Weird vibration at speed

[joe schmoe]

Maybe this is typical maybe not...Being this is a new vehicle to us, figured I'd ask the following question...

Riding my wife's Spyder home from Missouri yesterday, while crusing on the interstate at 74 or 76 MPH, there was a weird vibration...It shook the whole machine but if I got to 75 MPH it wa ssmooth as glass...Is this a harmonic vibration in the Rotax or is there something that needs to be looked at??

Any other speed the motor was smooth as glass, but I could reproduce the vibration at to 2 speeds mentioned above...

 

[frank3]

It's probably the belt. The Spyder has a very long belt and the return side tends to vibrate and differing speeds depending on the belt tension. You can have the tension adjusted but the vibration will not go away but may change speeds where it happens. I installed a idler pulley (obtained from "Capt. Jim"). He's a regular on this site. works great. Your problem has been an ongoing topic here for years now. Do a search and you'll find many post devoted to the subject.

 

[Mr. White]

It's probably the belt. The Spyder has a very long belt and the return side tends to vibrate and differing speeds depending on the belt tension. You can have the tension adjusted but the vibration will not go away but may change speeds where it happens. I installed a idler pulley (obtained from "Capt. Jim"). He's a regular on this site. works great. Your problem has been an ongoing topic here for years now. Do a search and you'll find many post devoted to the subject.

Frank, I, too, get this vibration around 72-75 mph. I speed up or slow down a mile or two until it smooths out. It does not bother me as I know what it is. My question is did the Capt. Jim idler pulley help or cure this vibration? Is it a big deal to install. I am a mechanical klutz. I own two tools, a 10" phillips head screwdriver and a 10 pound sledge hammer. hyea:

:spyder2:

 

[Bob Denman]

I've got some Duct tape and WD 40 over here... If it moves and shouldn't: Duct Tape. If it's not moving and should: WD 40!
...But I'd like to hear some more about Capt Jim's parts too! :thumbup:

 

[cougar]

Is your sledge hammer right handed or left handed??

 

[Firefly]

The tensioner will help -- but first I would ask what gear are you in? I'm guessing 5th? Try dropping to 4th and see if things are better?

 

[Y Rider]

Frank, I, too, get this vibration around 72-75 mph. I speed up or slow down a mile or two until it smooths out. It does not bother me as I know what it is. My question is did the Capt. Jim idler pulley help or cure this vibration? Is it a big deal to install. I am a mechanical klutz. I own two tools, a 10" phillips head screwdriver and a 10 pound sledge hammer. hyea:

:spyder2:

I installed Capt.Jim's Belt Tensioner on my RT Limited and it has smoothed out just about all belt vibrations except for a little between 4K-4.5K RPMs. It's hardly noticeable but it's there. Any RPMs above 4.5K and all is smooth up to 75 mph. Not sure what it does over 75 because I haven't been there yet. Illinois speed limit is 65 and I am reluctant to push the envelope.

Installation is not hard if you have the right tools. The hardest part is drilling the two mounting holes. The easiest way to do this is to use a 12" long 3/8" drill bit. I lifted the Spyder with a jack and set it on three jack stands. This allows easy assess to the area where you drill the two holes. I had to trim about an inch off the end of the belt guard to make sure the tensioner arm didn't contact it. I have SpyderPops Cat Shields installed which completely hides the tensioner pulley. Also, if you don't have one I would install SpyderPops Missing Belt Guard at this time. Makes it much easier to re-install the belt guard. It's not very easy accessing the two 10mm aircraft nuts with a wrench to put the cover back on. With the belt guard the aircraft nuts are replaced by clip-on blind nuts making it much easier.'

 

[chris56]

Maybe this is typical maybe not...Being this is a new vehicle to us, figured I'd ask the following question...

Riding my wife's Spyder home from Missouri yesterday, while crusing on the interstate at 74 or 76 MPH, there was a weird vibration...It shook the whole machine but if I got to 75 MPH it wa ssmooth as glass...Is this a harmonic vibration in the Rotax or is there something that needs to be looked at??

Any other speed the motor was smooth as glass, but I could reproduce the vibration at to 2 speeds mentioned above...

it seems this is a problem with the un "balanced" frontwheels ..have the same - check it very soon !!

 

[BikerDoc]

I wonder if I don't notice that vibration since I go through that speed window so quickly on my way to cruising at 80.... Maybe I have been around docdoru too much.....

