Is it common to need alignment every few thousand miles?

[PMK]

First step in a wheel alignment is to establish the belt position on the pulleys then set your laser targets equal distance to either side from the rim or tyre. Front end is then set from that position the rear wheel is in so any messing with belt adjusters after the alignment stuffs up your alignment. Changing the tyre and moving one adjuster more than the other or tensioning the belt with just one adjuster and you've wasted your money paying a professional to get it spot on. If you want a cheap alignment make up some measuring sticks one an eight of an inch longer than the other and set your toe in to that. That way if you want to forget about whether your back wheel is aligned to the fronts you haven't wasted your money.

That may be how you accomplish laser alignments when you do them yourself. First off, if a Spyder arrives with a correctly tracking belt, there is no need to make any adjustments to correct something not needing adjustment.
The joke of laser aligning, is setting the targets, all this is done with a tape measure and is not precise.

Therefore, if a person did have a laser alignment, done correctly, and the drive belt is tracking properly, changing a rear tire, then reinstalling the rear wheel, making no adjustments to tension, and then verifying the belt tracks as it did before, there will be no change or ill effects to the existing alignment. Then again, if a ham fisted hack installs the rear wheel after tire change, then any sort of issues may present themselves.

I gladly welcome more discussion from you regarding your methods or techniques for accomplishing laser alignments. I know my ROLO equipment should be used more, but just sits, stashed away.

Regarding using the measuring sticks you mentioned, I have a set of production toe sticks that very accurately can measure a vehicles toe setting. They also can measure camber and caster. I have used the toe sticks many times, aligning not only Spyders, but cars, trucks and our van. Super easy and very accurate. Far less effort than setting up ROLO laser alignment equipment, and done correctly, equally as accurate.

 

[PMK]

I guess I just got spoiled riding Hondas over the years. MOst of the maintenance was simple and I did it myself. If the wife would let me I would sell the Spyder and buy another old Valkyrie

Same here, the Spyder in our house is the wife's choice. Fine with it as a two up toy. If I had my way, and she did not ride as passenger, likely would have a 900cc or so sport bike.

 

[PMK]

Other folks here saying once and done, Not annual as you suggest. I agree that these suspensions are simple and with 8000 soft miles on the bike I cant imagine any wear on the rod ends. The rods are tight for toe in / out adjustment. If it were low t ire pressure should be on both edges

Simply a FWIW tip, to save wear on front suspension ball joints and tie rod ends, even the steering box and universal joints, when turning the bars, always be rolling, even if slowly. This reduces the effort and force by a huge amount. Saving on wear and tear. Same for cars and trucks.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

THe tires on the bike are original front and back from 2015. I know they are old but is 8000 miles the normal wear for these Kendra tires?

Kenda tire wear ??? ... That depends on front or rear .... 8000mi. REAR is a bit low, but not by much 10,000 to 12,000 mi. is average ..... Fronts ( if good alignment ) 20,000 to 22,000mi. .... Auto tires get waaaaaaaaaaay more, with better traction. Especially the REAR .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Cobwebs]

That may be how you accomplish laser alignments when you do them yourself. First off, if a Spyder arrives with a correctly tracking belt, there is no need to make any adjustments to correct something not needing adjustment.
The joke of laser aligning, is setting the targets, all this is done with a tape measure and is not precise.

Therefore, if a person did have a laser alignment, done correctly, and the drive belt is tracking properly, changing a rear tire, then reinstalling the rear wheel, making no adjustments to tension, and then verifying the belt tracks as it did before, there will be no change or ill effects to the existing alignment. Then again, if a ham fisted hack installs the rear wheel after tire change, then any sort of issues may present themselves.

I gladly welcome more discussion from you regarding your methods or techniques for accomplishing laser alignments. I know my ROLO equipment should be used more, but just sits, stashed away.

Regarding using the measuring sticks you mentioned, I have a set of production toe sticks that very accurately can measure a vehicles toe setting. They also can measure camber and caster. I have used the toe sticks many times, aligning not only Spyders, but cars, trucks and our van. Super easy and very accurate. Far less effort than setting up ROLO laser alignment equipment, and done correctly, equally as accurate.

I would think one or two turns out on a tension adjuster if you loose track while counting lets say to get back to an original setting would be more detrimental to an alignment than the poofteenth of a millimetre the naked eye could see on a tape measure when setting your targets. So yes fist of ham guys can screw it up. Mount a laser to the rear wheel and aim it across the garage then mess with the tensioners and you can measure the exact amount.
Ever considered your toe sticks v tape measure for the target placements?

 

[PMK]

I would think one or two turns out on a tension adjuster if you loose track while counting lets say to get back to an original setting would be more detrimental to an alignment than the poofteenth of a millimetre the naked eye could see on a tape measure when setting your targets. So yes fist of ham guys can screw it up. Mount a laser to the rear wheel and aim it across the garage then mess with the tensioners and you can measure the exact amount.
Ever considered your toe sticks v tape measure for the target placements?

