Posts by ITZQUIK

  • What did you drive or ride before you got a Slingshot?

    Sold my 2000 Valkyrie a few years before getting Slingshot SL. Had lots of fun adding chrome bits, and the mod bug has stayed with me and the Slingshot (The Valk was red & black, just the same way I like my Slingshot) Last pic is the Valk in the back of a moving van on its way to its new owner in Texas (sad day) check out the licence plate frame my wife had made for me

  • Belt screeching

    Quote from BryanL

    ITZQUIK When the noise starts again would you mind doing an experiment? Try rubbing the soap on one surface then ride a bit. If the noise stops you'll know which surface is rubbing. If it doesn't, try another surface. I'm curious which one is causing the squeal.

    Funny but you read my mind. I was planning to try this when the noise starts again (been quiet so far). I would have tried this initially, but I was too lazy to put the jack under the rear end potentially 3 times ...

  • Belt screeching

    Re-posting of my previous reply:


    OK, I'll share my experience and whats working for our 2016 SS SL

    After ~2+ years/~15K miles of quiet riding, we also started hearing the horrendous shrieking/whistle noise from the drive belt. But only during acceleration/loading the belt.

    (1) I did a very thorough belt cleaning with a wire brush and a strong de-greaser. Noise stopped initially, but started coming back within ~5 miles of riding (ordinary street driving, not in "dirty" conditions)

    (2) I had the belt tension and alignment re-set by my Polaris service dept. but this did not solve the problem (had the proper gap on the left side of the belt, and tension was set towards the loose side of the spec, ~.75") The dealer was unsure what to do next, basically said to "... just live with it. Slingshots make all kinds of funny noises". I also saw in a related post someone mentioned their right angle drive was "adjusted" by the their dealer and that fixed the noise. My dealer confirmed their is no adjustment to be made to "re-align" the right angle drive, it can only be adjusted for the belt tension, and the pivot shaft adjusted for belt alignment.

    (3) During a recent 500+ mile drive-day, I experienced temperatures ranging from Low 40's (Tioga pass/Yosemite) and up to 98 degrees (Death Valley), and the noise was just the same whatever the temperature.

    So short of buying a new belt just to see what that might sound like, I started thinking of trying an application of some "substance" to the belt to see if that would help (Like the ideas of the "lubricant" or graphite).

    Then a thought occurred to me that some of the older "shade tree" mechanics might recognize. Back in the day, what was a temporary quick-fix for a noisy-squealing fan belt? ..... Holding a bar of soap against the contact surface of the fan belt while the engine was idling.

    So... I jacked up the back end of the SS so the wheel could turn freely, and I liberally rubbed a bar of soap (Ivory) against the 3 sides of the belt while turning the wheel by hand ( on the two side edges and the belt's teeth).

    Son of a gun if the belt didn't quiet right up! And several hundred miles later it still was running quiet. I know this is not a permanent fix, but when the noise starts up again I'll just repeat the soap rub. (Although I do wonder if I'm caught in the rain if I'll be leaving a trail of soap bubbles behind me ? )

    Update: I used a white bar of soap at first because it was handy, and just to try out the idea. It does leave some unsightly white residue on the black belt, but I was willing to accept the residue just to kill the noise. My better solution: my wife found a Black colored bar of soap that seems to work just as well, but doesn't show up against the belt so much.

    Good luck if you try it out on your ride. This works for me, but as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary ..."

  • Dash range display

    My SS started doing the very same thing a while back. The "miles to go" is in single digits, etc.

    It happened shortly after I returned from Canada, after I had changed the display units back from Metric to US. Didn't happen immediately, so there may not have been a correlation.


    Two different dealers I've asked about this have no clue, never heard of this before. I didn't push the point, choosing to keep driving and see if it recovered on its own. (It hasn't). When I go in for the back-up camera fix, I'm going to push the issue and demand they open a claim with Polaris on this issue (I have the Polaris extended warranty on my 2016 SL)


    Oh and Bigdog, nice story but unhooking the battery does not fix this issue (at least not on mine, after the two different times I had the battery cables disconnected)

  • Battery advice

    Hey SoCal, sharp eyes!


    The "upper console" is my home-made Radio Visor, and also holds push-buttons & a large LED light. Some may recognize this as a "re-purposed" SS OEM rear license plate bracket that many of us have removed & discarded. I liked the angles in the plastic, and with some careful cutting and mounting bracket fabrication it makes a good shade-visor for the audio screen. (the dip in the center is also a handy place to hold loose change at the drive-thru ;))


    The Red LED in the center Flashes with my alarm on, and the two black push-buttons are for my: voltage/water temp gauge reset, and another lighting idea I'll be adding later.


    Below the starter is a small module (Type-S) with blue LEDs that oscillate back and forth (Like Knight Rider). I have a Lot of Red LED lighting in the cockpit interior, but sometimes when the mood strikes me I'll switch over to my Blue interior LEDs and this becomes active. The module is on a pivot so I can swing it down and out of the way when not in use.


    Bonus comment: You can see my HURST T-Handle; I have always liked the feel of these on a manual shift. I know some other members have installed a T-Handle, but I've not seen one with the Thumb Push-button on the end. I've wired this up to my air horns, so I can honk anytime without letting go of the shift handle or the steering wheel. I think this is a good safety feature, and it's easy to do a quick beep-beep with my thumb when someone waves at the SS.


    And an Extra Bonus Comment: Do you see the small Red Push-button on the Center Console, passenger side? Since I was adding the wiring for the T-Handle anyway, I decided to also add this push-button in parallel to the same horn wiring. The wife can now honk our horn whenever she wants while I concentrate on the driving. Fun for all !^^

    slingshotinfo.com/wcf/index.php?attachment/92912/

  • Battery advice

    Here's another option for monitoring the battery voltage. I installed a dual use gauge: 1st 30 seconds after "key-on" it shows battery voltage. After that is shows water temperature. (I also installed a momentary-off push-button to interrupt power to the gauge, so it resets to show voltage anytime I want to see it) Also like that it has the same blue & red colors as the dashboard :)

  • Photo Competition #4 - Your EPIC SS In Front Of A "Sign"

    Hi SoCal,


    Thanks for the reply and interest in my mods. To avoid derailing this thread (SS photo in front of a sign ...) I will search for some pics and post in the thread: "What was today's Sling Project, Mods, Goodies ...?"


    While I'm working on that, here is a teaser photo showing another view of the back end, which also includes the fender I made (version 1.0) for the SS.

  • Screeching sound.....Before I take her to the dealer

    Quote from wokka

    ITZQUIK, with the rear elevated, can you see or feel anything out of the ordinary? Is the wheel tight, drags, or anything that would indicate an issue?

    With the back end off the ground, all looks and feels normal. wheel spins freely, have a small gap between belt and left side of rear sprocket as recommended (photo). When not off the ground, belt tension has a deflection of ~ .75"


    Note: when the swing arm was replaced during the recall, (several thousand miles ago, at a dealer I no longer go to for service) the dealer also put on a new rear sprocket, telling me "it needed replacing". When I asked why, I could not get a straight answer from them. When I requested (in advance) they save & show me the sprocket they were removing, they agreed. But when I arrived to pick up my SS, mysteriously they could not locate the "bad" sprocket. I think they probably damaged it when doing the swing arm replacement and wouldn't admit it.


    In any event, nothing to do with the belt noise issue, I only mention this because its a new rear sprocket, so a "warped" or bent sprocket should not be a contributing factor to the belt noise. (I'm pretty sure they really did put on a new sprocket, since the planned overnight swing arm replacement job turned into a 10 day job, while they waited for the new sprocket they ordered from Polaris to show up!)



  • Screeching sound.....Before I take her to the dealer

    When I said I gave the belt a thorough cleaning (and it did not fix the noise beyond a few miles) this of course included cleaning both sprockets. I believe a dirty belt/sprocket can be a contributing factor, but it is not the only root cause.


    As for those that say don't worry about stuff when there is no need, or say just quit worrying and drive the crap out of it, I suspect your SS has not made the level of noise mine had done


    Picture these examples: Coasting up to a stop light (with no belt noise) and getting the thumbs up and positive comments from on-lookers :thumbsup: (as we all have experienced from time to time in our SS's). Then light turns green, you pull away (at any speed) and the belt squeal is so loud and annoying, the same people now are laughing, pointing, and saying what a piece of junk, etc!=O:thumbdown:


    Or when during normal driving the belt squeal can be heard over the sound of the stereo, and the constant squeal at freeway speed is like fingernails on a chalk board


    Or when your riding partner is so embarrassed & annoyed by the noise they don't want to go for a ride with you


    When the belt noise gets this bad, it is not normal, and it is a significant enough issue to "worry" about it, and look for a solution!

