brake fluid, would rebuild the clutch slave cylinder. It was always full of nasty crud that needed to be cleaned out. The brake calipers had crud as well but not to the same extent, should have but did not. The clutch and front brake MCs needed/need cleaning every couple of years as well. May give my 2011 KIA Soul a go this summer.

My 2014 Spyder RT LE only had 9000 Kms on it in 7 years. This is good on several fronts, engine should be good for a long time, and mechanical parts should as well. The downside is there are parts/components that stand the test of time better if continuously used, and the oil should be changed at least once a year regardless of the maintenance schedule - if you are buying a good deal, low mileage, older Spyder, ask this question. Bearings do not like to sit in old engine oil for prolonged periods of time.

Regarding this post, I expect the brake fluid has never been changed. Since this is the most probable case, I expect the colour of the brake fluid being removed to be a Spyder "Cognac" colour, or darker. I also expect to use more brake fluid to flush the system than if the system had been flushed every two years.

The brake fluid reservoir probably has a crud accumulation as well. Might be part of a maintenance period to remove, inspect and clean if necessary. As long as the connecting hoses are kept full of brake fluid, should not have an impact on the brake system.

Thought I'd put my thoughts into the thread. Keeping this as a sort of journal.

Attached is a picture of a 1200 hydraulic clutch slave cylinder. This is why you flush the brake fluid.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Spyder is getting a lot of use. We ride it most everywhere, weather dependent. Sonya instigates a lot of the rides, she is really liking the ride. Some 4500 Kms since 25 March, doesn't take long. The riding is on the same roads so it's a challenge to change up the routing to make it more interesting.

Have ordered Magic Mirror magnet system. Haven't found very many maintenance items that don't require the removal of the side mirrors.

Will be ordering new shocks on Wednesday, Elka Stage 2 shocks. Have enough time and Kms on the Spyder to give me a good idea of what I expect from the ride.

New battery on Tuesday. Knowing that these machines are very dependent on a good supply of power, and that any electronic issues can be caused by a weak item in the charging system, it's a good time to change out the battery - only 7 years old. Even if it has been well maintained, a less than adequate battery can play havoc with the electrics/electronics. Had an "E" when I pulled away from the gas pump yesterday. Switched to a "1" immediately, but it was disconcerting. Had the rest of the ride home to contemplate and started to focus on the battery. The reason for this focus is that the 2018 F3 that I replaced the battery on for my riding friend had gone dead after 3 years, but after a boost, the battery still required a significant charge and was robbing the system of power, hence the speed limiting and VSS warning light. Considering a battery only has three purposes: to start the engine, provide a voltage spike sink for the electrical system, and to supplement the electrical system when or if the charging system cannot keep up with the demand, a weak battery becomes a "user" not a "supporter". 7 years is a good go for any battery.

Slowly getting items crossed off the maintenance list.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Update on battery issue.

Took the Spyder over to a long time friends place so he could see it. He was pleasantly surprised with the body styling, and the mechanical and electrical attributes. Mentioned the Spyder being a power pig, and that I would be replacing the battery after 7 years even though the load test appears to be good because I'm starting to see little electric gremlins showing up. He retired from our Navy in the '80s and became an HD mechanic, and mentioned that he had one HD that was having electric issues. Tried everything he knew and could find including load testing the battery, all good. He mentioned this to his Snap-On rep, and the rep got his load tester and found one of the cells was on its way out. New battery and all issues went away. Note to self - load testing is good, but a load tester with a cell test - internal resistance capability is better. Going to keep an eye out for one of these on sale seeing as I have two Spyders to watch over, mine and Sonya's brother.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

OEM Shock Replacement

Have mentioned this several times, and have decided on the M2 shocks all round. Called the company and had a good talk with Marcus on the industry, what he is trying to accomplish with his company and what I can expect from his company. Expect that the shocks will be a good upgrade. An important part when buying anything long distance is the "feel" you get when discussing the requirement. Initial "feeling" is good.

Delivery time is expected to be 4 to 6 weeks, have to be mindful of the state of the economy. I viewed his videos on the M2 shocks. The install on an F3 was a trip down memory lane. Setting the rebound by doing the "bounce" test reminded me of my days working at my Father's garage in the '60s/'70s. We did the "bounce" test to prove to customers the shocks were shot on their vehicle. Sent in the online questionnaire. Will be finalizing the details this week.

Will be taking height measurements front/rear and perusing the service manual(s).