Simply, you lost me with your reply. In simplest terms, if changing a rear tire, or removing the rear wheel for whatever on a Spyder with correct drive belt alignment, why would a person change the adjusters?

Please explain further, toe sticks vs target placement, are you meaning both utilize tape measures? If that is the intention of your words, please be very careful unless you have accomplished laser alignments based off the rear tire and toe stick alignments. Ironically, the toe sticks are very repeatable and easy to accurately read. Laser alignments require accurately placing 4 targets via multiple measurements with tape measures. Additionally, laser alignment does not account for camber, and that can alter the initial width dimension. Yes, for my ROLO setup, I made the correction tables to account for camber error.

 

[Cobwebs]

Simply, you lost me with your reply. In simplest terms, if changing a rear tire, or removing the rear wheel for whatever on a Spyder with correct drive belt alignment, why would a person change the adjusters?

Please explain further, toe sticks vs target placement, are you meaning both utilize tape measures? If that is the intention of your words, please be very careful unless you have accomplished laser alignments based off the rear tire and toe stick alignments. Ironically, the toe sticks are very repeatable and easy to accurately read. Laser alignments require accurately placing 4 targets via multiple measurements with tape measures. Additionally, laser alignment does not account for camber, and that can alter the initial width dimension. Yes, for my ROLO setup, I made the correction tables to account for camber error.

Well they wouldn't touch the adjusters if they knew what they were doing but how many know that by altering them they have just screwed up their alignment despite your claim it doesn't is how i was politely putting it.
You say a tape measure isn't accurate yet toe sticks are so I asked if you ever put it into practise.
You sit the person your aligning for on the bike to determine the camber width measurement if you can't measure the distance between two small dots on the floor and repeat that at the back wheel with tape or sticks give up and try rocket science or something.

 

[PMK]

Well they wouldn't touch the adjusters if they knew what they were doing but how many know that by altering them they have just screwed up their alignment despite your claim it doesn't is how i was politely putting it.
You say a tape measure isn't accurate yet toe sticks are so I asked if you ever put it into practise.
You sit the person your aligning for on the bike to determine the camber width measurement if you can't measure the distance between two small dots on the floor and repeat that at the back wheel with tape or sticks give up and try rocket science or something.

Why the negativity and attack towards me regarding tape measure devices?
The difference between toe sticks directly reading the dimension vs doing the laser alignment dots on the floor, and neither is difficult, simply measuring one dimension across hardpoints gives a direct dimension. Drawing dots on the floor at each front wheel, then rolling the Spyder back so that distance can be measured, followed by taking the distance of those two dots on the floor and subtracting the rear wheel width, and then measuring from the rear rims edge outward and putting two more dots on the floor, and then aligning vertical metal targets onto the dots at the back, and then getting targets aligned exactly the same width and squareness at the front, there is many chances to be that little bit off. If the alignment base setup is off, so is the rest of the work. Maybe only slightly, but it is not accurate.

Also, since laser alignments do not measure camber angle, and unless the camber angle is zero degrees, the two initial dots will not be the wheels true horizontal center plane dimension. This means that the targets will be set wider or narrower than the Spyders actual width dimension. This results in the targets not being correctly positioned and in turn, skews the alignment.

 

[Cobwebs]

Why the negativity and attack towards me regarding tape measure devices?
The difference between toe sticks directly reading the dimension vs doing the laser alignment dots on the floor, and neither is difficult, simply measuring one dimension across hardpoints gives a direct dimension. Drawing dots on the floor at each front wheel, then rolling the Spyder back so that distance can be measured, followed by taking the distance of those two dots on the floor and subtracting the rear wheel width, and then measuring from the rear rims edge outward and putting two more dots on the floor, and then aligning vertical metal targets onto the dots at the back, and then getting targets aligned exactly the same width and squareness at the front, there is many chances to be that little bit off. If the alignment base setup is off, so is the rest of the work. Maybe only slightly, but it is not accurate.

Also, since laser alignments do not measure camber angle, and unless the camber angle is zero degrees, the two initial dots will not be the wheels true horizontal center plane dimension. This means that the targets will be set wider or narrower than the Spyders actual width dimension. This results in the targets not being correctly positioned and in turn, skews the alignment.

Again your talking poofteenths of a millimeter, completely indiscernable on the road or tyre edge. Tweaking the adjusters for whatever reason and not expecting a negative with the tyre wear was the point I wanted to make for anyone wanting to learn how these things should be set up. Your statement confuses the issue for no good reason. None of which the OP's question was about so I stand by my original reply to him and am leaning towards most likely someone has goofed with the initial alignment and it's taken a few thousand miles to show itself with tyre wear.
Too many variables to bother with perfection in this case.:cheers: