Would like to see your last Arkansas Ryker trips. Sorry to hear you're still having your tracking problems. Enjoyed your ride with your daughter. I have a princess, but she rides her own Ryker and likes speed too! Lol
Howdy, Ed! I have that trip in the editing queue now, so I will try to get that series out soon. That trip didn't go well because of the weather, so we didn't have much ride footage to share. I have two separate trips to the Texas Twisted Sisters that are also in the queue... plenty of good ride footage and twisties in those series. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Thanks for the detailed info. My wife's Ryker does that darting too. Perfect straight sailing on perfect pavement, but any bump or gutter on the road makes it dart. So I suspected the steering members... Here is what I found out. I have observed that if you take off the hood, and if you grab both wheels with your hands and pull to make them both turn inward or push outward at the same time, you can see quite a big looseness, and you can see the bars moving under the hood when they sould not! If you look closely, you will see that the bushing at the very end of the steering shaft is waaay too loose. There should be a fixed bearing (pillow block zero play) instead. I think the problem comes from this. The two wheels aren't restrained enough to follow each other. Any input from the road on one wheel makes it dart without restraint. My guess.
All of my kids have enjoyed rides on my scooters and smaller motorcycles since they were old enough to hold onto something. When they are old enough to really pay attention and hang onto the seat (e.g. 6-7 years old), then I transition them to the passenger seat and take small rides with them outside of the neighborhood. Good times! 😉👍 --QM
I've been trying to watch some of your earlier videos I missed. Your note to Kevin makes me giggle because my husband's 2021 900 drives 1000 times better than my 2019 Rally. I get upset with mine every time I get off his lol. I have a couple of questions for ya: 1. Did I understand you correctly that you replaced your front tires with the 900 non-Rally version? 2. What was the size Yokohama tire you put on the rear? I'm very close to needing a replacement on mine. I hope to pull the trigger on a replacement soon!
Lets get you scheduled in for an updated alignment. I have spoken with a few other shops that do alignments on Rykers and have some updated recommendations to dial your bike in and some things to check on your suspension.
Quasi; Me and a bunch of other Can-amers are heading up somewhere between Broken Bow and Hot Springs at that time too. Maybe we'll see you and your group out on the road. Ha Ha !
Howdy, Ed! Let me know when that's happening and I might be able to meet-up or do a flyby! I'm hoping that my alignment issues are sorted out on Feb 13th... we'll see how it goes! Cheers! 👍 --QM
Quasi; I live in northeast Louisiana and been riding for years in Arkansas. Have learned i'm probably gonna get wet on a four day trip up there. Look forward to you videos in Arkansas and Texas.
Yep, I grew up in central Oklahoma and rode all over eastern OK, Arkansas, and Missouri before I moved to Texas in the late 90's. I told my riding buddies that road trips to the Ozarks in the fall are a crapshoot... the weather is unpredictable, so you need to be ready for anything. We're planning to head back up there sometime in the early spring, so maybe the weather will be in our favor this time. Cheers! 👍 --QM
OK? Checked air in tires first. All good. I checked tow in front and it was 5/8" towed in at front. I disconnected the battery, then adjusted the tow to 0. Reconnected battery and rode it again. I can now ride it. Better.
The factory spec is 0.25 - 0.50" of toe-in, so 5/8" was definitely too much. My Ryker is in the shop now for its exorcism. Hopefully, they will be able to isolate and resolve the crazy steering and alignment issues that I've had since day one. If BRP won't cover the issues under warranty, then I'll just buy all of the front suspension pieces and rebuild it myself. I'm tired of fighting the problems... I just want to ride it and not be dragged into adjacent traffic over every bump & ripple in the road. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
QuasiMotard if its pulling to the right maybe you might have the caliber looked at and make sure its not dragging on the rotor, that could make it pull to the right also, just something to look at :) hope you can get it all fixed and tracking straight
I’ve been thinking of getting a steering stabilizer to try correcting that squirreliness on mine. I think the front end is too light for the amount of traction/contact patch.
I'm convinced that something on my bike is bent from the factory. Think of trying to balance a tennis ball on the tip of your thumb... it can be done, but it's always trying to fall to one side or the other. That's how my Ryker handles... ALL.THE.TIME. I thought that it was just a matter of improper alignment, but it's had 3 separate trips to be laser aligned and that hasn't fixed it yet. I have another appointment on Feb 13th, and we are going to try to beat this thing into submission this time. I'll be sure to post a video update as soon as we have some information. I might even try to do a live stream from the shop... we'll see how it goes. Cheers! 👍 --QM
I have been thing the same, on a stabilizer. Please let me know if you find one that works well with the Ryker. One thing I found right after I brought the bike home was the front tire pressure was low, only 20 lbs. max cold pressure is 44. I went to 40 and it seemed more squirrely.
Thanks for the feedback! I have another appointment with a local Spyder/Ryker shop on Feb 13th to have the ROLO laser alignment done again. James (the shop owner) has some new settings that he wants to try, and he thinks that we can get the bike tracking straight (and safely) again. I might try to do a live stream from the shop on Saturday, Feb 13th, so let me know if you'd be interested in watching as we work. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Howdy, John! I'll be sure to post updates and videos on my upgrades to the bike as I go along. I haven't done anything to it yet, but the mods will begin soon. I will be prepping my Super Cub for the 9000-mile trip in July (2021 Scooter Cannonball Run), so that will be taking the spotlight for a little while. If I can find the spare time, I'll install the 143cc BBK on the CT125 sometime in late April or early May. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Howdy, James! I just replied to a similar comment from another viewer, so I'll just paste it here... There are quite a few Ryker owners that have commented and complained about the high-speed wandering, but I don't think there are many with such extreme cases as mine. I believe that my bike has a manufacturing defect because the alignment problem has been there since day one of my ownership. Initially, I thought it was just a minor alignment misadjustment due to shipping or setup damage. However, the issue persists after 3 different laser alignments (the last one done by a Can-Am service center, and it's worse than ever). So, that lends to the idea that there is a bent part or potentially a misaligned mounting bracket on the front suspension. I have another appointment with James Thorne here in Houston to have my Ryker aligned again on Feb 14th. I suspect that whatever the misalignment problem is can be "tuned out"... it will just be a matter of trial and error until we find the right offsets. The factory numbers obviously don't work on my bike, so we're going to start with some altered "performance" figures and then start tweaking from there until it behaves itself. I'll be sure to make a few videos on the process and keep everyone informed on the progress. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Remove that windshield my friend, problem solved, thank me later ;) had the same problem, i realized right right away the other rykers i tried without windshields didnt do this.
Agreed! I hope to resolve the handling/tracking problem with another laser alignment. I wouldn't be able to sell or trade the bike in its current condition because I'd lose too much money on the deal. I also wouldn't feel right about selling it to an individual because they would inherit a dangerous bike. We'll see how it goes on Feb 13th when I have the ROLO laser alignment done again... hopefully, James and I can find the problem and correct it enough for the bike to track straight again. Cheers! 👍 --QM
There are quite a few Ryker owners that have commented and complained about the high-speed wandering, but I don't think there are many with such extreme cases as mine. I believe that my bike has a manufacturing defect because the alignment problem has been there since day one of my ownership. Initially, I thought it was just a minor alignment misadjustment due to shipping or setup damage. However, the issue persists after 3 different laser alignments (the last one done by a Can-Am service center, and it's worse than ever). So, that lends to the idea that there is a bent part or potentially a misaligned mounting bracket on the front suspension. I have another appointment with James Thorne here in Houston to have my Ryker aligned again on Feb 14th. I suspect that whatever the misalignment problem is can be "tuned out"... it will just be a matter of trial and error until we find the right offsets. The factory numbers obviously don't work on my bike, so we're going to start with some altered "performance" figures and then start tweaking from there until it behaves itself. I'll be sure to make a few videos on the process and keep everyone informed on the progress. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Unfortunately, no. My Ryker is down now for a few months pending a complete front suspension rebuild. It has developed a new (dangerous) symptom where the right wheel shudders and wobbles at higher speeds. During fast left-hand corners (right suspension loaded), the bike wobbles and swerves and won't maintain a line. This means that the ball joint or control arm bushings are defective and will need to be replaced. I suspect that the ball joints are defective and that's been my problem with this bike since day one. Another Ryker owner that I know had a similar problem with his 900 where the right side ball joint was squared-out internally instead of round, and his bike developed an identical handling problem. His issue was finally resolved under warranty, so that's next for my Ryker. I plan to open a claim with BRP to see if they will fix the issue under warranty. If they can't (or won't) fix it, then I'll just replace everything at my own cost. I will purchase all of the suspension pieces (e.g., left and right upper & lower control arms, ball joints, frame bushings, etc) and resolve this issue permanently. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Well, the jury is still out on the Ryker's fate. I have another appointment with James Thorne ( thornolis.com ) on Feb 14th to see if he can exorcize my Ryker's demons. I'm cautiously hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath. I would absolutely LOVE to resolve this issue and get back to riding the bike instead of being so annoyed that I avoid using it at all. 😉👍 --QM
Agreed! It's doubly annoying because I know how other Rykers handle, so my bike's behavior definitely isn't normal. I have an appointment to do another ROLO laser alignment on Feb 13th, so we'll see how that goes. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Would like to see your last Arkansas Ryker trips. Sorry to hear you're still having your tracking problems. Enjoyed your ride with your daughter. I have a princess, but she rides her own Ryker and likes speed too! Lol
Howdy, Ed! I have that trip in the editing queue now, so I will try to get that series out soon. That trip didn't go well because of the weather, so we didn't have much ride footage to share. I have two separate trips to the Texas Twisted Sisters that are also in the queue... plenty of good ride footage and twisties in those series. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Thanks for the detailed info. My wife's Ryker does that darting too. Perfect straight sailing on perfect pavement, but any bump or gutter on the road makes it dart. So I suspected the steering members... Here is what I found out. I have observed that if you take off the hood, and if you grab both wheels with your hands and pull to make them both turn inward or push outward at the same time, you can see quite a big looseness, and you can see the bars moving under the hood when they sould not! If you look closely, you will see that the bushing at the very end of the steering shaft is waaay too loose. There should be a fixed bearing (pillow block zero play) instead. I think the problem comes from this. The two wheels aren't restrained enough to follow each other. Any input from the road on one wheel makes it dart without restraint. My guess.
I bought my ryker 900 a few weeks ago at broadway in Tyler. Didn't realize you were that close. I enjoy the vids hope it works out with the ryker.
My kids absolutely love riding around the neighborhood sitting in front of me on my Vespa
All of my kids have enjoyed rides on my scooters and smaller motorcycles since they were old enough to hold onto something. When they are old enough to really pay attention and hang onto the seat (e.g. 6-7 years old), then I transition them to the passenger seat and take small rides with them outside of the neighborhood. Good times! 😉👍 --QM
I'll keep you posted on the date when it's set. Would be cool meet up. Here's hoping your alignment issues are corrected !
I've been trying to watch some of your earlier videos I missed. Your note to Kevin makes me giggle because my husband's 2021 900 drives 1000 times better than my 2019 Rally. I get upset with mine every time I get off his lol.
I have a couple of questions for ya:
1. Did I understand you correctly that you replaced your front tires with the 900 non-Rally version?
2. What was the size Yokohama tire you put on the rear? I'm very close to needing a replacement on mine. I hope to pull the trigger on a replacement soon!
Lets get you scheduled in for an updated alignment. I have spoken with a few other shops that do alignments on Rykers and have some updated recommendations to dial your bike in and some things to check on your suspension.
Sounds good! I'll call you to schedule an appointment... you can even keep the bike for a while, whatever it takes! Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
Quasi; Me and a bunch of other Can-amers are heading up somewhere between Broken Bow and Hot Springs at that time too. Maybe we'll see you and your group out on the road. Ha Ha !
Howdy, Ed! Let me know when that's happening and I might be able to meet-up or do a flyby! I'm hoping that my alignment issues are sorted out on Feb 13th... we'll see how it goes! Cheers! 👍 --QM
Quasi; I live in northeast Louisiana and been riding for years in Arkansas. Have learned i'm probably gonna get wet on a four day trip up there. Look forward to you videos in Arkansas and Texas.
Yep, I grew up in central Oklahoma and rode all over eastern OK, Arkansas, and Missouri before I moved to Texas in the late 90's. I told my riding buddies that road trips to the Ozarks in the fall are a crapshoot... the weather is unpredictable, so you need to be ready for anything. We're planning to head back up there sometime in the early spring, so maybe the weather will be in our favor this time. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Give me a ring back Sunday. I may have some updates to check some things to fix the tracking.
I just rode mine for the first time on the road and it scared me. I have been riding 50 years.
OK? Checked air in tires first. All good. I checked tow in front and it was 5/8" towed in at front. I disconnected the battery, then adjusted the tow to 0. Reconnected battery and rode it again. I can now ride it. Better.
The factory spec is 0.25 - 0.50" of toe-in, so 5/8" was definitely too much. My Ryker is in the shop now for its exorcism. Hopefully, they will be able to isolate and resolve the crazy steering and alignment issues that I've had since day one.
If BRP won't cover the issues under warranty, then I'll just buy all of the front suspension pieces and rebuild it myself. I'm tired of fighting the problems... I just want to ride it and not be dragged into adjacent traffic over every bump & ripple in the road. Cheers! 😉👍 --QM
QuasiMotard if its pulling to the right maybe you might have the caliber looked at and make sure its not dragging on the rotor, that could make it pull to the right also, just something to look at :) hope you can get it all fixed and tracking straight
I’ve been thinking of getting a steering stabilizer to try correcting that squirreliness on mine. I think the front end is too light for the amount of traction/contact patch.
I'm convinced that something on my bike is bent from the factory. Think of trying to balance a tennis ball on the tip of your thumb... it can be done, but it's always trying to fall to one side or the other. That's how my Ryker handles... ALL.THE.TIME. I thought that it was just a matter of improper alignment, but it's had 3 separate trips to be laser aligned and that hasn't fixed it yet. I have another appointment on Feb 13th, and we are going to try to beat this thing into submission this time. I'll be sure to post a video update as soon as we have some information. I might even try to do a live stream from the shop... we'll see how it goes. Cheers! 👍 --QM
I have been thing the same, on a stabilizer. Please let me know if you find one that works well with the Ryker. One thing I found right after I brought the bike home was the front tire pressure was low, only 20 lbs. max cold pressure is 44. I went to 40 and it seemed more squirrely.
Informative video
Thanks for the feedback! I have another appointment with a local Spyder/Ryker shop on Feb 13th to have the ROLO laser alignment done again. James (the shop owner) has some new settings that he wants to try, and he thinks that we can get the bike tracking straight (and safely) again. I might try to do a live stream from the shop on Saturday, Feb 13th, so let me know if you'd be interested in watching as we work. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Hey amigo! Please keep me up to date with 142cc hop up on your Honda ct125 Hunter Cub. I’m seriously considering buying one this summer!!!
Howdy, John! I'll be sure to post updates and videos on my upgrades to the bike as I go along. I haven't done anything to it yet, but the mods will begin soon. I will be prepping my Super Cub for the 9000-mile trip in July (2021 Scooter Cannonball Run), so that will be taking the spotlight for a little while. If I can find the spare time, I'll install the 143cc BBK on the CT125 sometime in late April or early May. Cheers! 👍 --QM
@@QuasiMotard awesome!!! Good luck on the big trip. I hope someday to be healthy enough to make such a trip!!! Take care & thank you for the reply! 😇
that tracking problem is a real put off for the Ryker - is it that common a problem?
Howdy, James! I just replied to a similar comment from another viewer, so I'll just paste it here...
There are quite a few Ryker owners that have commented and complained about the high-speed wandering, but I don't think there are many with such extreme cases as mine. I believe that my bike has a manufacturing defect because the alignment problem has been there since day one of my ownership. Initially, I thought it was just a minor alignment misadjustment due to shipping or setup damage. However, the issue persists after 3 different laser alignments (the last one done by a Can-Am service center, and it's worse than ever). So, that lends to the idea that there is a bent part or potentially a misaligned mounting bracket on the front suspension.
I have another appointment with James Thorne here in Houston to have my Ryker aligned again on Feb 14th. I suspect that whatever the misalignment problem is can be "tuned out"... it will just be a matter of trial and error until we find the right offsets. The factory numbers obviously don't work on my bike, so we're going to start with some altered "performance" figures and then start tweaking from there until it behaves itself. I'll be sure to make a few videos on the process and keep everyone informed on the progress. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Remove that windshield my friend, problem solved, thank me later ;) had the same problem, i realized right right away the other rykers i tried without windshields didnt do this.
Maybe you need to trade it in and get a newer model. Something that tracks better if possible.
Agreed! I hope to resolve the handling/tracking problem with another laser alignment. I wouldn't be able to sell or trade the bike in its current condition because I'd lose too much money on the deal. I also wouldn't feel right about selling it to an individual because they would inherit a dangerous bike. We'll see how it goes on Feb 13th when I have the ROLO laser alignment done again... hopefully, James and I can find the problem and correct it enough for the bike to track straight again. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Hiya Aaron are any other Ryker Owners having the same problem with tracking ?
Marc In Bletchley Towers G6XEG
There are quite a few Ryker owners that have commented and complained about the high-speed wandering, but I don't think there are many with such extreme cases as mine. I believe that my bike has a manufacturing defect because the alignment problem has been there since day one of my ownership. Initially, I thought it was just a minor alignment misadjustment due to shipping or setup damage. However, the issue persists after 3 different laser alignments (the last one done by a Can-Am service center, and it's worse than ever). So, that lends to the idea that there is a bent part or potentially a misaligned mounting bracket on the front suspension.
I have another appointment with James Thorne here in Houston to have my Ryker aligned again on Feb 14th. I suspect that whatever the misalignment problem is can be "tuned out"... it will just be a matter of trial and error until we find the right offsets. The factory numbers obviously don't work on my bike, so we're going to start with some altered "performance" figures and then start tweaking from there until it behaves itself. I'll be sure to make a few videos on the process and keep everyone informed on the progress. Cheers! 👍 --QM
Did you ever resolve the issue?
Unfortunately, no. My Ryker is down now for a few months pending a complete front suspension rebuild. It has developed a new (dangerous) symptom where the right wheel shudders and wobbles at higher speeds. During fast left-hand corners (right suspension loaded), the bike wobbles and swerves and won't maintain a line. This means that the ball joint or control arm bushings are defective and will need to be replaced.
I suspect that the ball joints are defective and that's been my problem with this bike since day one. Another Ryker owner that I know had a similar problem with his 900 where the right side ball joint was squared-out internally instead of round, and his bike developed an identical handling problem. His issue was finally resolved under warranty, so that's next for my Ryker.
I plan to open a claim with BRP to see if they will fix the issue under warranty. If they can't (or won't) fix it, then I'll just replace everything at my own cost. I will purchase all of the suspension pieces (e.g., left and right upper & lower control arms, ball joints, frame bushings, etc) and resolve this issue permanently. Cheers! 👍 --QM
It sounds like the beginning of the end of the Ryker and the Ryker rides. Too bad, used to really enjoy them. Sad.
Well, the jury is still out on the Ryker's fate. I have another appointment with James Thorne ( thornolis.com ) on Feb 14th to see if he can exorcize my Ryker's demons. I'm cautiously hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath. I would absolutely LOVE to resolve this issue and get back to riding the bike instead of being so annoyed that I avoid using it at all. 😉👍 --QM
Nothing more aggravating than a drifting cycle or car. No fun! 😡😡
Agreed! It's doubly annoying because I know how other Rykers handle, so my bike's behavior definitely isn't normal. I have an appointment to do another ROLO laser alignment on Feb 13th, so we'll see how that goes. Cheers! 👍 --QM