Do the 2021 Spyders still have The Whine?!

[Airborne]

Hi all,

Last year, I bought a new 2020 RT LTD which had the annoyingly high whining noise near the front of the machine that I've read about on this site. Thing is, I sold that bike for various reasons (nothing to do with the bike, I loved it, just not the whine!)

I am now looking at getting a 2021 - does anyone know if the problem was defiantly solved by BRP AND DO THE '21's HAVE THE SAME ISSUE?

Thanks

 

[Valkrocket]

My 21 RTL does not have any noticeable whine. Then again I play my music so loud, I probably wouldn't here it. hyea:

 

[PW2013STL]

Hi all,

Last year, I bought a new 2020 RT LTD which had the annoyingly high whining noise near the front of the machine that I've read about on this site. Thing is, I sold that bike for various reasons (nothing to do with the bike, I loved it, just not the whine!)

I am now looking at getting a 2021 - does anyone know if the problem was defiantly solved by BRP AND DO THE '21's HAVE THE SAME ISSUE?

Thanks

BRP changed the front drive sprocket in September of 2020. If you get a 2021 made after that, you should have the new sprocket that is designed to eliminate the noise. If unsure, have the dealer check to make sure the sprocket is white on the one you are getting.

 

[Highwayman2013]

I just rode a 2021 RT at a Demo Day event a couple weeks ago. It did have a whine like described above. If I had one I'm sure I would get used to it. It may just take some miles for the belt to wear in.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi all,

Last year, I bought a new 2020 RT LTD which had the annoyingly high whining noise near the front of the machine that I've read about on this site. Thing is, I sold that bike for various reasons (nothing to do with the bike, I loved it, just not the whine!)

I am now looking at getting a 2021 - does anyone know if the problem was defiantly solved by BRP AND DO THE '21's HAVE THE SAME ISSUE?

Thanks

Being able to EXACTLY locate various sounds is quite difficult - a badly aligned drive belt could have been the cause or the tension of that belt. Sometimes there is no magic bullet... Cheers ... Mike

 

[RICZ]

I had the whine but it went away when I took the front Kendas off and replaced them with Federal Formoza tires. A vibration went away too!

 

[Rocketman 2012]

My new 2021 RT SE6 has no Whine but if it did I'd have some Cheese with it as a bonus!

Sam

 

[Airborne]

Thanks for the input guy's.

I saw the Smoak's video on you tube where he says it is an issue with air flow through or near the front sprocket and although he initially thought it just a characteristic of the bike, I also read that BRP were now replacing the front sprocket, but nothing definite. Anyone else have this issue or heard about the fix, just to confirm?

I'll send over some nice Aussie cheese to go with your whine.

BRP changed the front drive sprocket in September of 2020. If you get a 2021 made after that, you should have the new sprocket that is designed to eliminate the noise. If unsure, have the dealer check to make sure the sprocket is white on the one you are getting.

Thanks Mate,

I suspect your answer is the correct one, but are you definite on that? It's only the second time I've heard it after searching the internet. Paying $42000+ for a whine like that puts me off.

Btw, it definitely wasn't Tyres or anything else, I had an '18 F3 LTD before it with no issues.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Thanks Mate,

I suspect your answer is the correct one, but are you definite on that? It's only the second time I've heard it after searching the internet. Paying $42000+ for a whine like that puts me off.

Btw, it definitely wasn't Tyres or anything else, I had an '18 F3 LTD before it with no issues.

Quite a few posts/threads here confirming this - the later 2021 models got the 'upgrade white sprocket' to eliminate this noise!

 

[Airborne]

Quite a few posts/threads here confirming this - the later 2021 models got the 'upgrade white sprocket' to eliminate this noise!

Thanks for that Peter, a fountain of knowledge, as usual.

 

[Plarimer]

I too have the same whine on my 2016 RT. I believe it comes from the front tires as they are stock. It only occurs between about 35 and 45 miles an hour. But, who drives that slow?

 

[milryder]

Dealer replacing my early '21 front sprocket under warranty.

 

[ARtraveler]

My new 2021 RT SE6 has no Whine but if it did I'd have some Cheese with it as a bonus!

Sam

You beat me to it. When I first read the title, I was also going to make some kind of a comment about wine. :roflblack:

 

[ollicat]

I have a 2021 late and between 48 - 52, I get the whirling sound like a tornado siren. Every time I hear it I have to remind myself not to seek shelter.

 

[fantinjaf]

I have a 2020 RTL that I bought in Oct 2020. I noticed the whine at 50-54 mph. I did some research on this site and found out about the front sprocket issue. I brought my bike back into the dealer to have armrests and a hitch put on and at that time I asked about the sprocket issue and explained my findings. The dealer looked into it and advised me that BRP was aware of the issue and they were coming out with a different front sprocket. He put in an order for it and it came in around February and they replaced it under warranty. I have ridden it only 2-3 times due to weather here in Michigan but the whine is gone. :2thumbs:

 

[bhfromme]

Old thread here, I know...

I bought a 2020 RTL this year and the whine is horrendous. The dealer tells me manufacture date was Jan 2020. I ordered the white sprocket to replace the black one. The dealer couldn't get the belt to line up properly with the white sprocket, so they installed the silver one. The whine is still there, just at a different speed. It was between 40 and 50 mph, now it's between 48 and 54 mph. I'm trying a different dealer; need to fix the whining and don't really care how much it costs me. I've read threads, AI, everything I can find on the subject. Trying a Lamonster tensioner, but my gut says it's still the front pulley causing the problem. Any wise words would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Dunno about any 'wise words', or even if this truly does work, but just between you'n me (don't you dare tell anyone else tho, I was sworn to secrecy! ) I know of a few Ozzie Spyder owners who believe they've got this whine fixed - they've had a disc cut out of either a thin metal (galv iron sheeting/tin??) or thin rigid plastic sheet material that's of the correct diameter to fit into and fill the entire inner depression area in the front pulley (excluding the raised boss in the middle for the securing bolt - the discs have a hole in the middle that fits snugly around that raised boss) and they've glued/affixed this disc into place to cover/seal the holes in the sprocket, stopping any air passing thru as the sprocket rotates.

Their claim/belief is that by covering the holes in the front pulley, the air flowing thru/around the spinning front pulley can't go thru those holes, and since it's that air passing thru the holes that makes the noise at those speeds (sorta like the air going over the tapered lip on a tin whistle) the whine goes away. I've ridden a couple of these Spyders, and personally, I'm not all that sure either way, but then again, I am pretty deaf in those auditory ranges (apparently I spent too many years up close to things that go bang! ) and while I could very faintly hear what some might consider to be an annoying wind type whistling/whining noise if I listened carefully at those speeds when I didn't have my Shoei GT-Air II on, I really couldn't hear that noise at all once my helmet was on (yeah, they are meant to be one of the best helmets around for cutting wind noise?!), I couldn't really tell if there was any noise there before, or if there was any difference when I rode those Spyders again a few weeks later, after the discs were fitted.

However, if you want to try it, I don't have any pics, but the discs are fairly simple to make & affix - they're just a thin material disc cut to the right size to fit into the depression in the pulley but going around the raised boss bit in the middle, effectively just covering the holes in the centre of the pulley - one, IIRC the metal/galv tin disc, was pressed in and glued directly to the face of the pulley while it was in-situ, and AFAIK, it's still there some 30,000 miles later; while the other placcy discs have all been glued/affixed in place with the pulley's off the Spyder and on the bench before being fitted. And AFAIK, all of these owners are still happy, at least so far?!

You want to give it a try?? Just don't tell anyone I told you...

 

[Mikey]

I wonder if someone would run a flapper wheel around the inside edges of the holes of the pulley and take the sharp profile off them, if that would make a difference? But then, would that interfere with the balancing?