 

[Rednaxs60]

Update on baselining. Ordered Magic Mirrors from Lamonster - arrived yesterday. Installed new battery, old one is still good, but new battery is part of my baseline maintenance. Have most everything I need to get going with the brake/coolant flush. Will be putting together a shopping list for the electrical additions I want to add - the FZ1 fuseblock and such.

Have been dividing my time between the kitchen reno and baseline of the Spyder, but had a nice although challenging paint touch up of Sonya's brother's 2018 F3 Limited.

The left rear saddlebag door had a couple of dings, 1/8" by 1/2" through to the base plastic on the rear top section. His wife was going to touch these up with nail polish. I volunteered to paint the affected spots for him having finished last year a complete repaint of my ex-1500 Pearl Glacier White - over 100 pieces when fully disassembled and my '85 1200 Limited Edition two tone with pinstripe.

Figured this was going to be an easy fix, not. Would have been easier doing the complete door. The other issue is there is a paint code, but there is no formulation for it. Went through four iterations with my paint guy for the base colour. The 2018 F3 Limited is a pearl white; however, it has a beige/cream undertone, unlike my ex-1500 Pearl Glacier White that is a white. The initial pearl formulation was good, but would go a shade, shade and a half lighter on the final base colour formulation for future fixes.

My paint guy was very good. Only paid for one base colour and the changes were free. 1/2 pint of paint goes a long way using spray guns.

I've attached a few pictures to support.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Onwards to baseline. Have installed the Magic Mirrors. Very nice and work as advertised. No vibration when on the road. Good upgrade.

Looking into Centramatic wheel balancers. Like the technology. Have used CounterAct Beads, Ride-On tire balancing and sealant - prefer Ride-On over beads. The information on the Centramatic wheel balancing system is sound, reminds me of using the bead technology, and easier to reuse.

Helped Sonya's brother install the drive belt tensioner on his 2018 F3 Limited. He's liking the results.

Looking into drive belt tension and what is required to do this maintenance item. Want to remove the front drive belt pulley, clean adn ube the splines. There are phone apps and inexpensive tool(s) such as the Krikit. The recommended Krikit model number is 91132.

 

[Mikey]

Wow you are like the Ever Ready Bunny, when do you find the time to RIDE??? Wish you were my friend I would let you service my ride!! Good luck with your RT, and take a few hours and ride the thing!:cheers:

 

[pidjones]

Wow you are like the Ever Ready Bunny, when do you find the time to RIDE??? Wish you were my friend I would let you service my ride!! Good luck with your RT, and take a few hours and ride the thing!:cheers:

Check out some GL sites to see how he has maintained (well, beyond that) his GoldWings!

 

[Rednaxs60]

Wow you are like the Ever Ready Bunny, when do you find the time to RIDE??? Wish you were my friend I would let you service my ride!! Good luck with your RT, and take a few hours and ride the thing!:cheers:

Lots of riding time. Owned the Spyder for just 2 months and have some 5000 Kms on it since bought. I use it instead of the car to visit friends and have coffee, pick up odds and sods. The Mrs and I do coffee runs up island on a regular basis, same roads but have the wind in my face. Sonya enjoys the ride and feels safer on the Spyder, and instigates a lot of the rides. I do most of my work when the weather is not cooperating. Have to balance time between the Spyder and my '85 Goldwing that I am still working on.

Cheers

 

[Rednaxs60]

Check out some GL sites to see how he has maintained (well, beyond that) his GoldWings!

Thank you for the compliment. You mentioned you have a Krikit for belt tension testing. What is the model number if I may ask?

 

[pidjones]

Thank you for the compliment. You mentioned you have a Krikit for belt tension testing. What is the model number if I may ask?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRDLZM?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details 91132, but now I find that the free Gates Carbon Drive app does the same thing using the resonant frequency of the belt monitored with your cell phone microphone. RT should be abut 32 Hz on the run with no tensioner. My 2021 has it on the top run, so the bottom run works great. Has to be very quiet for it to work.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Short update. Running out of excuses to not be doing the maintenance. Latest is the Big Blue Lift Can-Am mount came in. Will be installing it on the lift. M2 shocks are being manufactured. Have installed the Hagon shocks with the remote preload adjuster (RAP) system on my 1200 so it is back on the road and can't be used as an excuse to not be working on the Spyder. The only other consideration is that the weather here is riding weather, bit warm but enjoyable, and to have the Spyder off the road for maintenance would be unconscionable. Think I'll wait for the shocks to arrive then do a week long maintenance period.

 

[pidjones]

Good weather = ride! There will always be poor wrenching weather.

 

[Rednaxs60]

My thoughts exactly.