    But hey, that’s just my opinion, to each there own. Have fun & ride safe

  • Screeching sound.....Before I take her to the dealer

    OK, I'll share my experience and whats working for our 2016 SS SL


    After ~2+ years/~15K miles of quiet riding, we also started hearing the horrendous shrieking/whistle noise from the drive belt. But only during acceleration/loading the belt. X(


    (1) I did a very thorough belt cleaning with a wire brush and a strong de-greaser. Noise stopped initially, but started coming back within ~5 miles of riding (ordinary street driving, not in "dirty" conditions)


    (2) I had the belt tension and alignment re-set by my Polaris service dept. but this did not solve the problem (had the proper gap on the left side of the belt, and tension was set towards the loose side of the spec, ~.75") The dealer was unsure what to do next, basically said to "... just live with it. Slingshots make all kinds of funny noises". I also saw in a related post someone mentioned their right angle drive was "adjusted" by the their dealer and that fixed the noise. My dealer confirmed their is no adjustment to be made to "re-align" the right angle drive, it can only be adjusted for the belt tension, and the pivot shaft adjusted for belt alignment.


    (3) During a recent 500+ mile drive-day, I experienced temperatures ranging from Low 40's (Tioga pass/Yosemite) and up to 98 degrees (Death Valley), and the noise was just the same whatever the temperature.


    So short of buying a new belt just to see what that might sound like, I started thinking of trying an application of some "substance" to the belt to see if that would help (Like the ideas above of the "lubricant" or graphite).


    Then a thought occurred to me that some of the older "shade tree" mechanics might recognize. Back in the day, what was a temporary quick-fix for a noisy-squealing fan belt? ..... Holding a bar of soap against the contact surface of the fan belt while the engine was idling.


    So... I jacked up the back end of the SS so the wheel could turn freely, and I liberally rubbed a bar of soap (Ivory) against the 3 sides of the belt while turning the wheel by hand ( on the two side edges and the belt's teeth).


    Son of a gun if the belt didn't quiet right up! And several hundred miles later it still was running quiet. :thumbup: I know this is not a permanent fix, but when the noise starts up again I'll just repeat the soap rub. (Although I do wonder if I'm caught in the rain if I'll be leaving a trail of soap bubbles behind me ? ;))


    P.S. I used a white bar of soap at first because it was handy, and just to try out the idea. It does leave some unsightly white residue on the black belt, but I was willing to accept the residue just to kill the noise. My better solution: my wife found a Black colored bar of soap that seems to work just as well, but doesn't show up against the belt so much.


    Good luck if you try it out on your ride. This works for me, but as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary ..."

  • Screeching sound

    wjfyfe thanks for the suggestion & the link to: Drive Belt, FYI, What it should not do back there!




    After reviewing the thread, (please correct me if I am mistaken) my take-away is:


    • A normal drive belt should not “walk” around (move excessively left and right) on the sprocket during driving, (as shown by video evidence). Also, I assume that that when the belt is clean and also does not walk around, it should not generate the screeching noise?
    • A drive belt that does walk around (as seen in another video) may be related to an angle drive that is “cocked in the cradle”, and perhaps this is a contributing factor to the screeching noise? ?(

    questions:

    • How does one confirm if their SS drive belt walks around on the sprocket, other than mounting a camera and getting video evidence?
    • If the drive belt does walk around during driving, is this proof that the angle drive is “cocked in the cradle”?
    • Does the Polaris service manual talk about what a correctly adjusted belt should do during driving? ("walk about" or remain in a fixed alignment position)? Does it mention an angle drive can be "cocked" or miss-aligned?
    • Airoutlaw posted his angle drive was cocked in the cradle, “… but that got straightened out”. How do you adjust the angle drive to ensure it is not "cocked"? I don’t own a service manual but in all the forum postings & videos I’ve seen, they only talk about how to adjust two things: belt tension and alignment

    I'd like to talk with my Polaris service tech about this cocked in the cradle being a possible contributor to my SS screeching noise, but I'd first like a little more knowledge on this "potentially cocked angle drive" before I bring it up and they give me the "don't believe everything you read on the internet" response ...


    All: any feedback would be welcome, thanks :)