Replaced Ball Joints on 2012

[Texascanuk]

Our 2012 Spyder RT only has 7000 miles but the service tech showed me that the upper ball joints were bad. It has the original front tires and they are in good condition with no cupping or unusual wear. The lower ball joints did not have noticeable play but I replaced all 4 anyway. He did not have a good explanation why they would wear so fast. I couldn't find a suitable press diameter to fit around the rubber boot for installing the new ones, nor could I get the upper tab off of the taper. I then purshased the Can-Am tools and everything went well after I cut a small section of pipe for installation since the C-clamp wasn't big enough to fit both of the can am tools. I rented a ball joint press (big C clamp) from the auto parts store so that I could leave the A-frames installed and didn't have to remove the frunk. It took about 2 hrs to do the first side and 1.5 hrs to do the other. The steering is alot better and the bike does not jump from side to side within its lane on the freeway anymore.

 

[pegasus1300]

Thank you for this information. How did your tech determine that the ball joints were bad?

 

[KX5062]

I had that happen on my 2008 GS and it was related to improper tire alignment. You might want to make sure the alignment is correct via the ROLO method.