Looking for input on RSS front Suspension vibrations

[IWN2RYD]

OK... So we have a a few miles on these now (First service miles are complete :yes

I have a small, but serious issue. I have not yet had the time or attention span available to identify the culprit. But here is what is going on...

At any speed over say 40 mph (And gets OMG Scary the faster I am going) and hit a bump or disturbance in the road while in a turn... The front end shakes. The faster I am going the more violent it is.

I do have the RT Shock with the RS springs, factory Sway Bar and 18lbs air up front with the spring tension set @ #4

Any ideas? Maybe I need to order the RT springs?

Other than this the ryde is amazing. It is smooth and whips into and out of the corners as it should. :dontknow:

 

[stormtrooper]

I think to much air in front tires.I have mine at around 14.I think 18 might be to high.:dontknow: opcorn:

 

[NancysToy]

That type of shimmy is typically associated with wear in the suspension components...loose ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc. The spec on these components is zero play. Alignment can cause it, but the misalignment usually has to be severe, and most of the Spyder alignment parameters are fixed. Tire balance could be an issue, too. It would also be possible that your front suspension changes are incompatible. As I recall, you were originally using RT shocks, but RS springs, and I forget what year the shocks were. Having strong dampening is usually without fault, unless it is too strong for the spring package. Having too much rebound control can cause loss of tire contact with the road...with a resulting tendency to shake. Like all suspension related problems, this will take some time (and experimentation) to figure out. I hope you get it licked.

 

[Lamonster]

When was the last time it rode fine and what changes have you made since then?

 

[IWN2RYD]

Thanks everyone...

I will take time to work on it more...

As far as changes... We think I "May" have had a broken Tie-rod on this Spyder from mile 2. It was a Show Bike. And they think they might have broken the Tie-rod when loading or unloading it. Because I never could take turns without feeling like the bike was trying to kick us off.

That said, as soon as it was replaced and the backup part was in the tool box this bike handles the turns the way we thought it would originally.

This and we do not "Push" our vehicles until the specified break-in period is complete.

So this experience is from this week only as I can now run her the way she was built to be.

I will drop the tire pressure first. As we think the front settings on the springs makes for the perfect balance between one up and two up.

May even just order the 2010 RT Springs to be safe. To cheap to not try...

And yes Scotty... 2010 RTS shocks with 2011 RSS Springs...

 

[sabunim5]

Front tire pressure

I have the 2010 RT shocks and springs on my 2008 GS. I run 18 psi, one up, 20 psi two up and 22 psi two up with trailer. Absolutely no handling problems.

 

[Raptor]

Tire balance could be an issue, too. It would also be possible that your front suspension changes are incompatible. Having strong dampening is usually without fault, unless it is too strong for the spring package. Having too much rebound control can cause loss of tire contact with the road...with a resulting tendency to shake.

Scotty could be right; the 2010 RT shocks just might be a bit much for those stock RSS springs after all. I believe you are the first one to try this approach with the shocks and springs so there is no data available. I think you are wise to replace the springs with those that better match the shocks. I would look at the tires also, but that most likely won't be the fix.

Also, I wonder if whatever snapped that tie rod end hurt something else that was not as obvious. If options A and/or B above don't do it, you'll have to look deeper in. Good hunting, hope you get it nailed down soon.

 

[IWN2RYD]

Just ordered the springs... To cheap to not at least try first :2thumbs:

 

[IWN2RYD]

Just a small update...

Road her pretty good yesterday (Tank of gas) in our rain/ice pellet weather. Air pressure made minimal difference. It takes larger bumps/holes/obstructions in the road to get the front end dancing the tires on and off the ground side to side.

Still there... Springs have not yet arrived. Should see those any day...

I have a sneaky suspicion that while the ryde is butter smooth on the road, the 2010 RSS springs are not capable of keeping up with the 2010 RTS shocks... As suggested by Scotty... opcorn:

 

[IWN2RYD]

Ok.. Busy night... Re-installed the Hindle with Orange goop (Gasket material), and installed my now... 2010 RT shocks with the 2011 RT Springs... Why 2011 Springs? Well they are the same part number as the 2010's...

But Black!!!

Never realized just how much of an impact the Gray coils had on this color bike until the black ones went on... Love it!... Good example... Look at the last pic. The rear springs now bug me pps::roflblack:

May not get a chance to "Test" the new springs until this weekend, but I will try regardless.

 

[GhostRyder]

I'm REALLY lovin' your mods, specially when you added that Hindle, instead of the 2 Bros.! :clap:

I may have to fiddle around with the shocks one of these days--just don't have the technical know-how.

 

[sabunim5]

"I may have to fiddle around with the shocks one of these days--just don't have the technical know-how."
If you can use a jack and know how to loosen and tighten a bolt, you can replace your shocks. It is not a technically difficult thing to do. :thumbup:

 

[Raptor]

Ok.. Busy night... Re-installed the Hindle with Orange goop (Gasket material), and installed my now... 2010 RT shocks with the 2011 RT Springs... Why 2011 Springs? Well they are the same part number as the 2010's...

But Black!!!

Never realized just how much of an impact the Gray coils had on this color bike until the black ones went on... Love it!... Good example... Look at the last pic. The rear springs now bug me pps::roflblack:

May not get a chance to "Test" the new springs until this weekend, but I will try regardless.

I know what you mean about the rear shock! I'm not sure what I am gonna do there either. I don't think there is and RT rear shock that will fit an RS. Penske? Elka? Ah, decisions...

 

[SethO]

if you are getting shake at 40mph there is some serious problems, one shock or part of the front end is wearing faster or is broke compared to the other side, are both the springs set at the same stiffness?

Lamont asked and i am not understanding when you started to notice this shake?

I mean you drove it quite a bit over 40 mph in the first 500 miles you put on it right?

I wore the shocks out on mine at 12k for miles but it would only shake at 100 plus.

 

[IWN2RYD]

if you are getting shake at 40mph there is some serious problems, one shock or part of the front end is wearing faster or is broke compared to the other side, are both the springs set at the same stiffness? That was the Concern. Yes both at the same stiffness...

Lamont asked and i am not understanding when you started to notice this shake? Sorry, I thought I did respond to that. I did not notice until After the 600 mile break in because I just put putted around to and from my business.

I mean you drove it quite a bit over 40 mph in the first 500 miles you put on it right? No actually not that often. Max was 60mph but 40% was in a 50 mph zone (Six lane road mostly straight) and the rest was 25-35mph.

I wore the shocks out on mine at 12k for miles but it would only shake at 100 plus. Thanks for that info!

Thanks for the questions... Answered above in Blue...

Additionally... The bike responds quite differently with the RT set today than the RS spring/RT shock combo was. The only way to describe it is I know feel I over-steer a bit. So as I go into turns I find the need to correct as I am not working the front end as much :dontknow:... I know... Makes no since...

Really bad rainy day today, so I am sure some of the sensation was water related, but I had no chance to actually test the bike because for one reason or another folks around here have no idea how to drive after a day of sun. It is like they have never seen rain before so my travels are slow going on days like today.

It is very likely something could be wrong in the front end. I mean after all I did have the mysterious broken tie rod deal. Maybe there is more to it than I know right now. I can say it likes to travel to the left on it's own at a good clip. Scheduled the 600 mile service for next week. I will ask them to take a look for us... :thumbup::doorag:

 

[SethO]

Thanks for the questions... Answered above in Blue...

Additionally... The bike responds quite differently with the RT set today than the RS spring/RT shock combo was. The only way to describe it is I know feel I over-steer a bit. So as I go into turns I find the need to correct as I am not working the front end as much :dontknow:... I know... Makes no since...

Really bad rainy day today, so I am sure some of the sensation was water related, but I had no chance to actually test the bike because for one reason or another folks around here have no idea how to drive after a day of sun. It is like they have never seen rain before so my travels are slow going on days like today.

It is very likely something could be wrong in the front end. I mean after all I did have the mysterious broken tie rod deal. Maybe there is more to it than I know right now. I can say it likes to travel to the left on it's own at a good clip. Scheduled the 600 mile service for next week. I will ask them to take a look for us... :thumbup::doorag:

I would think it would be a good idea to bring it in, the tie rod broke on a unload? it would make sense that there is something more wrong with the front from your description. I hope you can get a idea of it, with the vibration more of side to side tank slap or is it hand numbing vibration?

With my wear it was you had to hold the handlebars tight or the handlebars would work themselves side to side.

 

[Campverdefela]

It sure does sound like something is broke or loose on the front suspension. Unless your a bike mechanic, I would take it to the shop...

 

[SethO]

seeing the pics now, have you done any videos with the gocam where its mounted. I have my first video mounted by the windshield and it was hard to follow what is going on because the camera is not looking into the corners but yours is out wider. just seeing if you had any up.

 

[IWN2RYD]

OK... New springs semi tested... Night and day difference for the ryde with all RT springs/shocks up front.

Cranked them to #4 and the VSS never again activated as it once did. Now the bike is not quite yet VSS proof for my type of ryding and looks to need the sway bar upgrade for this to happen. But the improvement from the RSS springs on the RT shocks makes the front end feel very different with the RT springs up front on the RT shocks...

A good way to explain the difference for overall use is this. In two up the bike made us ryde in all corners of any avg curve, to adjust our body weight in order to not "Feel" like it wanted to buck us off. Now with 100% RT shock/springs up front we can ryde nearly any corner sitting straight up and not feel like the bike is top heavy and trying to buck us off.

Now when ryding in a spirited fashion all bets are off. We need to move for obvious reasons.

Hands down those before me are 100% accurate in saying this upgrade to our RS's is worth ever penny. And thank you all for expressing this. My wife and I are beyond pleased and for any RS that we will ever be blessed with will most certainly have this done as one of the first, if not first, mods done. Or at least until Can Am does it for us... hyea:

Now the Ryde is not butter smooth, and I once again feel all the wrinkles/bumps in the road. The RSS springs on the RT shock made the ryde butter smooth and soaked up all the small road stuff. So I will miss that on long rydes. But the fun factor being back, and the knowledge of the sway bar helping, leads me to believe for the most part I can drop back to setting #3 once we get the sway bar... That should smooth the ryde a bit.

Took Mrs. 009 Copper in for her fist checkup. So no more updates until late next week as I plan to push her to the limits and see if the front end tiptoe issue in the corners is gone completely or not.

 

[IWN2RYD]

Check that last post...

Our shop got our Spyder done about four days before I was expecting it (Man those folks are amazing!) :yes::bowdown: :firstplace::yes::bowdown: so I was able to ryde one up with a spirited intent this afternoon for about an hour.

Randy (Our tech) is out of this world. They seriously need to clone him. nojoke:2thumbs::doorag:

I can no longer get the front end to dance from tire to tire, or as I call it .... Tip Toe...

For those that take the time to read this thread. Please keep in mind as you read it... That I am known to push any of my new vehicles to their limit, so that I know where it is. Not to confuse that with abuse. Just ask my dealer... They comment I have the cleanest and best running/maintained/looking vehicles of almost all of their clients.

I used to race, and understand the difference between pushing and abusing. My intent is to know (Within reason of course) what the bike can or cannot do, and try and eliminate that of which could cause harm to the bike or me.

All this means is I am able to pick up on a thing or two that mostly everyone else would never notice. I am at the edge of that particulars bikes capability you could say.

With that said... I am absolutely confident that folks should replace the entire shock/spring set if they want to go to the RT setup under their RS. I believe that Scotty is spot on in suggesting that the RT shock is to much for the RS spring and in limited particular situations (That frankly most may never go to) can and does show a weakness in the pairing.

I had a blast testing the RT springs/shocks on our RSS today and am 100% confident this should be the standard setup on all RS Spyders (Or at least the RSS version).