 

[joe schmoe]

The vibration is the WHOLE chassis of the Spyder it is not in the tires...A belt vibration would make since the way it was vibrating...

Yes I was in 5th gear and turning right at 5650 RPM's (if I remember right)...Not a big deal just wanted to know if it was common or not...I will get the wife to adjust her speed to where she doesn't feel it...She probably won't be going that fast anyway...She likes to go about 5 to 10 UNDER the speed limit! :gaah:

 

[Mr. White]

Thanks for the information. My sledge is built to be used by both left and the right handed folks. You use left end for left handed folks and the right end for the right handed. The two headed sledge cost more than a one headed, but it can be used by all....:roflblack:

I am running 72-75 in fifth gear...like I said, I adjust my speed to eliminate the vibs and it works for me. My sweet spot on Interstates and good roads is in the 65-75 mph area. Actually, I don't pay much attention to my speed, if it feels good, I am good.

I do watch my speeds when heading out to west Texas. The Interstate speed limit changes from 70 to 85 on IH10W (IH20W also) and ya gotta be in the right lane or the rednecks with run over you. hyea:

:spyder2:

Additionally, I am being eaten out of house and yard by these invaders. They will not leave my yard until I have fed them their breakfast...supper too. What to do, what to do. :gaah:

​

 

[Firefly]

I've found smoothest highway riding in 5th gear to be @ 93 mph......

Want to get rid of those deer? Invite Doc & Seth over for some shooting practice..... :roflblack:

 

[capt.jim]

Typical belt vibration symptoms are noticeable when accelerating through the gears, cyclical vibrations that the belt will make, depending on how loose or tight the belt is. They can usually be moved up or down the RPM scale but can be hard to eliminate with out tightening the belt up. It is more noticeable when gassing it to pass a car from a steady cruising speed or going up a hill under power, you may feel a vibrating buzz in the rear and footpegs while under a load, but should smooth back out when back to a cruising speed or on flat ground again. I have a GS, but imagine that the RT's vibrations could be more pronounced due to the extra 250lbs. plus any extra luggage. I also have a couple of very minor spots where I feel the motor is not as smooth at around 69-70 mph and 80-81 mph, they never change no matter where the tension is set at, I assume it is just V-twin characteristics. Of course I would like to sell everyone a tensioner if they need it, but being that you are at a steady cruising speed and only at that small range of MPH doesn't sound like the belt, especially the part about the whole frame shaking while at a steady cruising speed. It is possible it could be the belt, as no two spyders react the same, but I would think you would notice it at other speeds or RPM's, unless you are really easy on the gas all the time. The only time I had allover vibration was 60-62 MPH, but I could see it in the front fenders and feel it in the handlebars, turned out to be the front tires. I would go through the gears, heavy on the gas, and feel for some cyclical vibrations that come and go, also get up to 60 or so at a steady speed in 5th and twist the throttle hard, you should feel it in the seat of your pants and pegs if it is the belt. Hope this helps you narrow down the problem, let us know what you find.

 

[mike3069]

On the ryde to to the Homecoming event at the Spyder factory in June of '08 I discovered a vibration just like yours. It came on about 73mph and 5000 rpm. During the factory tour, I spoke with one of the technicians on the assembly line about this. He responded that this was normal. He further stated that the reason for the high belt tension specification (subsequently lowered significantly) was because they knew that this would produce the vibration at this specific point in the RPM range. I was also told that changing the tension would move the RPM where the vibration happened and that the this would not be detrimental to the performance of the belt/sprockets or the spyder in general. These BRP guys were amazing in how open they were at answering our questions.

On a side note I lowered my belt tension when I returned home to a point that turned out to be slightly below the later revised spec. I now have 30,000 miles on the spyder and recently checked the rear bearings during a tire change and found no wear on them. My opinion is that this is because of the lower belt tension for 28,000 of those miles.

 

[vampyregirl]

Frank, I, too, get this vibration around 72-75 mph. I speed up or slow down a mile or two until it smooths out. It does not bother me as I know what it is. My question is did the Capt. Jim idler pulley help or cure this vibration? Is it a big deal to install. I am a mechanical klutz. I own two tools, a 10" phillips head screwdriver and a 10 pound sledge hammer. hyea:

:spyder2:

I've got some Duct tape and WD 40 over here... If it moves and shouldn't: Duct Tape. If it's not moving and should: WD 40!
...But I'd like to hear some more about Capt Jim's parts too! :thumbup:

I say use the sledge hammer----THEN use the duct tape!!!! hyea::2thumbs: