Vibration on 2014 RT

[finless]

All 1330's have a 6 speed transmission. The older 998's had the 5 speed.

Typo's corrected.... thanks for pointing that out

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

All 1330's have a 6 speed transmission. The older 998's had the 5 speed.

I do believe this topic has been covered ad nauseum and would seemingly be relegated to the area of "nature of the beast". Belt tension, I'm sure plays a roll, and I'm equally sure there is some harmonics involved as well as fuelling issues all combined together. :doorag:

There are always new folks joining up (The O.P. is one of them...). For these new members, this is probably all very new information. We need to afford that same courtesy to them; that we got as newbies. :thumbup:

 

[PMK]

I cannot speak for the 1330 but the 998 also has a harmonic vibration with the engine and motor mounts.
It can be perceived as speed related but in fact it is RPM related.
Just so happens your at a certain RPM at a certain speed. e.g. your in 5th above 65 thus your at a certain RPM at say 75.

Some confuse this with it being the belt and it is not.

You 1330 folks since you have 6 speed tranny, might try dropping down a gear and see if you still have a vibration at the same speed.

The belt will be 100% speed related. Other vibrations may be RPM related. Try to isolate between the two.

Bob

Finless, I recently went to the new lower tension spec. I won't report good or bad yet since I prefer to compare apples to apples and accomplish the comparison two up.

Riding solo, I did notice that the belt did vibrate not only in relation to speed but acceleration. Riding solo, the machine would be smooth at speed. In the known vibration range. However, if I added throttle, you feel the vibration. Once back into a constant setting, or cruise control, the vibration subsided.

No horse in this race, just mentioning what I noticed.

PK

 

[2dogs]

I run mine on the low side

I run the belt tension on the low side (220 lb. on the Krikit II with wheel in the ground) on my 1330 and I have minimum vibration. On some occasions like deceleration going up hill at high speeds after passing, the vibration will rattle your bones, but only for a short time. Same with going down hill but not as severe. Talked to smoothspyder the other day and he may be working on a top of the belt tensioner for RT's that could have promise for more success on solving this issue. ray:

 

[PaladinLV]

Belt vibration occurring from road HARMONICS cannot be stopped or CURED only reduced.
It's a matter of physics.

AJ

I still have the vibration as well, even with a belt tensioner. How much louder did the exhaust get with the cat off?

 

[finless]

Finless, I recently went to the new lower tension spec. I won't report good or bad yet since I prefer to compare apples to apples and accomplish the comparison two up.

Riding solo, I did notice that the belt did vibrate not only in relation to speed but acceleration. Riding solo, the machine would be smooth at speed. In the known vibration range. However, if I added throttle, you feel the vibration. Once back into a constant setting, or cruise control, the vibration subsided.

No horse in this race, just mentioning what I noticed.

PK

Yes this is true. On acceleration you can also get a belt vibe.
If you watch my videos I made showing what the belt is doing while riding both with and without the smooth Spyder, you can see acceleration does cause a lot of slack on the bottom of the belt drive and thus lots of vie slap.

Here is one showing the belt without the smooth spyder.

Bob

 

[finless]

And with the Smooth Spyder.

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: WOW!! :clap: Thanks, Bob! :2thumbs:
Without the belt stabilizer in place; that belt was hopping around like a toad on a hotplate! :yikes:

With the stabilizer; the front lower portion of the belt was still trying to do a jig; but the shortened unsupported length really kept it in check! :thumbup:

Now; do I need it on MY bike? :dontknow:

 

[erspyder1]

Where can I get the "Smooth Spyder" attachment?

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Denman]

http://www.smoothspyder.com/

:thumbup:
They are a site sponsor...

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

belt video

Bob you are the KING of DIY spyder video's :clap: :clap: :clap:......Thank you.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:.........and if your belt is at tension Spec.......I can't imagine what mine looks like because it is way under spec., but since I also don't have a VIBE issue I'm going to leave it this way........................Mike :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

It might not be as bad as you think, Mike... :sour:
They went to a stiffer construction for the belt in 2014, to handle the extra weight, and torque...

 

[The Governor]

Can anyone confirm the tensioner solves the problem, Mine has the same issue even right out of service with the belt tension checked, for me it starts about 77 MPH up to about 85.

Mine fixed it.

You can tell if it's the belt by letting off the throttle when it is vibrating. If it quits, get a tensioner.

 

[Devious56]

When we first put the belt tensioner on my 2015 RT Limited, it fixed most of my vibration problem, and it wasn't a road vibration but a slapping generated from the belt resonating at a particular RPM, say 3,850. It made it bearable. The last time I talked to mike, it seemed my belt tension was in spec. but on the tight side, so we loosened the belt 1/2 turn of the adjusters, and that seemed to take out most of what vibration was left. It seems that there has to be some looseness for the tensioner to be able to work.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

David

 

[finless]

Bob you are the KING of DIY spyder video's :clap: :clap: :clap:......Thank you.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:.........and if your belt is at tension Spec.......I can't imagine what mine looks like because it is way under spec., but since I also don't have a VIBE issue I'm going to leave it this way........................Mike :thumbup:

Thanks, glad you liked that.

My belt on my 2011 RT is at 160 lbs using the Kirkit II.
The Smooth Spyder is set to apply 14 lbs of force and after putting it on, my Kirkit II still read a tad over 160.
The scale on the Kitkit II only has graduations of 10 lb so you cannot see much difference in the gauge after adding the Smooth Spyder.
So in fact even though the Smooth Spyder is set to 14 lbs, it's actual force on the belt does not effect overall belt tension.

Bob

 

[ricford]

I still have the vibration as well, even with a belt tensioner. How much louder did the exhaust get with the cat off?

It is a very pleasant sound. Not loud at all. Lots of positive comments on the sound.

 

[Devious56]

Thanks, glad you liked that.

My belt on my 2011 RT is at 160 lbs using the Kirkit II.
The Smooth Spyder is set to apply 14 lbs of force and after putting it on, my Kirkit II still read a tad over 160.
The scale on the Kitkit II only has graduations of 10 lb so you cannot see much difference in the gauge after adding the Smooth Spyder.
So in fact even though the Smooth Spyder is set to 14 lbs, it's actual force on the belt does not effect overall belt tension.

Bob

I don't know how to say this without starting an argument, my Smooth Spyder is adjustable and the correct setting is 12 to 14 pounds to remove the vibration. That comes from the installation sheet that came with my tensioner. I take it that you can adjust it to be more or less if you desire, but it won't be as effective. The device used is a scale, similar to a big fish scale.

David